A couple years ago, someone was selling the Fox 40 as a fundraiser. I believe it was some mountain rescue group, or similar to that. I bought a couple, and would like to get more. I'd rather the money go to something useful than just to some retail outlet. Anyone remember that?

Sorry, but I don't recall that and couldn't find anything related via Google (the search engine - not Blast's eye protection gear).

I know a lot of folks really like the Fox 40, but after last summer when I unsuccessfully tried to get my wife's attention using my Fox 40 while walking across the farm field near our house I'm now devoted to the Storm whistle which is sooo much louder.

OK ... I'll admit that I still EDC a shaved down Fox 40. It pocket friendly and is certainly better than no whistle, but not nearly as loud as the Storm. You know the age old answer to the question "What is the best survival whistle?" ... the one you have with you when you need it.

Not intendng to hijack this thread, but any opinons out there on the Fox 40 vs the the whistle Doug packs in the PSP (can't recall its name)? I've been thinking that the smaller whistle might be a better pocket fit.

Fox40 is the best whistle I've ever used and it's all I use now. A yellow Fox40 is standard issue for vest zipper pulls in my SAR group.

I recall seeing that thread, believe it was about 2-3 years ago and performed several different searches with the forum search engine, as well as review some older threads.

It might have been Polak187 or Minime, but when I quickly scanned a bunch of their postings I still came up empty handed.

IIRC the poster was doing this as part of his civic or church group annual auction or some similar event.

Hope this helps jog someone else's memory cells.

Regards, 32F

From a New Zealand SAR team newsletter:
"Last year the members of the Hamilton YSAR Group conducted a series of whistle tests during their weekend camps.
They found that the Storm Whistle was one of the best performers with an average range in the NZ bush of 400 metres.
This is 60% further than the standard SAR whistle that many people carry. Its range was 250 metres. Although the [Storm] whistle is slightly larger than the SAR whistle it is lighter and its bright fluoro orange colour makes it easier to find if dropped on the ground."

Opinions & test details:
http://www.ysar.org.nz/technology/Other.htm

Whistles are very good to have. You can exhaust yourself shouting for help and still have a fraction of the effective range and duration of using even a mediocre whistle. Once in your teeth a whistle doesn't need hands to use and takes just a little more energy than breathing.

They are also cheap, light and fairly compa

Whistles are very good to have. You can exhaust yourself shouting for help and still have a fraction of the effective range and duration of using even a mediocre whistle. Once in your teeth a whistle doesn't need hands to use and takes just a little more energy than breathing.

They are also cheap, light and fairly compact.

This later specification is what has guided my selection of whistles. I like the Fox-40. It is loud with tone that stands out well and is easily locatable in most situations. The one problem I have with the Fox-40 is that it is a bit bulky. It doesn't disappear in a pocket or hung around the neck.

The bulkiness is annoying, ideal survival equipment disappears until needed, and causes me to not want to carry it or leave it behind. For whistles it is something of a minor health issue.

Try this: Put a Fox-40 in your pocket or around your neck hung on a string and fall on it. How does it feel? Did it leave a bruise? How would it feel if you were slammed and bruised like this every hour or two? Possibly for days? How do you think it will effect your ability to sleep, function or love life? How would this effect your ability to survive?

There is an old saying: 'It isn't the mountains that wear you down. It is the pebble in your boot'. Minor annoyances wear on patience and drain the endurance.

This small consideration, bulk as annoyance and source of injury, led me away form bulky whistles. An alternative I found I like:

http://www.bestglide.com/nato_distress_whistle.html

It is not quite as loud, in my estimation, but being flat (easier to land on and keep smiling), dirt cheap and in a bright color has advantages.

If you want to buy a whistle while contributing to a good cause. Buy Dougs on aeromedix.
The Sock

Its always better to have a whistle that not. The point shouldn't be what whistle between the two or three best and easily available should we carry, but that we should all carry plastic whistles with out a ball inside all the time. I think this list would include the Fox40 that I carry both in the Military (Camo) and at work (Bright Yellow). I whistle takes 10% of the effort a shouting and well over 10x the range.

Also check out the Fox 40 Micro which is a flattened version. Ray Mears whistle of choice apparently.

Hi Art,

Not taking any issue with your statement about wearing a whistle on a neck lanyard, just making an observation that I've been wearing a Fox 40 glow in the dark whistle plus an ARC AAA lug style light for years and have not had any issues.

The only time I've really thought about it when I wasn't needing to use it is when I was laying down or other reclining position and it moved a bit.

Having it quickly at hand has been well worth the (IMO) very minor discomforts (hardly any at all really). Believing in redundancy, I also have a STORM whistle in dayglo orange that lives in another kit that is close by most of the time, as well as other items that back up the back up items...

Here is a reference to an older thread that discussed whistles and a few other things from several years ago.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=2500&Number=18520#Post18520

Thread titled Why a whistle is important from several years ago. There were several other related discussion threads.

I agree with the old saying about the pebble in your boot.

EDITED: This link seems to take you to the end of this rather lengthy thread, be sure to scroll up to the top and start reading from the beginning for more info.

Regards,
Comanche7

Comanche7 - "Not taking any issue with your statement about wearing a whistle on a neck lanyard, just making an observation that I've been wearing a Fox 40 glow in the dark whistle plus an ARC AAA lug style light for years and have not had any issues."

What can I say? I'm sensitive.

Worse injury I ever got spelunking was when I slipped and fell about 20'. The line safely stopped me as expected. An otherwise unremarkable mishap and all part of the game. The injury came from some poorly placed gear I had in a pocket getting caught between the wall and my body when I bounced off the wall. Cracked two ribs and caused a deep and painful bruise the size of a softball. It only hurt when I breath, laugh, moved or tried to sleep. An injury that took the joy out of an otherwise perfect trip, seriously hurt for days even bound up tight and took weeks to fully heal.

New rule: Gear will be selected with an eye toward lightness, compactness and not inflicting injury if I land on it. Smaller, lighter, flatter, softer with rounded corners are what I look for.

The Fox-40 isn't really bad in its ability to raise a bruise. The Storm is a lot worse. But some people don't seem to mind. A lot depends on what sorts of situations your expecting to get into.

A "Fox 40 Micro" you say. Haven't heard of that one. Sounds like it could be the ticket. Found it at:

http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/store/fox-40-micro-rescue-survival-whistle.html

Looks promising. A small(2"x 1"x 3/8") well-rounded, ovoid shape. They claim 120 dB so it is evidently pretty loud. Comes in orange, which I like, you can't use it if you can't find it, but also black so it might appeal to the Rambo types. Cool deal.

I will have to try one. Thanks for the suggestion.

Ah, the Fox 40 Micro is the whistle that Doug packs in his PSP kits.

http://www.countycomm.com sells them in orange or black - with a lanyard - for $5 each.

And their made in Canada eh?! (no, I'm not from Canada, but I'd rather support our good neighbor than countries in the far east)

I still would rather carry the Storm - it is deafeningly loud.

By the way, for those that carry the regular Fox 40, have you seen that you can shave down the belly of the whistle's body without affecting its characteristics? The rounded body is just there for looks & grip. It has no real function. That reduces the thickness to about 18 mm. Doug describes that at http://www.equipped.org/pp/pic691.htm .



By the way, that's some really nice photography Doug!! I know Terril Hoffman does Doug's knife photography for him - maybe he did this one too. Terril is gifted!

I have the Fox 40 and the Storm, while the Storm is louder it is also a lot bigger so I don't find it useful for EDC. I keep the Storm in my car and a Fox 40 on my keyring.

I think the Storm has a small pea as well so there might be a danger of it freezing up in cold weather.

How do these compare with the Fox whistles? They are metal (won't melt) and smaller.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KI1...;pf_rd_i=507846

Hi Gulliamo,

I bought a 10 pack of those whistles a couple of years ago at a flea market for $10.00.

I think they are called "buffalo whistles" and they are very loud, not quite as loud as a Fox 40 but close with a lower pitch I think.

The nice thing is that you can cut then down to about half the size and performance is not effected, this is what I did to fit them in my Altoid Kits.

Metal whistles are but good and bad. They are tough, but stick to your lips in the cold, I wrapped yellow electrical tape over the mouthpiece to prevent this, I also tied on a Spiderwire lanyard (I had cut off the rear ring section).

The whistles I have are not all aluminum, the small divider glued inside the whistle is plastic (about 1 cm in from the end to the cut-out), so it wlll burn if you subject it to a lot of heat.

I modded some of these whistles up, if I can figure out my son's digital camera I will post them.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Hey Gulliano,

I zoomed in on the aluminum whistles you posted. They look to be a slightly cut-down version of the ones I have and the light-coloured, half-circle shaped thing in the mouthpiece appears to be the plastic part I was discribing.

Mike

Yes, they come in 1.5 inch and 2.5 inch.

Ah, I see the plastic insert now. Damn! I was really hoping for a fire proff option. Oh well, it looks more resiliant than a plastic Fox (I could use it as a pry bar or wedge or nail or something) and smaller. (Always trying to reduce space!)

OTOH, I can see that an Aluminum whistle would be a freeze risk if not stored close to the body...

The yellow whistle in the AMK version of Doug's PSK is the Howler. http://www.upsideover.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=AMK%2DWhistle

I EDC a standard Fox 40 around my neck (along with a squeeze light, a small compass, and my dog tags (never hurts to have first responders know your blood type). I haven't had a lot of problems with comfort or having the whistle bruise me. I make sure I don't get it under my seat belt when I'm in the car.

Hey All,

I am dragging up an old whistle thread from a couple of months ago to comment again on cylindrical aluminum "Buffalo" whistles.

I have used the 2.5 inch long version of these whistles for years and often cut them down to fit in small kits. They are loud (almost as loud as a Fox 40), and blow with little effort.

I was in a sporting goods store in Sudbury yesterday and saw a smaller, thinned version of this whistle. The design looked the same and since whistles are not the type of thing you "test blow" in a store I bought 4 red coloured ones without trying them.

This whistle is much smaller (1.3/4" long, 1/3" dia) unfortunately it is not very loud, but the worst problem is that it is easy to "overblow" it and no sound is produced at all.

Buyer Beware,

Mike

When out in the woods, I always keep an improvised whistle with me - and Dad and I used them to signal all the time (I said did because Dad has gone on his last hunting trip 2 season ago - his dementia and back are now bad enough he can't even leave bed)

Anyway - the improvised whistle? An empty .308 shell casing (well Dad's was a .300 Savage casing) - blow across the top of the empty shell, and it's not a great whistle, but it works

Just a thought for an emergency

I guess I don't get it. I understand the concept of improvisation, it's fundamental to survival skills. You can't possibly carry everything with you. It's also fun to do and they tend to be good skills to learn, even if you normally already carry better gear. I also understand improvising a solution to an expensive piece of gear you can't possibly afford. However, I don't understand this sort of thing. A very good and effective whistle that requires no skill whatsoever to use, you can be near death and still make lots of noise, can be had for a very few bucks, pennies in some cases, will take up not much more space in your pocket, perhaps less, than that cartridge and is available easily from innumerable vendors. Why improvise something not nearly as effective when you can afford to carry the best and your life might have to depend upon it?

The whistle Doug packs in the PSP is made by Fox40, it's the Micro Fox40. I carry one in blue color on my keychain. I was at the doctor the other day and he asked me if it's a dog whistle, the kind that produce a sound that's out of the frequency range of humans. I told him the truth, that it's for emergencies and that I don't have a strong voice... He said don't worry if you're ever in an emergency you'll find the strenght to shout...

Frankie

A metal whistle is out of the question in cold weather, your lips would stick to it and even "burn"...

FWIW, here where boating is a warm-weather activity for most, Wal-Mart clears out the orange Fox40 Micros (with an IMO lousy lanyard) for $2 at the end of the season. Maybe in your area too...check next fall!

For carry on a keychain, I found I had to reinforce the ring hole with epoxy glue to make them last. The Micros aren't as loud as the regular Fox40s, but way nicer to EDC. They also make a kiddie's version of the Micro that's easier to blow.

Hi Frankie,

I thought of this frozen lips problem with the aluminum whistles that I modded so I wrapped the mouthpiece with a couple of layers of yellow electrical tape.

Mike

[quote=Doug_Ritter...snip... Why improvise something not nearly as effective when you can afford to carry the best and your life might have to depend upon it? [/quote]

Because we used to hunt maybe 300 yards from the place we parked the car - we are not what you would call "deep woods hunters" - the deer from the "back yard" taste just as good as the deep woods deer (maybe better, as they were eating corn and apples all summer/fall)

At night, you can see the lights from the house

Abot the only survival stuff we would carry would be a lighter, a flask of water, and some toilet paper. Other than that, your hunting knife, and your rope, and a few spare rounds of ammo