Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We did a real world distance test with 7 different whistles. "decibel" tests with meters are NOT representative of real world distance tests with wind, birds, hills, etc.. They are misleading. These are the 7 whistles we tested at 1/4 mile distance, over a hill and with general outdoor noise present (birds, wind, etc.), in order of loudness: 1) Storm (or the Fox Sonik Blast - see update below) 2) Fox 40 Classic 3) Acme Tornado 2000 - the "loudest whistle in the world" 4) Acme Tornado 5) Cheap tubular aluminum whistle from GoingGear.com 6) Fox 40 Sharx - on paper, their loudest whistle in decibels 7) Cheap $1.50 whistle\compass\thermometer from DealExtreme Fox 40 Micro can be added to the bottom of this list - see update below I did my test two different ways and then compared the results. First I had my 90 lb. son blow each whistle 3 times while I listened from 1/4 mile away, over a small hill. We could not see each other, but we used walkie talkies to communicate. Then we traded places and repeated the testing. We both wrote down our scores which were based on how loud we perceived each whistle, and we did not show them to each other until all testing was done. Here were the results: We both rated the Storm to be the loudest, easily. We both rated the Fox 40 CLASSIC to be the second loudest. We both rated the Acme Tornado 2000 to be the third loudest. The remaining 4 whistles were not significantly different from one another and none of these 4 were even close to the top 3, with the exception of the Acme Tornado which, to my ears, was rated the fourth loudest. Not surprisingly, both the cheap whistles were barely heard, but VERY surprisingly, the Fox 40 Sharx was no louder. In fact, my son actually rated the cheap aluminum whistle to be just a bit louder than the Sharx. I rated them the same. The biggest surprise was the Fox 40 Sharx, which was among the quietest of the bunch. And here is the irony. Up close, the Sharx was, by far, the most ear-piercing, even more than the Storm. Hence the reason you can't do close up tests for whistles. The pitch of the whistle is just too misleading up close, and they simply do not carry over a distance the way you would think. Conclusion: If you want a real "life saver" from a distance, choose the Storm. If it's too big for your taste, choose the Fox 40 Classic. The Acme 2000 would be a runner-up. Throw the rest away or give them to your little children to play with. At 1/4 mile they are barely heard. Update 4-10-12: I was provoked to purchase, and add the Fox Sonik Blast to this test. Since there was no real need to compare it to all the whistles already tested, we tested it against the top 2 contenders - The Storm & the Fox 40 Classic. We tested using the exact same test. Here is the result: We both rated the Sonik Blast louder than the Fox 40 Classic. I perceived the Storm to be louder (easier to hear at that distance) than the Sonik Blast, while my son perceived the Sonik Blast to be louder. So, perhaps we could call it a tie, as far as which one was heard more easily under our test conditions. Although these two whistles may be about equal in loudness, they have very different tones. The Storm is a lower pitched tone while the Sonic Blast is a higher pitch, which made it more difficult for me to distinguish it from the nearby birds that were chirping. This is likely why the Storm sounded louder to me. Either way, based on this update, I would move the Fox 40 Classic into 3rd place. Given the much smaller size of the Sonik Blast, compared to the Storm, this would be the whistle of choice for those preferring a smaller size. I will still keep the Storm attached to each of our kayaks as the whistle of choice, because I prefer the larger size for this purpose. For a backpack or pocket, however, I will be using the Sonik Blast. Having said all this, I would like to emphasize that none of these whistles are much of a “life-saver”, for the following reason. Although we were able to hear these whistles at our test distance, it was only because we knew they were being blown and we were trying to hear them. Had I not known somebody was blowing these whistles, including the Storm, it is very doubtful I would have ever been able to distinguish the noise from the sounds of nature itself. In other words, whistles are only helpful at fairly close range, unless there is no other noise whatsoever going on, such as wind and birds. Bottom line: A whistle may save a life, but don’t count on it. Update 4-5-14: We just included the Fox 40 Micro in this test, up against the top 3 (Storm, Fox Sonic Blast, & Fox 40 Classic). It was no comparison. The Micro could barely be heard by either of us. I would put it at the bottom of the list, no better than a cheap $2 whistle. Although good quality, I wouldn’t waste my money on this whistle, the way I did.