Combat Application Tourniquets, commonly known as CATs, are life-saving devices used by military personnel, first responders, and even civilians in emergencies to control severe bleeding. When properly applied, a genuine CAT can mean the difference between life and death.
Every couple of months we see a spike in fake CATs or Combat Application Tourniquets online and this is really concerning. If you are confused at why this is important, than read our article here about why everyone should have a tourniquet. While you can find all sorts of fake tourniquets online, it seems that the CAT is the one that is mostly made counterfeit, aka fake. It is easily the most popular style of tourniquet and is widely used by military forces as well as various police, firefighting, and paramedic services. If you are shopping for a tourniquet, remember, it is a device that is supposed to save your life! Do not let your life depend on a fake or counterfeit item. I mean, is it really worth saving $20-30?
How can I tell if a CAT is fake?
Now you’re best bet if you are looking to purchase a tourniquet, especially a CAT (which we highly recommended by the way), please use an authorized dealer. With that said, should you decide to go online be careful and make sure to check out the seller to ensure they are legit. You can save yourself a lot of headaches by avoiding any eBay or Amazon sellers from China, but if you must there are somethings you can further do to ensure the items are legit. I could explain this in text but I feel like these images below will illustrate this better!
Ben