SOFTT-W Generation 5 Tourniquet - Rescue Orange

I am a Police Officer and I use these for work. I also keep extras in my EDC bag and med kits. This is a Must Have for any outdoor adventures, firearms training or duty use. I have used the previous versions of this product multiple times on duty, and it never fails. This new one, the temporary retaining channels will come in handy when things are wet and you’re fumbling. However they will are not meant to hold permanently and you still need to firmly secure the tension rod into the triangle lock.**UPDATE** The plastic temporary retaining channel broke. I wear these on the back of my Gunbelt, and I lean against them causing one to break. However the main locking triangle and the rest of the TQ are intact.

I have the Gen 3 SOFTT-W in both the orange and blue, great tourniquets. I received this new Gen 4 version in orange with the new redesigned more compact windlass and built-in retention clip. Again very well made. Excellent overall. Just hope I'll never have to use any of them.

An excellent TQ. Once it is flat-folded, it fits perfectly in the long, skinny pouch in 5.11 Tactical trousers.

It is the sof t wide, no issues or complaints other than I didn't receive rubberbands with it

Frame of reference - I am not a medical professional.I am a volunteer in a Community Organization trained in "Stop the Bleed" emergency trauma support. The goal for equipment is for trained non-professional volunteers to minimize damage following a mass accident or terror event (ie: active shooter or mass stabbing attack).We currently have CAT (and knock offs) and RATS.CAT has, of-course, been the standard of the industry and the one military certified option. But it is quite large.RATS can't be beat on portability, and even with all of the duly levied criticisms, has been the one realistic EDC option.The Softt-W looks good, has recently been certified, and, with the gen 4 upgrades, it seemed worthwhile to obtain and analyze.Analysis:Much smaller pack than CAT. Substantially more carry-able, though the windlass still sticks out longer than my EDC emergency mini-pouch.The windlass is metal, as is the bracket that it snaps into (while documentation insists that the "official" CAT plastic windlass and bracket are secure ...the flex always worries me).A triangular loop secures the windlass further. Previous gens of softt had only the loop without the bracket -- definitely upgrade to the bracket!! The windlass snaps into the bracket essentially automatically, so that the loop is just an afterthought.(I understand that there is an option to get an "aftermarket" bracket for your existing gen 3)Surprised that the loop is not metal - but it is now a secondary support anyway.Packability and windlass securing mechanism win over CAT hands down.While the CAT uses a loose loop with a long velcro strip to fasten the tourniquet before tightening with windlass, the Softt has no velcro. It has a metal self-locking loop. The tightening strap has to be pulled with some pressure through the loop in order to tighten to the amount needed.In addition, the metal loop has a fastener to open the strap to facilitate getting it over the limb.On the one hand - velcro can loose fastenability, so this sort of self-locking metal fastener is theoretically far more elegant and permanent.On the other hand - and this is the big NEGATIVE about this tourniquet - I found this very difficult to use one-handed (ie: on my own arm). It really needs two hands to operate well.And this is the big money issue - when training with CAT and RATS, I was able to fairly immediately tighten it around my own arm (though RATS had some issue with getting the knot and loop correct).With the Softt, it took a good couple of tries and some manipulation which I doubt will be workable if my arm is in fact so injured as to require the tourniquet.In summary - the Softt is very elegantly designed and seems great for use on others.It is the weakest of the different options for self-administration.

Smaller than the CAT easy to fit in your pocket. The metal windless feels great.If this is your first tourniquet, please please please practice with it every day for the first week after you buy it at the very least.This could save a life! Get some extra gauze while you're at it.

I have a couple of Gen 3 SOFTT-W, but got the Gen 4 after seeing the improvements they've made. The longer windlass improves the leverage for tightening the TQ. The windlass clip is a lot more positive to use than the triangle clip. I did find a retrofit clip that can be fitted to the Gen 3 and bought those as well.I prefer the SOFTT-W over the CAT only because I've found on other products with velcro that velcro can at times be unreliable. I learned on the SOFTT-W and want to be consistent in my equipment and my training with that equipment. I don't want to have to look to see what kind of TQ I have before applying it.Training is everything!

Bought to replace one I used. Always kept one in my bunker coat for vehicle accidents or hostile events. I like the Sof T wides better than cat tourniquet because the sof-t comes ready to use unlike the cat that you have to feed the velcro through. And this has a metal windlass as compared to the Cat tourniquet. Used mine on a gsw to upper femur. Also takes up less space than The cat touriquet...