One pouch that flexes around the tourniquet you carry is only an advantage if you re-seat the same tourniquet the same way every time — and draw it enough to know the pull.
At a glance
11 things to know about the Polymer Tourniquet TACO
How the shock cord works, what it carries, how it mounts, and the doctrine and evidence behind carrying a tourniquet this way.
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01
A pouch — not a tourniquet
The TACO® is the carrier. Medical items are not included, and the tourniquet is the only part that stops bleeding.3
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02
One pouch, several tourniquets
HSGI's adjustable shock-cord design lets one pouch retain the SAM® XT, the C-A-T®, the SOF®TT and the SOF®TT Wide, along with most other windlass-style tourniquets.3
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03
Built to expand and contract
The pouch is built to expand and contract like the rest of the TACO® family to fit your needs and preferences, in a package HSGI calls sleek, waterproof and easy to clean.3
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04
An interior that does not snag
The streamlined interior prevents snagging, and an integrated storage area keeps the shock-cord tails out of the way.3
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05
Easier to put back
A slightly taller back panel makes reinserting the tourniquet easier and more user-friendly.3
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06
Stacks with another TACO®
The TACO® hole pattern allows stacking multiple pouches.3
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07
Belt or MOLLE
It mounts to belts up to 2 in. or to MOLLE/PALS, with two HSGI Universal Clips included.3
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08
Holds no water
The pouch does not hold water, sweat or rain and is easy to decontaminate.3
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09
What the evidence-based list says about the tourniquets
The list names the C-A-T Gen 7 (NSN 6515-01-521-7976), the SAM-XT (6515-01-670-2240) and the SOFTT-W (6515-01-587-9943). The standard-width SOF®TT is not named in the December 2021 list, and the list does not rate pouches.2
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10
Reach decides how early it goes on
In a survey of 232 casualties with 428 tourniquets at a Baghdad combat hospital, survival was 90% when the tourniquet was used before shock and 10% after.8 In a pilot of 12 trained officers, C-A-T self-application succeeded 8 of 12 times under simulated hemorrhagic shock against 10 of 12 normally, with failures from insufficient tightening.9
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11
Carrying is not training
Right after a course, people trained on the C-A-T applied it correctly 92.2% of the time on a manikin against 68.6% for the SOF-T and 11.8% for two other designs.10 Skill fades without practice.11 Drill with the exact pouch and the exact tourniquet.
How to set up and use the TACO
Seat it, mount it, drill it, then apply by the doctrine it exists to serve.
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1Seat the tourniquet. Set the tourniquet in the pouch and let the shock cord take up the fit. Seat it the same way every time, so the draw is the same every time.3
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2Mount it. Belts up to 2 in., or MOLLE/PALS with the two included HSGI Universal Clips.3
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3Set the position. Choose a spot you can reach with either hand, under stress, without looking.
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4Drill the draw. Draw and re-seat the exact tourniquet one-handed, with each hand, with gloves.
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5Choose the placement at the wound. Under threat, or when you cannot see where the blood is coming from: hasty — high and tight on the limb, over clothing. When the source is found and time allows: deliberate — on bare skin 2–3 in. above the wound. Never across or directly over a joint.1
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6Tighten, lock, record. Tighten until the bleeding stops and the distal pulse is gone; if bleeding persists, tighten further or add a second tourniquet beside the first. Write down the time.1
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7Restock. After any use, the pouch gets a fresh tourniquet before it goes back on the belt or carrier.
Where it fits
- The C-A-T®, SOF®TT, SOF®TT Wide and SAM® XT, and most other windlass-style tourniquets3
- Belts up to 2 in. and MOLLE/PALS platforms3
- Stacking two TACO® pouches in a footprint3
- Wet, dirty or contaminated environments where a pouch has to wipe clean3
- Belts wider than 2 in.3
- Groin, armpit or neck bleeding — pack the wound with hemostatic gauze and hold pressure
- Standing in for training: carrying is not practice
- Stand-alone bleeding control: with no tourniquet in it, it carries nothing
The evidence
The studies behind the doctrine above, what each one tested, and how strong it is.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kragh et al., Ann Surg 2009 | Human · combat clinical | Prospective survey of 232 casualties with 428 tourniquets on 309 limbs, combat support hospital, Baghdad, 2006 | Survival 90% when a tourniquet was used before shock vs 10% after; mortality 11% with prehospital vs 24% with emergency-department application; no limb lost because of tourniquet use |
| Tanaka et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 2026 | Human volunteer · pilot | 12 trained law enforcement officers in body armor self-applying a C-A-T to the non-dominant arm, with and without lower-body negative pressure simulating hemorrhagic shock | Application succeeded in 10 of 12 without and 8 of 12 with simulated shock; times did not differ; failures came from insufficient tightening despite correct placement |
| McCarty et al., JAMA Surg 2019 | Manikin · randomized crossover | 102 laypeople trained on the C-A-T applying five tourniquet types immediately after the course | Correct application: C-A-T 92.2%, SOF-T 68.6%, improvised 32.4%, SWAT-T 11.8%, RATS 11.8% |
| Goralnick et al., JAMA Surg 2018 | Human · randomized trial | 465 laypeople; correct tourniquet application in a simulated scenario after in-person training, retested at 3 to 9 months | 88% correct after a Bleeding Control Basic course vs 16% with no intervention; 54.5% of the 303 retested could still apply one |
| Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts, Dec 2021 | Expert review | The committee's list of limb tourniquets, non-pneumatic | Names the C-A-T Gen 7 (6515-01-521-7976), SAM-XT (6515-01-670-2240) and SOFTT-W (6515-01-587-9943); no pouch appears |
Strongest to weakest: combat clinical data, then human-volunteer and training trials, then manikin studies. The studies concern the tourniquet and the skill of applying it, not the carrier; carrier specifications come from the manufacturer.
How it compares
Four ways to carry a windlass tourniquet.
| TACO® Polymer Pouch | RIGID TQ Case® | TQ911 holster | Vanquest TQ-1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | High Speed Gear | Eleven 10® | S4 Solutions | Vanquest |
| Carry | Belts up to 2 in. or MOLLE, with two HSGI Universal Clips | TEK-LOK belt (to 2.25 in.) or Malice Clip MOLLE | Duty, patrol or pistol belt up to 2.25 in. | Built-in MOLLE straps; belt carry |
| Retention | Adjustable shock cord | Friction | Formed one-piece polymer shell, no cover7 | Hook-and-loop closure with vertical adjustment; red pull tab |
| Tourniquets | C-A-T, SOF®TT, SOF®TT Wide, SAM® XT | C-A-T® Gen 7 and older; SOF®TT / SOF®TT-W; TMT™ (a case for each) | C-A-T® Gen 7 | C-A-T® Gen 7, SOF-T, SAM® XT, TMT™ TQ |
| evidence-based standard | No — a pouch; the tourniquet inside is judged separately | No — a case; the tourniquet inside is judged separately | No — a holster; the C-A-T Gen 7 inside is | No — a holder; the tourniquet inside is judged separately |
Figures from each manufacturer's product information.3,4,5,6,7
Build the system
The tourniquets the TACO fits, other carriers, and what goes in the kit beside it.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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