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.