SAM XT Tourniquet

We're now going to look at the SAM XT tourniquet. This tourniquet may look very similar to the likes of the C-A-T tourniquet, it's got one very different feature. It's a locking system on the actual band here. So, looking at it, we've still got the windlass at the top and this can lock in place at the top here. We've still got the time band. It works exactly the same as others. But you notice this tourniquet has got holes all the way through it. That's because inside here are two little pins and the pins will lock into the main strap. So, as you tighten it up, you'll hear the unit click. 

The little pins have popped up here. Let me just show you what the pins actually look like; see these two pins here. That means that the actual tourniquet is locked in place much better than other tourniquets. Now, if you test the tourniquet and the pins, you need to release it. So, all you do here is just lift this up and the pins pop away so it's ready for use. To actually use the tourniquet, poke the buckle. The strap up into the buckle. Then, we can either slide it over an arm or we can pop it around a leg, goes exactly the same position as other tourniquets. So, we pop it on, you hear the click and then, we can just bring the tape around underneath for now.

At the top here, we've got the windlass. So, what we do with this is you just wind it around and just keep going around until it's tight. Obviously, in a training environment here, you won't go that tight onto the arm. Make sure it's locked in place. The tail, you can just tuck inside the loop and just bring it around, just to keep it tidy. And then, place the band here across and then, we can write the time it was applied across on to the grey area here. Exactly the same with this one. If the bleeding hasn't stopped, you need to tighten it some more and if it's just not controlling the bleeding, you can apply a second tourniquet or you could use something like hemostatic agents.

Now, with the tourniquet, comes a full instruction leaflet so you've got the information there on how to actually use the tourniquet and it tells you how to put it on and also, the bottom here tells you then, how to take it off. So, if you're practising with the tourniquet in a training example, you know how to put it on, how to reset it and how to get it ready for use. Always leave a tourniquet ready to use so you haven't got it all undone, you can then simply just apply it over your own arm, pull it tight and then, you've got a working tourniquet rather the one you have to try and poke things through to start using it.