I work at Walmart. I picked up a shift tonight, and I was stuck in Sporting Goods. The new modular coming down will have Fox 40 Whistles. We got ours in tonight, but the shelves will not be set until at least tomorrow. They are sold as an umpire whistle (still the pea-less, kinda squat design) Ours were black with a black lanyard. When I opened the box I was floored. I will report back with the cost after they are on the shelf.

Very interesting. Up here in crazy canuckistan, last Fall, the local Walmart was clearing out Fox40s at what I assume was cost. A buck for the slim versions and kid's versions. Some were two-packs for a buck. I bought a lifetime's supply, along with a bunch of functional compasses etc., all for a buck each. I donated most of them for local kids in a hands-on science program, who apparently snapped them up instantly. Yeah, baby. Right on.

Authentic or down graded wally wrld version ?!??!

I was in town today and swung through Wally. I didn't find the whistles, but I did stumble onto an American-made Lodge cast iron combo dutch oven set on clearance for the incredible price of $15.

can not say for sure about the original or watered down. I have never owned a Fox 40. They are not on the shelf yet so i do not have a price, yet. i will continue to look.

Any update on this?

Also on a side note... I live on the border of Nebraska/Iowa. Our Wally's have a very watered down camping/hunting dept, go across to Iowa and wow imagine that, they sell guns and have a better selection. 10 miles shouldn't make a demographic difference so I'm wondering if it's by state

They look and feel identical to the ones I've bought elsewhere. Packaging seems the same also.

It'll be interesting to try some of Fox40's new models. Personally I'd like more volume and a somewhat lower tone, but that's personal preference with no science behind it.

There is science behind it. Lower frequency sounds travel farther.

Case in point: Hunt For Red October - "One ping only" scene... the sub's sonar didn't use some wimpy falsetto did it?

Still is not out on the shelves, I talked to the manager and he said they should be out "soon." I will check again tomorrow. I wish they would stop dragging their feet!

Side note: Lower freqs travel farther (in general), but the problem is that they don't have directionality. That is why you can place a subwoofer anywhere. The direction of a higher freq can be determined much, much easier. As always there are exceptions to every statement.

Anyway, it will be interesting to what price they carry the whistle at.

My $.02

They are $5.46! They are on the wall with the sports equipment as a referee's whistle. Cell phone picture below

I was looking in the camping...Nice to know though! I will probably pick one up today or tomorrow if they have them!

Is directionality a significant factor with whistles? Higher or lower pitch in a whistle is still relatively high. IMO a bigger problem is hearing loss for some individuals at certain frequencies.

I recently passed a flight physical and at some frequencies my hearing loss is significant due to thousands of hours of P-3 cabin noise and just hanging around flight lines. I'll bet that a lot of our Mid-East war vets will have similar hearing loss issues albeit for different reasons. That is a more significant issue than the frequency a whistle tweets. $.02

Russ,

I also have military flightline-related hearing loss. Mine is actually at higher freqs than the whistles , 1k/3k in one ear, 2k/4k in the other; net loss(in their mind) zero. Add in tinnitus and the only thing missing are the constant voices. I only hear occasional ones; the tin foil in the hat helps.

Opine: I think the whistle noise would be distinctive enough in the outdoors to raise the attention of someone. If you happen to have loss at the three freqs the Fox40 puts out then you won't be able to help.

Good points all the way around.

Further $.02

MoBOB,
Our hearing loss has a lot in common. I didn't mention the tinnitus, makes the hearing test in a supposedly quiet sound chamber interesting. For me 4K is essentially gone in one ear, but the other has just enough remaining to give me a pass. The interference caused by tinnitus forces a whistle to overcome a higher decibel level because the overall noise level in my head is higher than ambient.

For me, whistles with lower frequency are better and modulated tones are better. Three short tweets are much better than one long tweet.

BTW, I like the Fox 40 Sharx a lot. Easy to blow and I hear it much better than the mini.

Does anyone have data on the specific frequencies the Fox 40 whistles use? I got 3150 Hertz for the Storm but nothing on the Fox 40 line-up.

If WM can get the Sharx in their line-up I'll be a repeat buyer.

The WM near me is selling them for $8.36. $5 and change, ok. Not about $10 tho, sry.

The Sharx I bought off eBay cost less than that.

I don't have the frequencies, but here are the max decibels for some Fox40 models:

Classic = 115
Pearl = 90
Mini = 115
Micro = 120

Supposedly, Fox40 whistles cannot be overblown. This means that the harder you blow, the louder they get.

I bought one today(got 10% off with employee discount.) It comes with a lanyard that has a break-away, and a sliding bead. pics below.

Is that a Fox 40 Classic or Mini? Definitely not a Fox 40 Sharx.