Another lost hiker. This one with a happy ending compliments of an emergency whistle. From the pictures and other stories on the internet, it looked like she fetched up 100ft down a 800 ft cliff, and crawled back up about 50 ft. before she got stuck. None of the pictures showed the cliff face in sunlight, so I'm guessing it was North facing (no sunlight for mirror flash).

I was unable to find any information regarding if she had a proper flashlight, or it simply wasn't powerful enough to find the trail in the fading light. It seems that a lot of people now rely on short range cell phone lights instead of dedicated flashlights/headlamps.

This was another case where relying on cell service was a major mistake. An old fashion dead man's envelope (itinerary left behind), PLB, or satellite messenger would have resulted in a faster rescue. It seams that it should almost be mandatory to have one during solo back country hikes.

Woman survives 100-foot fall while hiking in southern Utah

Extremely fortunate. A vertical drop of that extent would unquestionably been fatal. Thank heaven for the whistle.

You can get a whistle for about a buck in MANY places in my neck of the woods. Light, small, easy to use.... You just never know when you might need help.

A friend of mine slipped down a cliff at a local conservation area, while walking her dog in the winter a couple of years ago. She managed to grab a tree about 80 feet down her tumble towards the river another 100 or so feet below. The park is right in the heart of her city, and it was a routine trip for them, so she thought nothing of it as she left her car, cell phone and keys in her coat pocket. She was lucky enough to be able to use her cell phone with her broken arm, while holding onto the tree with the other.

She called her mom, who called the police, who called the local fire dept, who then called the regional rope rescue team. They knew what trail she took, but couldn't find her in the dark. Thankfully she had a whistle on her keychain, and they were able to locate her that way. $1.25 well spent!

Added to the where to start thread:

Let me update that after another thread (woman saved by whistle), put the light AND the whistle round your neck.
I forgot cos my whistle is on my watch strap, there's another on my keyring with more lights.
Lights and whistles weigh and cost nothing, so scatter them round your person. If you can go with the high quality ones do so, but a christmas cracker one is better than nothing.

qjs

I did a very unscientific test of the 3 pea-less whistles I was looking over for some Christmas gifts several years ago.... I carry a plated brass whistle with pea... and disclaimer::I have significant hearing loss in the 4000 Hz range from 35 years of pistol competition... the Acme 636 at the top was the loudest to my old ears (from the Lifeguard Store)...

There is a handy whistle whic is an integral part of the sternum strap on your pack https://www.rei.com/product/848923/gear-aid-whistle-sternum-strap-buckle-kit-34

$5 well spent

I have one of the sternum strap whistles, and they're strictly the backup of a backup. I keep the 636 as my rangemaster whistle because the biting tone cuts well through background noise.

For pealess whistles, I like the ACR for giving the loudest blast for the lightest blow, and the "lifeboat" whistles for carrying distance. But, my go to rescue whistle is the big storm whistle. Attracting rescue should not involve subtlety.

Someone who had given it more thought then I have.

https://bigpigblog.com/2014/06/13/whistlemania-iv-sound-off/

"I have one of the sternum strap whistles, and they're strictly the backup of a backup."

I would basically agree with your statement, but the sternum strap whistle is always there. I bought a new pack this week, and I noted that the sternum strap whistle was part of the package.

The whistle you have handy is better than the one back in the drawer. I typically carry at least one other (louder) whistle with me when outdoors.

That was a great whistle test series - the link above is to part IV, but the author posted the five completed parts here:

https://bigpigblog.com/tag/safety-whistles/

[Note: I don't see the part VI "in the woods" test yet, but the author cautions that his preliminary testing indicates different results than in the over-water test.]

In the overwater test, only three of the two dozen whistles tested were heard at 1 mile by the non hearing-damaged subjects. Those three were:

• Storm (heard at 1/2 mile by the hearing-damaged subject)
• Windstorm
• lifejacket whistle (heard at 3/4 mile by the hearing-damaged subject)

The site doesn't give a brand for the lifejacket whistle, but comparing the photos with the Net, I'd say the Sea-Dog Life Jacket Whistle is the best match.

If you have a Boy Scout troop to equip, try searching for "Sea Dog Life Jacket Whistle Display - 40 pack" - the unit price drops below $1.35 including shipping.

I carry the TOPS whistle in my EDC neckpouch, and the STORM in my glovebox.

I did have a lifejacket whistle, and liked it, but my wife liked it better than the others, so it is mine no more.

I like the way Whistlemania/BigPigBlog does their testing using the ears of real SAR folks. I too have high-end frequency hearing loss and it makes a big difference in the real world. Throw in a bit of tinnitus and a whistle tone can be effectively masked. Pulsing the tones helps a lot IMO; it seems that a long tone will get drowned out while short blasts in succession will be picked up, regardless of the tonal frequency.

BTW, I settled on the FOX 40 Sharx, easy to blow (I don't understand "too easy") and a frequency that comes through my ambient background noise.

FWIW

My keychain whistles are the flat FOX jobs. Hardly perfect, but I bought a fistful on clearance, they're very durable, and they're not bulky.

(The ACR has been favourably mentioned here before. I haven't had a chance to test one -- I guess I'll need to scrounge one online. They're not in the stores up here.)

The second I go afield, I upgrade to the FOX Sharx. These dudes are LOUD, and not unmanageably large. The somewhat lower frequency travels farther IME. My only gripe is the fact that the blast is directed sideways instead of forward. If I had to toot one of these for a long time, I would be half deaf -- I wouldn't notice the SAR helicopter hovering above except for the wash.

The gold star goes to the Storms, which always go in key kits, but they're so darn big. The sound projects forward a bit more, I find. It's also friendly to lower-powered blasts, which brings back the hounds without making my ears ring more than necessary.

From what I've read in other studies, lower pitched whistles with distinctive trills have the best performance across wooded terrain. But, they tend to get lost in noisy environs.

The urban SAR folks seem to prefer the high pitched referees' whistles. Probably for their ability to cut through background noise.



Imagine playing a brass instrument with a large mouthpiece and a wide bore. Something along the lines of a bass trombone or tuba. You don't need a lot of air pressure, but you need a high volume of air to play it. At fortesisimo (triple forte), you may only have 3 seconds or air in your lungs. That's what "too easy" refers to.

Conversely, "too hard" refers to needing high air pressure, but very little air volume. Something like a pocket trumpet or a clarinet. You're carrying 10-20 seconds of air, but you're going to herniate yourself at full blast.

Okay, I understand your example, but the Sharx is hardly a tuba. It's easy to blow and loud, that seems like not "too easy", rather just a good whistle IMO.

As for the ability to cut through background noise, the repetitive pulsing helps. It doesn't sound natural in either environment. But that's just personal opinion, no testing on my part to back it up.

If you cannot blow pump


I'm surprised the tinder whistle wasn't tested


Also interesting, in
brian greens safety whistle testing, Harbor Freight Lightweight Aluminum Whistle came out on top, its now only $1.29

My everyday carry is the Acme 560. To round out my options on a hike, I might add the Acme 649 or the Tops, which have relatively deep tones. I have the Storm. It is my overall "loudest" whistle, but it never gets carried because it is so big. I own about 20 other whistle models.

Although people want to simplify a whistle down to decibels, the perceived loudness of a whistle is very subjective. Loudness is often vastly different to the person blowing the whistle compared to people listening from a distance. Whatever you hear from zero feet away is irrelevant. The deeper tones will sound soft up close, but will carry farther in the wilderness. Do you care more about being heard from 20 meters away or from 1,000 meters away? Also, many older folks cannot hear the higher pitches.

I did my own testing with whistles of various pitches at distances of 400 meters and more. I was surprised by the results. By the way, I tested ease-of-blow by allowing my 2-year-older to try. She could not make a sound with some whistles, a few of them being popular models. I find myself not carrying those whistles. I cannot get the image out of my head of her stuggling with those whistles, while blowing other whistles easily.

This is a practical, simple, cheap experiment for a student to do for science day or whatever they call it nowadays. The student could get rather technical in the theory if need be.

My 3 year olds can get most conventional size pea and cylinder whistles to sing. But the very small (i.e. zipper pull) and very large (lifejacket and storm) are still beyond them. Their biggest problem seems to be the concept of a hard blow to start the whistle, and not covering the fipple with their lips.

My 2 yo daughter did not have a problem with the Storm after I removed her finger from blocking the exit. She could not make a sound with any of my Fox40 (Classic, Sonik Blast, Sharx). She could make a sound with Acme 636. She could make a loud sound with Acme 560. She can make the Acme 660 go the loudest out of all the whistles I own. That little, boring-looking whistle is a powerhouse.