NOOPEL Emergency Survival Whistle Review

There are probably a few people in this world that have not used a whistle in their life, at least in their childhood years. Many have owned more than one, using it like toys in child’s play, imagining that you are a referee or whatever was the fun activity at the time. 

Emergency whistles, on the other hand are not toys, they are a very important piece of equipment designed to be used in the most serious of situations. A quality whistle in a situation like that can save your life. It goes without saying that because of their intended purpose, emergency whistles need to be tough and withstand some battering in case of a fall or whatever situation one can experience in the wilderness.

Where and why to use emergency whistles?

As their name suggests, emergency whistles are intended to be used in difficult situations where we need to alarm our surroundings that we are in a life or death situation and need immediate assistance or more possibly rescue.

Emergency whistles are very often used in wilderness activities like hiking or mountaineering.  In many situations in the wilderness our voice is just not strong enough so that someone who is far away from us can hear us. The sound of an emergency whistle can travel pretty far, especially in more remote and open spaces, where there isn’t much background noise like from the industry or traffic. Sometimes we are injured and unable to yell, so the emergency whistle comes in handy to alarm someone that we are in distress and need a rescue.

Emergency whistles are also very useful in the situations when we are buried under a pile of material, be it from an avalanche in the mountains or from debris like in the case of a massive earthquake or big floods that carry all kinds of debris with them. In the case of a massive earthquake emergency whistle can be your last hope if you are trapped under a fallen building. The noise that comes from the outside from all the people yelling and all the mechanization trying to remove the debris, our voice has very little chance to be heard. An emergency whistle is much louder and of distinct sound, so it will be much easier to perceive.

They can be very useful even in urban areas in a situation like an assault on the street – you just take it out and whistle like crazy. It will confuse the perpetrator and alarm the surrounding area. Maybe even save you from a tough situation like this.

Although they are usually a part of the essential equipment in wilderness activities like hiking and mountaineering, you should consider having one with you at all times. They are very small and light, so you can stuff them in your purse, backpack or even in a pocket of your jacket (internal preferably) and you will soon forget that you even have it, until it comes into the spotlight in the case of an emergency.

NOOPEL Emergency survival whistle

Okay, so we have elaborated why would you even need an emergency whistle, so we can be a little more specific now in this emergency whistle review and talk about NOOPEL’s emergency survival whistle. First things first – durability. As I’ve mentioned in the intro of this review, the most important thing about every emergency whistle is its durability. It can have a sound that is heard all the way to Mars, but it is useless if it breaks with the first real impact. Thus we want durable and tough for our emergency whistles. NOOPEL’s emergency whistle is made of durable aluminium that is engineered to withstand torture and it delivers on that part without a question. The important thing to say here is that although it is tough and durable, it is still very light (only 12 grams) and you will forget you even have it.

It is water-resistant, so it can be used in every situation, regardless of weather conditions. The cord that comes with it is pretty strong and tough, so it is reliable if you want to attach it to something.

The second very important thing when we talk about whistles is their loudness. NOOPEL is very good in this area too, it has a low and continuous, loud sound that would be tough not to hear. NOOPEL advertises it as 120 dB and I choose to believe them as I did not measure the dB level in this emergency whistle review. It does not take a big effort to make a loud noise, which could prove to be a very important fact in an emergency situation.

The design of the whistle is nice and very well received, so NOOPEL gets points in this area, too. You won’t be disappointed with its design even if you plan to carry it exclusively in urban areas, where design is more important than somewhere in the wilderness.

While I was doing research for this emergency whistle review, I have noticed that many people mention buying this whistle for their dogs. It is very usable for dog training, too. However you need to be very careful when using it for this purpose. Dogs have very sensitive hearing, much more than humans do. This means that although it is very good that this emergency whistle is loud in emergency situations, it could be a problem when used as a training tool for your dog. Use it wisely and don’t blow as hard as you would usually do, so you can create a more gentle noise that will get your dog’s attention, but not potentially damage his hearing.