Tourniquet for the life-threatening limb bleed, packing for the wound you can fill — and this wrap for everything that needs firm, adjustable pressure and a free pair of hands.
At a glance
12 things to know about the Slishman Pressure Wrap
Who makes it, how the cinch works, where it fits in the bleeding-control sequence, and what the evidence does and does not show.
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01
Designed by an emergency physician
Dr. Sam Slishman, an emergency physician and medical device inventor, designed the wrap and is the inventor named on U.S. Patent 11,246,602.5,7 Rescue Essentials — Tri-Tech Forensics, Inc., of Leland, North Carolina — manages its manufacture and distribution.5,6
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02
A lasso you can cinch with one hand
The red slip sleeve forms a loop. Drop it over the injured limb, pull the tail and the loop cinches snug — no buckle, no metal, no plastic.3,5 Rescue Essentials calls out easy self-application and minimal fine motor dexterity; you are always the closest first responder to yourself.3,5
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03
Hook tabs keep it from unrolling
Fabric hook strips spaced along the band grip each turn, so the wrap holds its position as the limb moves, and hooks under the white label lock the end down.3,4 The designer says those hooks allow near-infinite adjustment, so both application and removal can be finely tuned.5
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04
Small, light and one size
The band is 1.6 in. × 5.6 ft, folds to about 4 × 1.6 × 1 in., and weighs about one ounce — 1 oz per Rescue Essentials, 1.2 oz per the designer.3,5 Fully stretched it reaches about 10 ft; on a large limb, a second wrap goes on top of the first.5
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05
Tighten to stop the bleeding, then back off
Rescue Essentials describes the wrap as finely adjustable: tighten until the bleeding stops, then loosen for pain control and better perfusion.3 The instructions direct a wide wrap for a long laceration and a narrow, tight wrap between the injury and the heart for more severe bleeding.4
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06
A multi-use adjunct — never first-line for the M in MARCH
For life-threatening bleeding from an adult arm or leg, the TCCC Guidelines call for a evidence-based standard limb tourniquet.1 The Slishman wrap is the tool beside it: pressure over wounds and packing, small limbs, and the wrap jobs a windlass cannot do. The designer himself writes that the wraps rarely see bleeding and are used far more for sprains, fractures and bruises.5 In a bleeding kit, four products do four jobs: tourniquet, packing gauze, pressure dressing and chest seal.
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07
What the FDA listing means
Tri-Tech Forensics lists the Slishman Pressure Wrap with the FDA under product code GAX — nonpneumatic tourniquet, Class I, 510(k)-exempt.6 That is a registration and listing. It is not a clearance, and it involves no performance testing.
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08
Not on the evidence-based list — and neither is any wrap
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list names limb tourniquets and hemostatic dressings; it names no pressure dressing or pressure wrap of any brand.2 Absence from the list does not by itself mean a product was tested and failed.
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09
Built for small limbs
Most limb injuries in children never need a tourniquet: escalate from firm direct pressure to a pressure dressing or wrap, and keep the tourniquet for bleeding that is truly life-threatening. On simulated pediatric limbs, no windlass tourniquet would tighten on a limb 5.75 in. around or smaller — an upper arm under 24 months — while the elastic SWAT-T tightened on every manikin site except the infant.9 For children 2 and under, direct pressure or a pressure wrap is the better tool.
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10
K9s and other animals
Rescue Essentials sizes the wrap for adults, children and pets, and the designer considers kids and K9s the cases where it excels, because small limbs need little pressure to control bleeding.3,5
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11
It holds packing so your hands come free
A deep wound is packed first and held; the wrap then goes over the packing and keeps pressure on it, freeing your hands for another casualty or the phone. Any elastic wrap can do that job — an ACE-type bandage, a READY WRAP™, even a bandana or strip of cloth when nothing else is at hand. This one cinches one-handed and will not unroll.
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12
More than bleeding control
The same wrap protects wounds, stabilizes injured extremities, holds splints in place, and supports sprains, fractures and ice packs.3,4,5 The designer reports it still works wet, in sand and mud, and with the elastic torn halfway through.5
How to apply the Slishman Pressure Wrap
The manufacturer's seven-step instructions, set inside the bleeding-control sequence they belong to.
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1Pick the right tool first. Life-threatening bleeding from an adult arm or leg gets a evidence-based standard limb tourniquet: under threat or when the source cannot be seen, high and tight over clothing; once the wound is exposed, on bare skin 2–3 in. above it, never across a joint.1 A deep or junctional wound is packed first.
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2Pack and hold if the wound is deep. Power ball first, directly on the bleeding vessel, then fill every corner tight. Hold pressure — hemostatic gauze at least 3 minutes or its labeled time, plain gauze at least 10 minutes, and in every case until the bleeding stops. Best practice is to hold until you are relieved.1 Never pack the chest or abdomen.
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3Loop and cinch. Drop the loop over the injured limb and slide it onto the injury — or simply wrap an entrapped limb — then cinch the red sleeve until snug.4 On an open wound, gauze under the wrap keeps it covered and gives the pressure something to press.
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4Choose wide or narrow. Spread the turns wide to cover a long laceration; keep them narrow and tight between the injury and the heart for more severe bleeding.4
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5Wrap to the label and lock it. Wrap the elastic all the way to the white label, then press the hooks onto the elastic.4
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6Write the time. Note the application time on the white label.4
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7Adjust and reassess. Back the tension off for pain once bleeding is controlled, while you keep checking the bleeding, pulses, sensation and movement.4 Below the wrap, check color, warmth, feeling and pulse; on a limb where no tourniquet is intended, loosen a wrap that is cutting off circulation.
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8Leave it for definitive care. Leave the wrap in place until definitive wound care can be done, as soon as possible.4 If a packed wound keeps bleeding, take the packing out and repack it onto the source.
Where it fits
- Pressure over a wound, or over gauze packed into a deep wound, so your hands come free
- Small limbs — children and dogs — where windlass tourniquets may not tighten9
- Long lacerations, where a wide wrap covers the whole wound4
- Holding splints, supporting sprains and fractures, and protecting dressings3,4
- An entrapped limb you can wrap but not reach around cleanly4
- First-line control of life-threatening bleeding from an adult limb — evidence-based standard limb tourniquet first1
- The neck4
- Packing — wounds are packed with gauze before the wrap goes on; never pack the chest or abdomen
- Leaving tight and unchecked on a limb where no tourniquet is intended — check circulation below it
The evidence
What has been tested — the wrap itself, the device class around it, and the small-limb problem it addresses.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slishman, JEMS 20258 | Bench · designer-run | 7 elastic (including the Slishman wrap) vs 7 inelastic tourniquets around a water-filled IV bag; pressure drop as 20, 40 and 60 mL were removed | From 250 cmH2O, elastic designs lost 43, 88 and 118 cmH2O vs 104, 168 and 207 for inelastic; the author owns the Slishman wrap and names his own bias as the main limitation |
| El-Sherif et al., Mil Med 20199 | Manikin · pediatric limbs | Windlass tourniquets, SWAT-T and a trauma dressing on infant, 1-year and 5-year CPR manikins and PVC pipes 4.25–16.5 in. around | No windlass tourniquet tightened on pipes 5.75 in. or smaller; the SWAT-T tightened on all pipes and every manikin site except the infant |
| Kelly et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 202010 | Human · children under anesthesia | C-A-T on 24 limbs of 13 children aged 2–7 | Arterial occlusion in 100% of limbs tested |
| McCarty et al., JAMA Surg 201911 | Manikin · randomized crossover | 102 laypeople trained on the C-A-T applying five tourniquet types | Correct application: C-A-T 92.2%, elastic SWAT-T 11.8% — elastic designs need their own training |
| Charlton et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 202112 | Systematic review | 107 studies, 22,798 patients: bleeding-control methods available to first aid providers | Tourniquets associated with lower mortality than direct manual pressure; direct manual compression reached hemostasis faster than pressure dressings; certainty very low |
| Brauckmann et al., Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 202613 | Simulation · pressure sensors | 116 pressure-dressing applications by emergency providers over calibrated pressure sensors | Maximum pressure ranged 50–412 mmHg; providers' own estimates did not correlate with measured pressure |
Strongest to weakest: human data, then reviews of mixed-quality studies, then manikin, simulation and bench work. The only test that includes the Slishman wrap is a bench study by its designer. The pediatric studies tested tourniquets, not this wrap; they define the small-limb problem it is carried for.
How it compares
Two tools buyers weigh against it: the elastic SWAT-T and the windlass C-A-T it should ride beside.
| Slishman Pressure Wrap | SWAT-T™ | C-A-T® Gen 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built first as | A pressure dressing that also splints and supports3,4 | A tourniquet, pressure wrap and splint wrap in one band14 | A windlass limb tourniquet |
| How it holds | Red slip-sleeve lasso cinch, then fabric hook tabs that stop it unrolling3,4 | Stretch, wrap and tuck — no buckle or windlass14 | Windlass rod locked in a clip |
| Band | 1.6 in. × 5.6 ft elastic; about 1 oz3 | Polyisoprene elastic band14 | Strap tightened by a windlass rod |
| Smallest limbs | Designer: no limb too small5 | Tightened on every pediatric manikin site except the infant9 | Windlass designs would not tighten on 5.75 in. or smaller — the upper arm under 24 months9 |
| Laypeople correct after a C-A-T course (manikin) | — | 11.8%11 | 92.2%11 |
| FDA listing | Product code GAX, Class I, 510(k)-exempt6 | Product code GAX, Class I14 | Product code GAX, Class I14 |
| evidence-based standard | No | No | Yes — NSN 6515-01-521-79762 |
Slishman figures from Rescue Essentials and the designer;3,5 FDA listings from the FDA registration and listing and GUDID records.6,14 The evidence-based list names no pressure wrap of any brand.2
Build the system
The tourniquet it rides beside, the packing it holds in, the other wraps, the pouch and the practice leg.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Available Options:
- Black
- Orange
Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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Order Processing & Tracking
Fulfillment Timeline: In stock merchandise ships within 48-72 hours from Florida HQ.
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30-Day Returns & Medical Safety
Returns: Unused, unopened equipment in original manufacturer packaging is eligible for return within 30 days of delivery.
Bio-Safety Notice: To ensure sterility and patient safety, medical consumables with opened or broken tamper-evident seals cannot be returned.
Return Facility: MED-TAC International Corp., 15757 Pines Blvd, Suite 154, Pembroke Pines, FL 33027.
Export Compliance
North American Rescue (NAR) products and rifle hard armor plates are strictly restricted to US and APO/FPO addresses and cannot be exported internationally.
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