Survival Whistles

Click pictures to enlarge.
I have written about the Stowmaster marine signal horn and the utility of such a device on the water. Certainly, smaller signal whistles are no less important, on land or water, and I count them among the "essentials" that people should carry while trekking in the outdoors. Whistles fit into the vein of communicative gear that could be valuable in case of emergency—a category that also includes phones, two-way radios, signal mirrors, or even flare guns.

Today, while putting together a small collection of gear for a hiking kit, I started thinking about the survival whistles stashed in various packs around our place. So I rounded up the whistles, took some pictures, and recorded .mp3 files of the various pitches. The resulting information is organized below. Clicking the model name under each picture pair will pull up the manufacturer's page, if available.

Click pictures to enlarge.

Fox 40 Mini Safety. The Fox 40 Mini Safety whistle is a smaller version of the Fox 40 Classic Safety whistle. It has three-chamber design capable of producing 109 dB. Minis currently reside in my dry bag full of kayaking essentials and in my wife's day pack.


Acme Tornado Slimline. This whistle, the "No. 636" model, hails from England. Like Fox 40, Acme offers a variety of safety and sport whistles in numerous sizes and colors. A Slimline, one of the compact models, has been on my keychain for several years now.


Fox 40 Micro Safety. The Fox 40 Micro Safety is another three-chamber whistle which can produce 110 dB. Like the Tornado Slimline, the Micro is a flat, compact design. I have Micros in both of my kayaking PFDs as well as in my mountain biking pack.


Ultimate Survival Technologies JetScream. As the name suggests, Ultimate Survival Technologies makes a range of products geared toward survival, and the JetScream, at 122 dB, is the loudest whistle in this group. I carry the JetScream in my day pack.


NATO Marine Survival Whistle. This whistle can be found under different names. Some variations are: NATO Marine Survival Whistle, NATO Distress Whistle, and simply S.O.S. Whistle. The whistle comes in the two styles pictured above—one with a flat top and the other with concave recesses intended to improve grip.


Coghlan's Four Function Whistle. This whistle is the multi-tasker among the group. It features a whistle, a decent button compass, a magnifying glass, and a thermometer. My son carries the Coghlan's 4-in-1 in his day pack—partly because of its multiple functions, but mainly because it's an easier whistle to blow than the others shown here.

Click to enlarge.

The picture above provides some sense of relative size. Click each cross-referenced name below to hear an .mp3 file of that whistle.
(1) Fox 40 Mini Safety, (2) Acme Tornado Slimline, (3) Fox 40 Micro Safety, (4) Ultimate Survival Technologies JetScream, (5) NATO Marine Survival Whistle, (6) Coghlan's Four Function Whistle

All the models listed above share a pealess design, meaning that the whistles do not have an internal ball like a traditional coach's whistle. This feature is desirable since pealess whistles are operational even when wet, and they are much easier to clear if submerged or clogged.

As a signaling device, a whistle provides considerable advantage over shouting in at least a few ways: (1) blowing a whistle is easier and does not expend as much energy, (2) your voice will eventually wear out whereas a whistle will not, and (3) the effective range of a whistle blast is much greater than that of the human voice.

In the United States, signaling for help with a whistle involves a condensed version of the traditional Morse Code S.O.S. The convention is three short whistle blasts followed by a a minute's pause, repeated until a response occurs. This type of tripartite distress call can be emulated with other media—such as three flashes of light, or even three fires or piles of rocks arranged in a triangle.

Updated March 2011:
I have added the following whistles to my apparently growing collection:


Coghlan's Safety Whistle. An inexpensive choice compared to some of the whistles above, this version is, according to a recent press release, "molded in a bright and highly visible orange body, featuring a pealess design that works even when wet – it won’t freeze or clog. The whistle includes a lanyard with a breakaway snap closure." An .mp3 of the whistle can be found here.


ACR Survival Res-Q Whistle. Developed for the U.S. Navy and used by NASA, this whistle offers a flat design that prevents holding water. It meets both United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements. An .mp3 of the whistle can be found here.


REI Tri-Power Safety Whistle. Of the whistles shown here, the REI Tri-Power is the only one with a pea, which sits in its large main chamber. Two smaller, pealess side-chambers allow a user to shape different pitches. Offering a hands-free mouth grip and a non-slip inlay on the rear portion, this whistle is loud, producing blasts up to 120 dB and meeting USCG and SOLAS requirements. A larger whistle, it also meets anti-choking standards for children. An .mp3 of the whistle can be found here.


AeroWave Zipper Pull Whistle. Made by ITW Nexus Global, the AeroWave is a whistle whose "zipper pull design incorporates a whistle and is designed for use in a zipperpull applications using a 3mm cord." An .mp3 of the whistle can be found here.


Light My Fire Striker Whistle. Sold as part of the Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel 2.0, this innovative design combines a firesteel striker with an emergency whistle. An .mp3 of the whistle can be found here.


REI Small Keychain Whistle. This common whistle design comes in a large and small version at REI. Made from aluminum, it offers a compact package that is only 2" long. An .mp3 of the whistle can be found here.


UST JetScream Whistle 2.0. This newer version of the JetScream by Ultimate Survival Technologies features a sleaker exterior but the same basic design of the first model (pictured above). Like its predecessor, this JetScream still offers a shrill 122 dB blast discernible over most man-made and natural sounds.

White Box SOLO Alcohol Stove

Yesterday, a new alcohol stove arrived from Bill Ballowe, designer and maker of the White Box StoveTM. (Click here to visit Bill's website.) He's been making these backpacking stoves from aluminum drink bottles since 2006 and has sold 7000+ stoves worldwide. Bill now sells two models—the Original which holds 3 ounces of fuel, and the SOLO which holds 1.25 ounces of fuel.

According to the White Box website, the SOLO was "designed for the backpacker who goes it alone." The website info adds that the stove "will hold approximately 1.25 ounces of fuel and boil up to 3 cups of cold water. It has a total burn time of about 14 minutes. This stove was designed with a smaller diameter fire ring and is suitable for pots like the MSR Titan Kettle, Snow Peak Trek 900, Vargo .9L Kettle, Firelite 900, Optimus Terra Kettle, GSI Pinnacle, etc." Part of my interest in the SOLO stems from the fact that I do carry the MSR Titan Kettle as my backpacking pot.

The SOLO, coming in at a mere 1 ounce, should be good for short day hikes where I only want to boil enough water for a hot drink and/or a dehydrated meal. However, with a little extra fuel in tow, the stove should also be useful for backpacking trips lasting two-to-three days or more.

Click pictures to enlarge.


White Box stoves are named for the white box in which they ship. Inside each box is a backpacking stove, an instruction sheet (click here to see enlarged instructions), an aluminum wind screen, an aluminum heat shield, and a four-ounce fuel bottle with a pop-up spout.

My SOLO model, pictured above, measures 1 11/16" tall (4.3 cm) and 2 5/16" wide (5.9 cm diameter). Fifteen equally spaced jet holes circle the outside of the cylinder, and the internal portion consists of a funnel-like reservoir made from the inverted bottle neck. The stove features the more recent "Cope RollTM" edge along the top. Older models used a three-rivet design to marry the internal portion to the outer cylinder. However, the newer method, according to the website, creates an incredibly strong rim capable of supporting 400 pounds. To the eye, the SOLO certainly appears minimalist and strong.



Early trials revealed the need to take care and allow the stove to "prime" such that the side jets blossom with flame before placing a pot on the stove. On average, priming time with stove and heat shield took about a minute. However, while I was researching the SOLO, I happened across an internet commentary that recommended a priming pan for the stove, and I did go ahead and order a pan at the same time I ordered the stove. The accessory I bought is the is the "Prime-Lite Primer Pan" made by Trail Designs—available at the Trail Designs website. The pan is simple to use and does make a considerable difference in priming time, easily reducing it by a half-minute or more.

In terms of usage, the SOLO is a study in efficient functionality. My kettle maxes out at roughly three cups of water. With the SOLO filled with fuel, a lid on the kettle, and the wind break in place, the stove can get three cups of water boiling in the neighborhood of seven to eight minutes. By nine to ten minutes, the water is at a rolling boil, and burn time on the stove continues till about the fifteen-minute mark. At the end of the burn, the flames do diminish gradually as the pressure inside the stove begins to dissipate.

Update (July 28, 2010):

Here is a demonstration I taped way back on January 30, soon after receiving the stove and after a snowfall in the area. Intending eventually to create a more polished HD video, I held off on posting the version below. However, given that months have gone by and I still haven't recorded anything, I finally decided just to upload the extant video to YouTube and embed it here as part of my update.

I have owned the White Box SOLO for six months now and have used it repeatedly on trips afield. Most recently, I took it on a solo backpacking trip to test out some other gear, and as always, the SOLO was a reliable and minimalist addition to my kit.



The stove, along with a mini Bic lighter, nests inside my 300 mL double-walled Snowpeak Ti mug, which in turn nests inside my MSR Titan Kettle. The kettle also has room for a Trail Designs priming pan as well as other odds and ends like coffee/creamer packets and a handkerchief. Outside the kettle, in a ziplock, I carry my pot lifter, the wind screen, and my fuel bottle. Sometimes, I upgrade to an eight-ounce fuel bottle, depending on how much cooking I'm going to do.

I have quite a few other backpacking stoves, including a homemade SuperCat alcohol stove, a Trangia alcohol stove, an MSR SimmerLite white-gas stove, an MSR Pocket Rocket canister-fuel stove, and Bill's Original White Box stove. However, it's the White Box SOLO I turn to the most when I set foot outdoors these days.

Toot Your Own Horn

Just got this little gizmo in the mail today. It's a marine signal horn made by StowMaster. It measures a mere 3" tall by 2" in diameter, and so as the name suggests, it will stow easily in any PFD pocket.

If you practice flatwater kayaking or sea kayaking long enough, issues of visibility and audibility become more important, in large part because of the potential perils created by other boaters. In recent memory, one of the most compelling accounts in this regard involved a kayak fisherman down on Georgia's Lake Lanier. Sitting at the entrance to a cove, this fisherman looked on helplessly as a much larger boat inside the cove motored up and then immediately bore down on his craft. Faced with no other alternative, the kayak fisherman abandoned his vessel and swam for safety. In pretty quick order, the powerboat plowed over his kayak, narrowly missing him and damaging his plastic boat beyond repair.

To ward off the inattentive motor-boaters of the world, I have long carried a small compressed air horn when out in my fishing kayak. One downside to such a horn, however, is that it has a limited lifetime, and should the horn somehow leak, it could become useless altogether.

Enter the StowMaster. It relies solely on lung power. Therefore, as long as you remain conscious and able to breathe, a robust, close-to-ear-piercing siren is simply a reach away. I was impressed by the volume and consistent tone of the horn, and it's going to become a mainstay in my kayaking PFDs. I'm tempted to get a StowMaster for each life vest (fishing and sea kayaking), but for the time being, I'm simply going to make a clip that will allow me to swap the horn between the two vests.

⇒ To hear an .mp3 file of the StowMaster horn, click here.

Kayaking Notes

Note 1: Last Thursday, I tried out my new Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx on a roughly seven-mile paddle at the north end of Percy Priest. It did a nice job of tracking the paddle, and the trip log was a good way of seeing just how fast the Essence goes. It cruises very easily around 5 mph. Max speed that day was 6.2 mph, but to get that extra 1 mph, I really had to push it.

Priest May 21 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Note 2: I'm appreciating more and more the Thule rack system on my pickup. It puts the 16.5' Essence over the center of the vehicle and so far (knock wood) has been a stable and secure transportation platform.

The CamelBak Blowfish (sans Hootie)

Review originally submitted at REI

Mountain bikers and hikers alike crave the flexibility of Blowfish--it offers a performance fit, expandable cargo space and a voluminous reservoir.

CamelBak Blowfish Hydration Pack - 100 oz.

Perfect for Mountain Biking and More

5out of 5

Pros: Stable, Highly Adjustable, Large Capacity, Good Water Flow, Easy To Refill, Comfortable

Best Uses: Mountain biking, Day Trips

I went in to my local REI to buy the MULE based on all its good reviews. Once there, however, I debated between the Blowfish, the MULE, and the HAWG since all three were on sale. I decided on the Blowfish because of my intended purpose (mountain biking) and because of its sleeker styling and more minimalist design.

Even though another customer tried to talk me into the MULE (and almost had me convinced), I'm glad I went with the Blowfish. The Blowfish doesn't have all the various outer pockets like the MULE; instead, it keeps gear inside and away from possible snags. As such, the pack sits on the back in a more streamline fashion than the MULE.

I appreciate the expandable main compartment, which has plenty of room for things like a mini-pump (built-in sleeve is great), an extra tube, a basic first-aid kit, and a camera. With the expansion deployed, there's also room for rain gear and a few other items. The two smaller front compartments offer plenty of space for items like bike tools, wallet, keys, cell phone, etc.

The pack is very adjustable. The sliding sternum strap is a big plus. The bottom waist strap (more like a belly strap) was unnecessary, but I like the fact that it can be easily removed and stored in the pack should you ever need it.

The 3L reservoir holds plenty of water for even longer rides. And it offers CamelBak's well-functioning bite valve and quality guarantee.

(legalese)