Train on the blue one, carry the black or orange one, and know both placements before you ever need either.
At a glance
12 things to know about the C-A-T Gen 7
Who makes it, what changed in Gen 7, how to place it, and what the combat, volunteer and manikin data show.
-
01
Who makes it
The C-A-T is manufactured by C-A-T Resources, LLC in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and distributed in the U.S. exclusively by North American Rescue.4 It is an FDA-registered, Class I (510(k)-exempt) nonpneumatic tourniquet, listed with the FDA as the C-A-T® and the Combat Application Tourniquet®.7
-
02
evidence-based standard — by name and NSN
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list names the C-A-T Gen 7 under NSN 6515-01-521-7976, and carries Gen 6 only until it is replaced by Gen 7.2 The C-A-T was one of three tourniquets that stopped the distal pulse in every volunteer, thigh and arm, in U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research testing published in 2005,8 and it stayed on the list through the evidence-based's 2019 review — the first update since 2005.2,20
-
03
Three colors — two for casualties, one for practice
Tactical Black (30-0001, NSN 6515-01-521-7976) and Rescue Orange (30-0023, NSN 6515-01-612-7129) are the same Gen 7 tourniquet.3 Trainer Blue (30-0033) is a fully functioning Gen 7 colored blue to mark it as a training device, with an NSN in the training-aid class (6910-01-560-2972).3,5 NAR's direction: use it over and over in practice, never in a real-world situation.6
-
04
One buckle, one route, a red tip to find it
Gen 7 routes through a Single Routing Buckle, which North American Rescue says speeds application, needs fewer windlass turns and simplifies slack removal. The rounded red elliptical tip feeds through the buckle and gives a visual cue during application.3
-
05
A band inside the band
A free-moving internal band runs inside the strap and applies circumferential pressure as the rod turns. NAR states it spreads pressure across the full width of the strap and reduces the pressure spikes seen at the band edges of other designs.3
-
06
Rod, clip, stabilization plate and TIME strap
The large-diameter rod is ribbed for a slip-free grip; it locks into a windlass clip from either side, over a beveled stabilization plate. The TIME strap then holds rod and band in place for transport and takes the time of application. NAR introduced a welded strap-to-clip bond in 2025.3,4
-
07
Two placements — both in the instructions
When you cannot be sure where the bleeding is coming from, or cannot take the time to look, the instructions put the C-A-T over clothing as high on the arm or leg as possible; as soon as the situation permits, it is repositioned on bare skin 2–3 in. above the injury.4 The TCCC Guidelines teach the same two placements for Care Under Fire and Tactical Field Care.1
-
08
Slack defeats tourniquets
Before you twist, the strap must be tight enough that the tips of three fingers cannot slide under it.4 On a manikin leg, failed applications carried about three times the strap slack of successful ones — 10.5 mm against 3.2 mm.12 Pull the slack out first; the rod finishes the job.
-
09
A combat record
In 232 casualties with 428 tourniquets at a Baghdad combat hospital, the C-A-T was effective 79% of the time and the pneumatic EMT 92%; no limb was lost because of a tourniquet.9 In the same series, survival was 90% when tourniquets went on before shock set in, against 10% after.10
-
10
Trained hands apply it well — on this model
Right after a bleeding-control course built on the C-A-T, 102 laypeople applied it correctly 92.2% of the time on a manikin, against 68.6% for the SOF-T and 11.8% for elastic designs.13 Skill fades: in a separate trial of 465 laypeople, 88% applied a tourniquet correctly after a one-hour course, but only 54.5% could still do it 3 to 9 months later.14 Carry the model you train on, and refresh.
-
11
It has been tested in children
In 60 children aged 6 to 16, the C-A-T Gen 7 stopped the arterial pulse in every arm and in 93% of thighs; the study's three-turn limit was not enough for some older, obese children.15 In 13 children aged 2 to 7 tested under anesthesia, it occluded all 24 limbs.16
-
12
Counterfeits are a documented failure
In bench testing, 50 C-A-T look-alikes applied about one-fifth the initial force of 25 genuine C-A-Ts (14 N against 65 N), and 4% ruptured.17 A C-A-T-like tourniquet's windlass broke during a 2022 evacuation in Ukraine and the casualty bled to death.18 Since 30 September 2024, a U.S. International Trade Commission general exclusion order bars import of windlass tourniquets that infringe the C-A-T patent (U.S. 7,842,067).19
How to apply the C-A-T
The sequence in North American Rescue's instructions and the TCCC Guidelines, with the placement decision made first.
-
1Choose the placement. Under threat, or when you cannot see where the blood is coming from: hasty — high and tight, as close to the body as the limb allows, over clothing. When the source is found and time and safety allow: deliberate — on bare skin, 2–3 in. above the wound. If that point lands on a joint, move above the joint. Never place it across or directly over a joint.1,4
-
2Route and position. Route the band around the limb and pass the red tip through the slit of the buckle — or, one-handed, slide the limb through the pre-formed loop. Nothing solid in a pocket may sit under the band.4
-
3Pull out the slack. Pull the band tight and fasten it back on itself all the way around the limb, but not over the rod clips. If the tips of three fingers slide under it, retighten.4
-
4Twist the rod. Twist until the bleeding stops and the distal pulse is gone. It hurts — that is expected, and it is not a reason to loosen it.1,4
-
5Lock it and check. Secure the rod inside a clip. Check bleeding and distal pulse; if either persists, tighten further or apply a second tourniquet side by side with the first — NAR places it just above.1,4
-
6Secure and record. Route the band between the clips and over the rod, close the TIME strap over both, and write the time of application on the strap and the casualty card.1,4
-
7Reassess a hasty tourniquet. When the scene allows, expose the wound. If a tourniquet is needed, place a second one on bare skin 2–3 in. above the bleeding site, tighten it, then slowly release the first. If the source still cannot be found, the first stays high and tight.1
-
8Leave it on — or convert by protocol. For civilians and most law enforcement, especially in self-aid, leaving it in place for the receiving clinicians is good practice. The TCCC Guidelines direct every effort to convert within 2 hours when the casualty is not in shock, the wound can be watched, and it is not an amputation.1
Where it fits
- Life-threatening bleeding from an arm or a leg1
- Any traumatic amputation of an arm or leg — even one that is barely bleeding1
- Bleeding you cannot locate under threat: high and tight over clothing, then reassess1,4
- Adult limbs up to 35 in. (88.9 cm) around, and most school-age children's limbs4,15
- The groin, armpit or neck — pack those wounds with hemostatic gauze and hold pressure
- Across or directly over a joint — move above it
- Over keys, phones or other solid objects in clothing4
- Bleeding that direct pressure or a pressure dressing controls
- Trainer Blue — never on a live casualty, never staged in a duty kit5,6
The evidence
The studies behind the numbers above, what each one tested, and how strong it is.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kragh et al., J Trauma 2008 | Human · combat clinical | 232 casualties, 428 tourniquets on 309 limbs, combat support hospital, Baghdad, 2006 | Effective: EMT 92%, C-A-T 79%; transient nerve palsy 1.7%; no limb lost because of tourniquet use |
| Kragh et al., Ann Surg 2009 | Human · combat clinical | Survival in the same 232 tourniquet casualties | Survival 90% when tourniquets were applied before shock vs 10% after; mortality 11% with prehospital vs 24% with emergency-department application |
| Walters et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 2005 | Human volunteer | Seven self-applied tourniquets; thigh (n = 18) and upper arm (n = 12), Doppler pulse | C-A-T, EMT and SOFTT stopped the distal pulse in every subject, arm and leg |
| Treager et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2021 | Human volunteer · randomized crossover | C-A-T Gen 7 vs TMT vs SOFTT-W on arm and leg, Doppler pulse, then retested after crawling and dragging | Arm failure 5.6% vs 19.4% vs 58.3%; arm time 37.8 s vs 65.0 s vs 63.1 s; leg failure 27.8% vs 44.4% vs 61.1%; no difference after movement |
| Harcke et al., Pediatrics 2019 | Human volunteer · children | C-A-T on upper arm and thigh of 60 children aged 6–16, Doppler pulse, three-turn limit | Occlusion in 100% of arms and 93% of thighs; turns needed rose with limb size |
| Kelly et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2020 | Human · children under anesthesia | C-A-T on 24 limbs of 13 children aged 2–7 before elective surgery | Arterial occlusion in 100% of limbs |
| McCarty et al., JAMA Surg 2019 | Manikin · randomized crossover | 102 laypeople trained on the C-A-T applying five tourniquet types | Correct application: C-A-T 92.2%, SOF-T 68.6%, improvised 32.4%, SWAT-T 11.8%, RATS 11.8% |
| Katsnelson et al., Mil Med 2020 | Manikin · randomized | C-A-T Gen 7 vs SAM-XT vs SOFTT-W, 60 military medicine cadets, HapMed leg | Bleeding control 67.7% vs 73.3% (not significant) vs 35%; failures carried more slack |
| Lagazzi et al., Prehosp Disaster Med 2023 | Bench · manikin leg | 25 genuine C-A-Ts vs 50 look-alike tourniquets, 1- and 6-hour applications | Initial force 65 N vs 14 N; rupture 0% vs 4% |
Strongest to weakest: human clinical data, then human-volunteer tests, then manikin and bench studies. Volunteer studies measure loss of the distal pulse on uninjured limbs; manikin studies measure pressure and simulated blood loss — the two are not directly comparable.
How it compares
The three evidence-based standard windlass designs buyers most often weigh against each other.
| C-A-T® Gen 7 | SAM® XT | TMT™ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | C-A-T Resources; North American Rescue, U.S. distributor | SAM Medical | Safeguard Medical |
| How it tightens | Windlass rod, locked in an ambidextrous clip | Aluminum windlass rod in C-hooks, after an auto-locking TRUFORCE™ buckle takes up slack | Torsion bar that clicks into a retaining clip |
| Strap | 1.5 in., band within a band | Nylon webbing with holes the buckle prongs lock into | 2 in., no internal band |
| Labeled limb range | Up to 35 in. (88.9 cm) | 5.75–32.5 in. (14.6–82.6 cm) | 5.75–38 in. (14.6–96.5 cm) |
| Weight (manufacturer) | 2.7 oz | 4.4 oz packaged | 3.5 oz packaged |
| Head-to-head data | Arm failure 5.6% in volunteers;11 67.7% bleeding control on a manikin leg12 | 73.3% bleeding control on the same manikin leg — not significantly different from the C-A-T12 | Arm failure 19.4% in the same volunteer study11 |
| evidence-based standard | Yes — C-A-T Gen 7 | Yes — SAM-XT | Yes — TMT |
C-A-T figures from North American Rescue;3,4 SAM XT figures from SAM Medical's XT600 specification sheet;21 TMT figures from Safeguard Medical's TMT overview.22
Build the system
Carriers built for the C-A-T, the other evidence-based standard windlass tourniquets, and what goes in the kit beside it.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Available Options:
- Black
- Rescue Orange
- Trainer Blue
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Width | 2.4 Inches |
| Length | 6.5 Inches |
| Height | 1.5 Inches |
| Weight | 2.7 Oz. |
| Dimensions | 37.5 Inches Open Length |
Domestic & Military Shipping
Free Standard Shipping: Automatically applied at checkout on all orders $200 and above within the 48 contiguous United States (CONUS).
APO/FPO Military Addresses: Unconditionally free standard shipping on every order, with no minimum purchase required.
Order Processing & Tracking
Fulfillment Timeline: In stock merchandise ships within 48-72 hours from Florida HQ.
Automated carrier tracking details are emailed immediately upon shipment dispatch.
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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
