One of the newest additions to the CoTCCC recommendations for tourniquets is the SAM XT – as I mentioned on Instagram, it’s going to be one of a few TQs and similar devices I’ll be going over.
So if you like marketing materials, SAM has a neat little video they made about the XT here; the basic gist of it is it’s functionally the same as a CAT tourniquet, with the exception of the “click”.
Pretty sure the message is: you’re a badass if you carry one of these. But I digress.
The purpose of the “click” is, they state, to prevent unnecessary slack in the tourniquet while applying (unnecessary slack leads almost by default to a failed application, because the windlass of any tourniquet can only take up so much slack).
I can get behind this idea, particularly for unfamiliar users – something like the SAM XT might be a good choice for a public-access kit, for instance. The audible and tactile click could provide important feedback for a novice user and make sure it’s being applied correctly.
SAM does not seem to publish the specific force at which the buckle engages, I’ve got half a mind to try a fish scale, but suffice to say it’s enough to take out the slack.
For professional users, I’m not convinced this feature is necessary, and as you can see, it does add not-inconsequential bulk to the TQ as compared to the CAT (its closest analogue).
If it’s in a wall-mounted kit or an aid bag, fine. If it’s in my backpack for hiking or my back pocket all day, not so fine. That said, the SOF-T Wide from Tactical Medical Solutions is my preferred TQ for these circumstances, but more on that later.
My other quibbles are fairly minor, but not completely without merit.
First, due to the design of the TRUFORCE buckle they’re so proud of, the strap of the TQ can slip out of the buckle quite easily when getting the tourniquet prepped, as compared to the CAT which has a more traditional buckle and therefore is more difficult to slide through – this could be a blessing or a curse, depending on your familiarity with the equipment and your specific needs when using it (ie; is the arm trapped on both sides and you need to undo the buckle to get the tourniquet applied).
Second, whereas the CAT and SOF-T Wide both have the portion of the strap that applies the pressure hidden within an outer “sheath” of sorts, the XT does not.
Sheath 
No sheath 
No sheath, applied
The upshot of this, as you can see, is there’s a pinch point – right where the orange TRUFLEX plate meets the black nylon of the tourniquet strap in the center photo, the XT can grab hair, skin or clothing and (attempt to) draw these items into the tourniquet while it’s being applied.
I don’t know if there have been any failures from this happening, but I have experienced a circumstance where it pinched me (or pulled my arm hair, not sure which).
In the grand scheme of things, not a huge issue – if your casualty needs a tourniquet they’re not going to be in a position to complain about a pinch or some arm hair (in fact, a properly applied tourniquet is going to hurt no matter what you do), but it does put a bit of an interesting wrinkle in things. I’ll file this one under “things that make you go hmm”.
Overall, I have no real reservations about the SAM XT and I could see scenarios where it’d be preferable to other products on the market, but I don’t think the pro market is where that advantage lies – they’re also around $10 more expensive as of this writing than competing products, so without any clearly compelling reason to buy this over another product, I plan to stick with what I know and like – specifically the SOF Wide, although I am very comfortable with the CATs as well (they’re what my employers and most of the agencies in my area use).
Let me know if there are any other tests I should try with it, or if you have any questions, I’ll have this demo unit for a little while yet.
-T