Replacing life jacket whistles

[SimonFa]

When I did the personal survival techniques course the instructor said from personal experience the standard whistles in life jackets were carp and that he's replaced his with something a lot louder.

Anyone else got any practical experience want to disagree and does anyone have any recommendations for whistles?

 

[sarabande]

when I ran DofE expeditions at school, we used Fox whistles.

http://www.fox40whistles.co.uk/Cata...istles/Fox-40-Sonik-Blast-with-CMG-FOX-SONCMG

The one with the soft plastic bit at the lip end is useful as it prevents e.g. canoeists biting too hard on the plastic, while they are striving to right a kayak.

 

[mm42]

Fox 40 are used almost exclusively in the search and rescue world.

 

[st599]

Another Fox40 user - just not in an enclosed environment, unless you like tinnitus.

 

[caiman]

Interesting.I was under the long held impression that 'pea less' whistles were fitted to Life Jackets because the 'pea' in a conventional whistle could absorb water/or get jambed with bits of rubbish etc, and become ineffective/less effective.Any truth in this?
Are the Fox whistles 'pea' less,or do they have a non absorbent 'pea'?
Either way,for £10 I think I'll ask Santa for one.
Cheers

 

[Gin]

When I did the personal survival techniques course the instructor said from personal experience the standard whistles in life jackets were carp and that he's replaced his with something a lot louder.

Anyone else got any practical experience want to disagree and does anyone have any recommendations for whistles?

Standard items- useless, couldn't be heard any distance away. I too use Fox's which are very loud as has been said

 

[st599]

Interesting.I was under the long held impression that 'pea less' whistles were fitted to Life Jackets because the 'pea' in a conventional whistle could absorb water/or get jambed with bits of rubbish etc, and become ineffective/less effective.Any truth in this?
Are the Fox whistles 'pea' less,or do they have a non absorbent 'pea'?
Either way,for £10 I think I'll ask Santa for one.
Cheers

No pea in a fox. Just some reverb chambers.

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Two different frequencies, when the peaks coincide the volume goes up and you get the 'pea in a whistle effect' .

 

[caiman]

st599-Thanks.
Just had a chat with a very helpfull chap at A&H.He confirmed my belief about 'pea' whistles on LJ's.
Allthough not absolutly sure without checking,he was under the strong impression that the Fox 40's are also SOLAS approved-Bonus.
Ordered two and he combined the postage,which was nice of him.
I will post my verdict v standard LJ whistle when they arrive and I've tested them.
SimonFA-thanks for starting the thread.

Cheers.

 

[st599]

st599-Thanks.
Just had a chat with a very helpfull chap at A&H.He confirmed my belief about 'pea' whistles on LJ's.
Allthough not absolutly sure without checking,he was under the strong impression that the Fox 40's are also SOLAS approved-Bonus.
Ordered two and he combined the postage,which was nice of him.
I will post my verdict v standard LJ whistle when they arrive and I've tested them.
SimonFA-thanks for starting the thread.

Cheers.

Test them outside or with flat musicians earplugs. 120 dB(A) can have an effect.

 

[caiman]

My new whistles arrived and I've tested them 'back to back' against a standard LJ whistle.
According to the guy I was testing the whistles with,the Fox is about "3-4 times as loud".Over a distance of approx 300M the standard whistle was "barely audible" while the Fox was "loud and clear,no mistaking it".Weather conditions about 3-4 with surf breaking on the beach in the background.
No relation to 'Fox',but I will be ordering some more and swapping out the Std whistles on my other safety gear.
Thanks again to the OP and also the people suggesting the Fox.
Cheers

 

[Salty John]

The loudest I've ever encountered is the Storm Safety Whistle. Claims to be the loudest available and you can blow them underwater. Divers use them, apparently.

 

[nauticalnomad]

Ive rigged up Klaxxons on mine

 

[caiman]

Salty John - Thanks for the info but I'm not sure if the 'Storm' will fit the whistle stowage in my LJ's.
I've got to say that I'm shocked at the differnce in the performance between the Fox and the std LJ whistles.
I consider LJ whistles a bit like insurence/pyrotechnics/or even a LJ itself ie I hope I never need to use it,but if one is fitted,I may as well have a decent one that works well,rather than a poor performence item fitted just to comply with the 'Regs' .In the scheme of things,the price is negligable for something that could potentially be a lifesaver.
Cheers

 

[caiman]

nauticalnomad-Is that the same as a Klaxton or are you refering to the band
?:encouragement:

 

[Ehecatl]

When I did the personal survival techniques course the instructor said from personal experience the standard whistles in life jackets were carp and that he's replaced his with something a lot louder.

Anyone else got any practical experience want to disagree and does anyone have any recommendations for whistles?

Has anybody tried using a whistle when they are cold in the water? As an ex winter windsurefr (south coast) i can tell you that it is nearly impossible to get one to work!