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The Lowly Whistle: Critical Gear

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Returning to the landing after yet another paddle on my local Patuxent, we encountered a pair of DNR officers in full tactical outfit. They looked like they were SWAT, making me wonder if there was a hostage situation or something. No, they were merely intent on checking our fish catch and sounded unconvinced when we told them we hadn’t done any fishing. They stood on the dock looking in the boat and switched their line of inquiry to three duck decoys, which we explained we had pulled out of a strainer. No fishing, no hunting, nothing to see here, but one officer had an idea, “can we see your whistle?”

I usually carry a whistle in my PFD, but have lately been hiking a lot, and put the whistle in my hiking day pack. I grabbed the whistle out of the pack that morning and threw it in the dry bag with other stuff as I was racing to get out of the house. Facing the officer there at the dock, I had only a vague idea where it was. That’s not useful. A whistle you can’t find when you need it is pretty much useless, except on the one in a thousand chance you run into a DNR officer that wants to see it. As it was, the officer got bored watching me rummage through my large dry bag and told me he’d take my word for it.

I’ve carried that whistle in my PFD for years, but never needed it until that moment at the dock. So, my fellow paddlers, don’t neglect this critical piece of gear! I’m kind of making fun of it, but, like other things we carry and may not often use, when you need it, it can save your life, or at least avoid a citation.
 
I don't know what local laws require whistles, but I've always had one on my PFD zipper. They were de rigueur safety items in my whitewater days. We had standardized whistle signals for running rapids, such as: Stop/Danger, Safe to Proceed, Swimmer In Water, HELP. We also had hand and paddle signals for some of these same things.

For wilderness canoe tripping in the days before PLB's and other electronica, whistles, hand mirrors and flares were the primary signalling devices for danger and rescue.

When seakayaking, one would also have a horn along with flares.

It's all cheap and lightweight insurance.
 
When I was a high adventure boy scout leader, we used to take the boys to a remote place and told them to yell as loud and long as they could. 10 min later they realized that they were essentially mute and saw the reason for always carrying a whistle.
 
Certainly a good idea to have one when paddling whitewater. Also when hiking in the woods. It is all too easy to go off-trail to take a leak or whatnot, get turned around, and not be sure of the way back. A whistle allows the rest of the group to locate you. I always carried a whistle and compass at all times in the Boundary Waters and Quetico.

One of the regular posters on this forum might recall a time a couple of years ago on the Buffalo River when a group of us were approaching the take-out at Erbie and a member of our group got his canoe stuck under a strainer. This paddler was bringing up the rear and the rest of us had paddled on because the strainer did not seem to be in play. A whistle signal from said poster alerted the rest of the group to the problem and we came back, but it required a couple of throw bags and carabiners plus a group effort to get the boat extracted. If it had not been for that whistle, the boat probably would have been abandoned.
 
I carry a whistle (fox-40) in my pfd pocket, always have.

I have actually used the whistle as an "emergency" signalling device a few times. It has always been above, below or in the middle of a significant rapid and every time...........

COMPLETELY USELESS!

The person you are signalling has to be so close to actually hear it.

I have also used the whistle in non-emergency situations not close to moving water, it works ok in that situation.
 
Thanks for the reminder !

My CCS thwart bag has a Whistle built into a buckle ! Thanks Dan Cooke !


Yes I believe a Whistle to be a good idea ! Maybe even better than a Cell Phone ! A Whistle can be made to work even after it gets wet

It was mandatory, back when I was a Sternsman, for America Dragon Boat Assc.

I am surprised that it is a requirement .

Jim
 
Good reminder Chip.

Storm troopers demanding to see your whistle eh? That's a bit disturbing.

Here's my set-up. I have more than one whistle and knife so these stay on the PFD.

20210205_145358.jpg
 
I carry a whistle (fox-40) in my pfd pocket, always have.

I have actually used the whistle as an "emergency" signalling device a few times. It has always been above, below or in the middle of a significant rapid and every time...........

COMPLETELY USELESS!

The person you are signalling has to be so close to actually hear it.

Well, then, we have to find a louder whistle. The research is available. Here's a video of a professional laboratory test performed in 2020 on 39 different whistles, air horns and electronic whistles. Short answer winner is below the video.


The short answer is that the HyperWhistle completely dominated the test with a sound pressure level (SPL) of 143 decibels (db). The second ranked device had a measured SPL of 129 db. HERE is the measurement spreadsheet for all 39 devices with the HyperWhistle on the top row.

Personally, I still favor the stainless steel pea whistles I bought 40 years ago from Charlie Waldbridge.
 
Well, then, we have to find a louder whistle. The research is available. Here's a video of a professional laboratory test performed in 2020 on 39 different whistles, air horns and electronic whistles. Short answer winner is below the video.


The short answer is that the HyperWhistle completely dominated the test with a sound pressure level (SPL) of 143 decibels (db). The second ranked device had a measured SPL of 129 db. HERE is the measurement spreadsheet for all 39 devices with the HyperWhistle on the top row.

Personally, I still favor the stainless steel pea whistles I bought 40 years ago from Charlie Waldbridge.

I just checked out the website. It's advertised even to work underwater!:eek:
 
In Canada a "sound signaling device" is part of your mandatory safety gear along with a bailer, throwbag or rope, and a flashlight at night., a whistle fulfils that need.
I picked up a dozen fox 40's several years ago at less than 1/2 price as a "sports package" and have them as well as a compass attached to every lifejacket, throwbag and pack, with a spare in each first aid kit, making it almost impossible to be without at least one.
 
Certainly a good idea to have one when paddling whitewater. Also when hiking in the woods. It is all too easy to go off-trail to take a leak or whatnot, get turned around, and not be sure of the way back. A whistle allows the rest of the group to locate you. I always carried a whistle and compass at all times in the Boundary Waters and Quetico.

One of the regular posters on this forum might recall a time a couple of years ago on the Buffalo River when a group of us were approaching the take-out at Erbie and a member of our group got his canoe stuck under a strainer. This paddler was bringing up the rear and the rest of us had paddled on because the strainer did not seem to be in play. A whistle signal from said poster alerted the rest of the group to the problem and we came back, but it required a couple of throw bags and carabiners plus a group effort to get the boat extracted. If it had not been for that whistle, the boat probably would have been abandoned.

A whistle is a good example for "if you don't have it on you, you don't have it." Many, many years ago I attached a loud whistle to my pfd as a permanent feature. It is not needed very often, but when it is, there is no effective substitute.

If you recall that day after we recovered our friends canoe, and your team departed the other side of the river to walk back to your boats, I had another opportunity to use the whistle. As he and I just about to relaunch another group of 3-5 canoes coming down river had misfortune at the strainer. At least 2 canoes were upset and much unsecured gear began their own downriver journey. I whistled to alert you of the flotsam headed your way.

I learned something that day as I noticed several of the team on your side of the river had their throw ropes in a waist mounted belt. In responding quickly to beach my canoe and run back upriver I left my throw bag in the canoe. I've since purchased a belted throw rope and got to use it to rescue myself in a strainer induced upset on the Boxley section of the Buffalo. I was separated from my boat and only had the throw rope because it was on me. The downed trees on the Buffalo combined with its dramatic flooding potential make it perhaps the most dangerous river I've paddled.
 
Yes, I recall helping rescue a tandem canoe that day a short while later that two young guys had been paddling. I snowplowed the capsized boat over to the river left shore. I didn't realize they had two heavy packs unsecured sitting in the bottom of the canoe. After they had walked down they were getting ready to try to drag the water-filled canoe up the bank to empty it. I got down in the water and showed them how to empty it by leaving it in the water, rotating it bottom up, and then lifting it out of the water. As I lifted one end the canoe up clear of the water to drain it, I thought "dang, this is one heavy canoe". When we flipped it, it still had the two unsecured packs sitting in it.

A lot of experienced whitewater paddlers and instructors I know carry a waist belt mounted throw bag these days. I have one designed and sold by Aaron Peeler of H2O Rescue Gear: https://h2orescuegear.com/ It is a very nicely made bag with a quick release for the bag on the waist belt and I would recommend it for anyone looking for such a bag. I know ACA whitewater instructors who will fail course participants if they don't bring their paddle and throw bag with them any time they get out of their boat to scout a rapid. And I have certainly neglected to bring my bag when doing so many times. It is absolutely true that in a rescue situation if you don't have the equipment with you or on you, you don't have it.

The waist belt throw bags typically have a either a somewhat shorter length of rope or somewhat smaller diameter rope with a little lower minimum breaking strength (MBS). My H2O Sidewinder bag has a very good length (65') of Sterling Waterline kernmantle rope (nylon core/polypropylene sheath) which is perfectly suited for rescue of a single swimmer. Its 5/16" (8 mm) diameter gives it a pretty light weight for its length and its minimum breaking strength of 1596 lbs (7.1 kN) is certainly strong enough to pull even the heaviest swimmer out of strong current. But for a haul system a thicker rope of at least 3/8" is easier on the hands and offers over twice the MBS for the same materials and construction. And a Spectra core rope has even more strength and considerably less elasticity than a nylon core rope.

But if you are going to have to set up a haul system to release a pinned boat, at least you have time to go back to your boat and pull out your heavier duty throw bag or rope. Unless, of course, your boat is the one that is pinned.
 
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We have a whistle in the pocket of every PFD*, along with a knife on a lash tab. The PFD I use most often/almost always has a few other things; a rescue carabineer, an expired copy of my driver’s license (same license #, address, birth date, photo still looks like a younger me, etc, just expired), plus a spare truck key and a folded $20 bill in a little pouch.

I’ve used the truck key and $20 more often than anything else.

I carry a whistle (fox-40) in my pfd pocket, always have.

I have actually used the whistle as an "emergency" signalling device a few times. It has always been above, below or in the middle of a significant rapid and every time...........

COMPLETELY USELESS!

The person you are signalling has to be so close to actually hear it.

*Good reminder to check for PFD whistles, and knives, etc. Each of us has a couple PFD’s, for different conditions/uses and different seasons.

I went through most of our PFD pockets. My wife and sons each have a rescue knife on a lash tab, carabineer, a small compass (I have two, but none carried in my PFD) and, what I was actually checking for, each PFD has a whistle, mostly Fox 40 Classics, but also a couple stamped “FxINZ” dual tubes, as well as a couple old stainless steel pool lifeguard whistles. Somewhere we have a beach lifeguard’s whistle that is twice that size, and as I remember loud as heck.

P2050024 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

For silly funsies I took one of each out in the backyard. And startled my wife. One long loud “attention” blast, followed by three blast “emergency/in trouble” blasts on each whistle. To be fair and thorough I then submerged each one and tried again for comparison, keeping as much water inside the whistle as possible for the first toot.

To be less single-audio-investigator subjective one son stood a distance away, and my wife took part, unenthusiastically volunteering by walking outside and asking “What the heck?” We repeated those tests a second time for additional analysis.

Completely unscientific comparison results:

The Fox 40 Classic. Like ScouterGriz I picked up a multi-pack of Fox 40’s some years ago, and they are scattered amongst our camping/canoeing/hiking gear. Cheap enough at the time, maybe first generation discontinued get-em-outa-here models, ours are sans the cushioned mouth grip.

https://fox40shopusa.com/collections/pealess-whistles/products/classic-classic-cmg-2-pack

Dry – I have no idea how to accurately describe this, but, most noticeable on the repeated comparative tests, the Fox 40 was not as piercingly, startlingly shrill in tone or frequency as the others.
Wet – The water cleared instantly. As loud as dry from the first toot.

The FxINZ. That is the only marking on it anywhere, and I could find nothing of that name currently available. The FxINZ incorporates a molded lash tab clip; although we keep the whistles in our PFD pockets that might be a valuable instant-access function.

Dry - Louder than expected, all audio observers agreed it was noticeably louder than the Fox 40, with a more piercing tone. We had a similar no-name dual chamber whistle that was ill-designed junk; it was easy to over-blow that whistle and it would lose volume, or, blown fiercely enough, stop whistling altogether. I think I tossed it.
Wet – It actually sounded louder when wet. Or maybe I blew louder.

The lifeguard whistle (with “pea”)
Dry - dang, that vintage thing is loud; I really should have hunted up the larger beach lifeguard model, which I remember as 2x as loud. The more forcefully blown the louder, loud enough to hurt the whistler’s ears. Again, I don’t know how to describe the sound quality; piercingly shrill with a long-distance carrying metallic buzz; being metal instead of plastic may help.
Wet – Useless on the first blow. No noise, just a sprayed plafutatufatuf water gurgle. But a quick toot cleared all the water and it was then as loud and shill as ever.

My simplistic take away is that, for canoe use, especially long, head-submerging, catch-a-breath swims in WW, avoid the pea. For hiking or other dry-land use, a stainless steel whistle with pea is still hard to beat.

Thanks again Chip, that was fun.
 
I’m bumping this one up on purpose. Great info Glenn and Mike! I’ve been shopping for whistles to stick on all the kids’ PFDs and was already looking at the Fox 40 micro, this test reinforces my choice.
 
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A whistle is always in that little dry bag that never leaves my waist. Not sure how useful it is as a solo paddler, but it is always there.

I've since purchased a belted throw rope and got to use it to rescue myself in a strainer induced upset on the Boxley section of the Buffalo. I was separated from my boat and only had the throw rope because it was on me. The downed trees on the Buffalo combined with its dramatic flooding potential make it perhaps the most dangerous river I've paddled.

Will, how do you use the belted rope to rescue yourself from a strainer?
 
As the canoe was swept into the strainer just before contact I stood in the canoe and jumped as high as possible into the tree. Perched above the water I was able to work my way downstream through the strainer and onto shore on river right. The waist mounted throw rope was still attached to me. As it turned out my canoe and 5 companions were on a gravel bar on the other side of the river with a swift current separating us. I used my waist mounted throw bag to toss the line to my companions who collectively held on while I jumped into the fast water and they pulled me across to the gravel bar.
 
Be sure you can always reach your whistle. A colleague of mine tells the story of being on a SAR incident when one of his partners went missing. Turned into a search for the searcher as well as for the original victim. They eventually found the searcher who had climbed up on top of a debris pile of sticks and logs, fallen, broke a leg and could not get up from being face up laying on his backpack like an upside down turtle. He had all of his necessary emergency gear with him but guess where his whistle was? I always now carry my whistle attached to the front of me, either on my PFD or on a backpack front strap.
 
Being easy to reach is an important point. I usually have a whistle in a pfd pocket but hadn't thought too much about accessibility until an incident on a multi day Buffalo river trip. There had been rain overnight and the river was rising as we were packing up. In hindsight launching that morning wasn't a good choice. We hadn't been on the water for very long before the person in front of me started getting swept sideways and fought a losing battle with the river as it swept him towards a tree. He hit the tree and I thought for a moment that his canoe was going to get folded around the tree as it overturned. Fortunately neither he nor the canoe were pinned but with the high water and swift current group help was needed. The rest of our group was ahead with only one person still in sight around a bend. My whistle was in my pfd pocket but I had a splash top over my pfd, making the whistle not readily accessible. I yelled STOP and luckily the one person still in sight heard enough sound to make him turn around and see that there was an overturned canoe and swimmer and call ahead to alert the others.
 
My PFD has a clamshell pocket on the front, and there are a few pockets inside of that including 2 zippered pouches. They have loops inside for tying off/clipping your keys etc., so I’ve tied off the end of the whistle lanyard inside the pouch, stuffed the lanyard into the pocket, and zipped up that inner pocket with the whistle hanging out. So to get to the whistle, I only need to slightly open the clamshell zipper, grab the whistle that’s just right there, and pull.
 
My PFD has a clamshell pocket on the front, and there are a few pockets inside of that including 2 zippered pouches. They have loops inside for tying off/clipping your keys etc., so I’ve tied off the end of the whistle lanyard inside the pouch, stuffed the lanyard into the pocket, and zipped up that inner pocket with the whistle hanging out. So to get to the whistle, I only need to slightly open the clamshell zipper, grab the whistle that’s just right there, and pull.
I do the same, except I tie the lanyard to the zipper pull, that way it also acts as a pull loop and f it were to get hung up on anything the pull acts as a breakaway release. I'd rather replace a pull when I get home than have to try and stitch up a ripped PFD in the field from the lanyard tab being ripped out...
 
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