Owner Review by Karl Daniel Fuderer

Owner Review: Fox 40 Pearl Emergency Whistle
Report Date: 19 June 06

Personal Biographical Information:
Full Name: Karl Daniel Fuderer aka Buzz Lightyear
Age: 23 years old
Gender: Male
Height: 175 cm (5' 7")
Weight: 85 kg (187 lb)
Email: zkyf@yahoo.com
Region: Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Background:
I started backpacking almost a year ago, after converting from cycle touring. I’ve experienced lightweight and middleweight backpacking, with my carried weight ranging from 25 kg (55 lb) when very remote for 2+ wks, to 14 kg (37 lb) when food is accessible every few days. I sleep in a 2-man tent, unless shelter is provided such as on the Bibbulmun Track where I carry a mosquito head net and ground sheet. I like to hike in as wide a variety of locations and terrains as possible, from desert to forest to mountain, using an extraordinary range of equipment.

Product Specifics:
Manufacturer: Fox 40
Year of manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.fox40whistle.com/
Listed Weight: Not listed
Measured Weight: 6 gm (0.2 oz)
Listed Tone: Low pitch
Colour: Red
MSRP: Not Listed

Product Description (Paraphrased from website): This distinct safety-sounding whistle is ideal for the elderly and children or wherever the need for a different sounding whistle exists. This is no more relevant than in a disaster situation with multiple casualties, where an idea of casualty numbers can be easily ascertained from a distance by counting the number of whistle tones. In the event of disaster on the track, mountain or roadway, having an uncommon sounding whistle factored greatly into my decision to purchase this product.

Testing Environment:
My whistle has travelled over 1500 km (932 mi) of trekking on terrain including sand dunes, swamp, mountain elevations to 1095 m (3592 ft), and very dense subtropical rainforest. Most of its life has been between 100 and 600 m (328 to 1968 ft) above sea level, on a well-defined track in SW Western Australia surrounded by sparse trees and semi-dense low-lying shrub. Temperatures range from –14 C (7 F) on the coldest night to 35 C (95 F) on the hottest day, with averages ranging from 0 C (32 F) at night to 23 C (73 F) in daylight. Over that time, it has stayed in the side pocket of my pack for the entire time, except when in use.

Fox 40 Pearl Whistle

Field Review:
Introduction:
I purchased my whistle from a general supply sports store for the purpose of communicating long distances with friends and/or family while at the park, on long bike rides or just everyday outings. My reputation among my family is known as the explorer, as from a very young age I would disappear on my own to explore somewhere or discover something. These adventures have landed me in countless situations resulting in grief and worry for all involved, including involving the police on rare occasions. Over the years safety has been drilled into me as a result, in order to be able to alert these people of my location at will. The whistle is one of the best methods for achieving this, given that signal mirrors are generally only useful when signalling overhead aircraft, EPIRB beacons are a very expensive, heavy, one time use only solution and CB radio equipment is likewise an expensive, heavy, bulky option requiring regular electrical energy recharging. The humble whistle works effectively enough for the sound to travel massive distances, is extremely small and lightweight, has no moving parts or electrical requirement, and can be use over and over.

Some of the whistles manufactured by Fox 40 have a serrated layer of rubber cushioning covering the mouthpiece, which would help to seal the whistle in my mouth while trying to blow it, without needing to hold it in place with my fingers. Other Fox 40 whistles available include an even smaller design, which doesn’t come with a key ring for attachment to key set, but does come with a breakaway lanyard on selected models.

Treatment Received:
My whistle remains in like new condition despite its age and use. On several occasions it has been used as a musical instrument at dance events, or as a cheering instrument at sports matches or concerts. To date I have only used it once or twice for emergency communication purposes, none of which were due to injury or for the purposes of attracting the attention of emergency services. I am what can be safety categorised as a careful hiker and walker, taking the time to assess hazards and safely navigate them with little incident.

I have been fortunate not to need to use the whistle for any reason regarding my own well being. However I am supremely confident that it will perform as the product description indicates should the need arise for me to do so. This is based on incidents where I used the whistle in several situations to communicate with other injured or lost persons. One of those situations I had gone ahead of a fellow cycle tourer who needed to turn back from exhaustion, but the distance was too great for verbal communication, and densely obstructed eliminating visual signals. The whistle was successfully used to reconnect with the distressed tourer so we could return to base together. On another case the whistle was effectively used to alert people to move so an ambulance could pass through a large crowd at a loud entertainment event.

Maintenance:
Minimal. Given that the product is 100% plastic, has no moving or electrical parts, and is a single solid moulded body, no structural maintenance is possible, let alone needed, and cleaning maintenance consists of submerging the whistle in clean water on occasion.

Summary:
I believe the whistle is an essential emergency tool in my backpacking gear. In the event that I should need to replace it I would definitely go with the less common tone of pitch. I may choose to upgrade to a polycarbonate material instead of plastic however, given the increased molecular strength of polycarbonate and comparable mass to volume ratio.

Pros:
Lightweight
Small
Lower, unique tone
No moving parts
Single material design
Sound carries quite far
Relatively unbreakable

Cons:
Artificial plastic moulding
No rubber cushioning on mouthpiece
Sound doesn’t travel as far as other whistles

Read more reviews of Fox 40 gear
Read more gear reviews by Karl Daniel Fuderer

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