This is the ETQ (Everyday Carry Tourniquet) by Snake Staff Systems. This product quickly caught my attention. The ETQ is made in the USA, it is 65% smaller than the industry standard and is designed to be carried every day on your person. While I consider the CAT Tourniquet to be the gold standard in this category, I am always happy to see innovative products hit the market.
The size and bulk of a CAT tourniquet makes it difficult to carry on body. I keep one close by in my bag, but I never actually have it on my person. Should I be separated from my bag, I’m SOL. Statistics show you’re more likely to use a tourniquet than a pistol. Yet I hardly know anyone that regularly carries one. Ease of carry has been one of many hurdles, and Snake Staff Systems is providing a solution. This is a product that’s small enough to attach to your keyring. If you can carry a pistol on your hip every day, you no longer have an excuse for not carrying a tourniquet. Buy one, carry one.
Another draw is it’s ability to tighten down to a 1 inch diameter. This makes the ETQ an ideal trauma response product to use with small children. As a parent of a one year old, I’ve been searching for a product to keep on hand for my kid. The ETQ fits the bill. Considering all possibilities of application, I strongly believe elementary and middle schools should begin to stock these and have them on hand.
Now, in spite of how good I feel about this product, I will continue to carry my CAT tourniquet in my pack. The ETQ has a lot to prove. This is now an extra item I have to carry, but as we all know, two is one and one is none. Buy a tourniquet. Buy American.