A whistle is SOLAS and USCG approved because of the amount of decibles it puts out (how loud); not if it floats.
The aluminum whistle may be better than nothing but it is not as loud as an USCG approved whistle so your chances of being heard over wind and weather are lower.

As for your statement about eating Esbit etc.; I was giving you more credit than perhaps I should have.

Having a reliable whistle so you get recued may be one of the most important parts of a PSK. Why would you go cheap? Just cause it is small? Even you were thinking of switching to a Fox40.

Perhaps I was looking at a different whistle; when I Googled "lifeventure whistle" that metal one was the only one I saw.
Now that I look at your photo I see a whistle that resembles ACR's rescue whistle.

What makes you think that whistles were not originally part of a PSK? What is your source?

Oh, you can eat Esbit. It is a hexamine tablet with a slightly different binder than military hexies used, hence the slightly smoother texture. Hexamine is also has, or at least had, certain veterinary medicine applications.

That being said, it was for larger meat animals, and in teeny tiny doses so that the CNS and kidney damage wouldn't have any long term effects that wouldn't make it past the slaughter house. For a human, eating an esbit tablet would be a couple thousand times the dose given to say, veal calves. Among other things, the break down on heximine produces formaldehyde- that's why they say neither you nor your food should come into direct contact with the fumes. I think it would be a race to see which stopped working first- your nervous system, your kidneys or your liver...

Oh, and I don't think he was saying he ate one. I think he was coming up with a theoretical moron.

Also, remember not to light it before you eat it.

Yeah, to protect you and your kit, I let me again suggest a mirror repair kit. They are thin mylar- they aren't great, but better than a CD, aren't flaking off little bits of ground glass, are very thin, and you cut them to pretty much any size and shape. I'm probably being a nudge, but I'd rather not have busted glass or lexan in my kit. :P

Re - billym

I have looked up the specification for both Whistle types. Both types of whistle can be found at www.lifesystems.co.uk website: the Orange Plastic Whistle and the Aluminium Whistle. From the specifications listed the larger plastic orange one will have an approx 25% further range than the aluminium one. i.e 4Km rather than 3Km for example. You are correct about the difference in loudness between the two whistles. I was comparing from experience the difference between the Lifesystems aluminium model and a commonly found whistle in the UK called a Perry Whistle.

When I said that whistles were not traditionally kept in PSKs, this needs further explanation. Civilian PSKs were a devepoment that came originally from the military domain. The small military PSKs were developed by members of the British SAS many years ago using small tobacco tins (e.g. John Wiseman). Other kits such as the NSN 8465-99-131-4142 Aircrew Survival Kit MKVI NATO kit also did not include a whistle. Even some of the personal kits reviewed on the equipped website do not specify a Whistle. I agree that a whistle is an essential item for civilian kits.

As there is a performance difference between the 2 whistles. There is also a difference in their sizes also. I would rather free up some space in a kit so as to include for example a Fenix AAA cree flashlight which would allow me to signal an SOS upto 20 miles at night rather than the extra 1/2 to 3/4 mile using the louder whistle.

Can I also ask what the minimum spec for the SOLAS and USCG for whistle loudness is currently. I have not been able to find out so far.


Maj. T.J. 'King' Kongs aircrew survival kits had no whistles included also.

"Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find:

- One forty-five caliber automatic
- Two boxes of ammunition
- Four days' concentrated emergency rations
- One drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine,
vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
- One miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
- One hundred dollars in rubles
- One hundred dollars in gold
- Nine packs of chewing gum
- One issue of prophylactics
- Three lipsticks
- Three pair of nylon stockings.

Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

It's funny you mention that. Basically that IS my outdoor gear. I use a BDU belt instead of a web pelt though. Occasionally I'll toss on my camelback, if I decide the trip is long enough to carry food or extra clothes. Knife, FAK, canteen. My basics. The PSK is a step towards being more aware of the area. I don't have a lot of Midwest camping experience, so I thought it wise to prepare.

Jim, I'm glad you brought up a magnifying glass. Do you know where I can get a fresnel lens? I've tried all the major stores in town without success. As for shelter, I've been looking, but can only find 55 and 42 gal bags in black. I'll break down and get them, I suppose. Usually though there's at least 1 30gal in my camelback, as well as a space blanket.

Bentirran,

The plastic whistle looks a lot better than the metal one. But if the metal one goes to 100 decibles then it would probably work.
I could not find any standard for whistles from the USCG or SOLAS but the Storm brand whistle says it is between 108-120 decibles and the Storm is supposed to be one of if not the loudest.

I understand what you meant about the military not including a whistle. Most of the original PSKs were E&E kits and had to do more with getting to a friendly country/force than surviving.
A whistle might attract attention when it is unwanted.
I did look into WWII era US Army Air Force survival vests and there may have been a whistle attached to the vest but I am yet to confirm this.


Just a word on the signaling with a flashlight. The SAR folks will not be searching for you at night (I used to do some SAR work in the past and we never worked at night) and someone 20 miles away may be unaware that you are trying to signal.

Try a book store for the frensel lens.

Or the stationary section of a major drug store, like Rite Aid...