Customer Reviews

Fox 40 Classic Official Referee Whistles

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just did a real world distance test tonight 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 I tested at 1/4 mile distance, over a hill and with general outdoor noise present (birds, wind, etc.), in order of loudness:
1) Storm
2) Fox 40 Classic
3) Acme Tornado 2000 - the "loudest whistle in the world"
4) Acme Tornado
5) Cheap round tubular aluminum whistle.
6) Fox 40 Sharx - on paper, their loudest whistle in decibels
7) Cheap $1.50 whistle\compass\thermometer from DealExtreme

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.

I hope this was helpful to somebody.

I am soccer referee and have a large collection of whistles. This whistle is appropriate for full-sided games (11 v 11) on a full sized field. For small-sided games on smaller fields, this whistle is a bit too loud. I've had players cover thier ears when I blow it hard for a foul. For small-sided games, I use either a traditional pea whistle (Acme Whistle Plastic) or a Fox 40 Pearl Safety. The Fox 40 is also a bit hard to "tweet", as it requires more air to produce sound than a pea whistle.

I bought the fox 40 classic and the All Weather Storm Safety Whistle. Both are really loud! The fox has a higher pitch. the storm is throatier. if you are not hindered in your breathing both are good choices. If you have breathing issues or are injured such that you can't blow hard, the All Weather Storm Safety Whistle, is so much easier to blow that there is no choice. The Storm is my whistle of choice in my emergency kit.

I now coach but I refereed HS Wrestling for 21 years. This is only whistle I will ever use. The Best ever. Good for any situation where you need a whistle. Keep one on your boat, simply the best.

I am a teacher and I love the performanvce of this whistle. I use it only when we are out in the field and there is people everywhere. The sound is powerfull and it can be heard at a considerable distance, probably 150 yards. It is durable and compact.
I have also taken it to camping, you know, for emergencies. I definitely recommend it. If you are into refereeing this is definitely the best choice.

I am a PE teacher and bought this to replace my old, cheap pea whistle...and am very happy I did! Even though it's plastic, it seems tough. I have dropped it, thrown it on the concrete, and all other kinds of damage, and it has held up without so much as a scratch! The tone is good and loud and the students definetely hear it from anywhere. My only complaint (and it's minor) is that if you do not use full force air, it does not work well....so it's meant to be loud, all the time! But...it does that job well.

As a PE teacher, I needed a loud whistle. Someone told me about fox 40 and I had to check it out. I laugh every time I blow it and the kids hold their ears in agony. Its great!

I've used a few other whistles and none can compare to the Fox 40. It's super loud and reliable, even in the rain which we get plenty of out here in the NW.

ordered for work. Does the job quite well. Get attention from students quickly. I had one of these before for about 6 years so I know it will last me a good amount of time.

I went hiking upstate in bear country, so I bought this to have just in case of an emergency but I also found a great use for it by blowing it every once in a while just to let any unexpected animals know I was around the corner and it worked great "very loud" didn't take much breath to get it going!