Coghlan's Six Function Whistle

Ok super 👌good sound

Some of the functions on this whistle are more novelties than essentials.The thermometer is interesting to have, but I don;t know what use it really serves if you're already outside, and if the whistle is carried near your body, the temperature reading is probably not accurately reading air temp. anyway.The flip out magnifying glass and signal mirror are nice ideas, but both are very small. I don't know if the magnifying glass would focus enough light to be useful as a fire starter, and the mirror may not reflect enough light to be noticeable from a long way off.The compass is practical, but, like other tiny compasses, you might need to tap it a bit before it settles and points accurately.The whistle seems to work well. Coghlan's doesn't provide any information on how many decibels loud it is, but it seems loud to me.I would not use the LED light as a primary source of light while out hiking or camping, but if needed, it is bright enough to light the ground in front of you as you walk or to find things in a pack or get situated in a tent at night. The light stays on only while you hold the button down, so it won't accidentally get bumped on an waste battery power for hours or days. But also means it's hard to have two hands free while using the light. I can't comment on battery life, because I don't use to the light a lot and I'm still in the first battery.In terms of overall quality, it's not terrible, and it's not great. If you accidentally drop it, it will probably be fine. If you drop it and then step on it.... I'm not sure what might happen.Regarding its use, I think kids would love it and would probably find more use for the magnifying glass and thermometer than adults would. For outdoorsy people, it can be a handy backup gadget. I have nice flashlights, a GPS, and compasses, but this provides backups (or backups to backups) in a tiny little package that weighs next to nothing. A lot of people carry a whistleanyway, so it makes sense to carry one of these.

I have waited a year to review this. Bought it last year after a backpacking trip, and I was looking forward to its multiple functions at a very low pack-weight for this year's backpacking endeavor. After 30 miles of Portland mountain terrain and 3 days of rain, I have come to really dislike its shortcomings. But given its price point, I just cant give it 3 stars.Cons:1) Must hold the button down to activate the light. I do not understand why they did not create a switch for the light to stay on. In the dark, setting up a tent, I actually need both my hand. Very frustrating.2) And to make it worse, depressing the flashlight button is actually pretty hard. After a 10 hour day of backpacking. My hand would cramp up almost instantly from having to press the button down.3) Flashlight and cord are not intuitive. I had it clipped to my belt and in my pocket, but when you pull it out to turn on the flashlight, the flashlight points the wrong direction (flashlight dangles pointing up). Its awkward having to flip the thing around to get the flashlight to point at what you want.4) The plastic clip is very hard to depress. Which may seem like a good thing, after all, you don't want to lose it. But in an emergency, like coming across a bear, the last thing you want is fiddling with the clip to let go, just so you can reach the whistle.5) The signal mirror and magnifying glass are pretty bad.Pros:1) Lightweight2) At a rudimentary level, all of the products functions do work.3) Price. Its very cheap. Some multi function backpacking / camping products can be very expensive.Conclusion. I really love what they were attempting to do with this product. And at some level, they succeeded, particularly given its price point. But overall this product leaves me wanting something different.

Whenever you get a new multifunction tool, you should expect that it might not be the best at all of those functions. You get it for: a) the convenience of a many-in-one; b) the space/cost savings; and/or c) the idea that MOST of the functions will be good, and useful. This whistle fits that bill and does a great job for at least 5 of the 6 functions.The whistle is loud and clear; the magnifier, compass, thermometer and signal mirror are all very good, useful tools. The compass doesn't stick, the thermometer is accurate, and the magnifying glass and signal mirror do what they're supposed to.The LED is the one weak point. I have not yet had the durability issues others have noted. The LED has worked ok for me so far (although the light has already fluttered right out of the packaging). However, I can see this being an area of concern. The LED feels like the cheapest part of this whistle, and the fact that it consumes batteries that cost more than a new whistle means I won't replace them when they die. Honestly, I think Coughlan's just tried to put one function too many in this device. If they didn't add the LED, I would've given 5 stars and been perfectly happy with a FIVE-in-1 product instead of six-in-1. But since they put it on there and it's not awesome, 4 stars.I didn't get this whistle for the LED, though. I already have a strong light source in my survival kit. I needed the other functions in a lightweight, compact form factor, and this comes through in spades. Highly recommended, just not for a light.

It is OK.

Loud, multifunction whistle. All the gizmos embedded in this whistle increase this product's weight, making it less comfortable to wear around the neck. The button for the LED light pops off too easily. This is a decent product if you want to be able to grab just one hiking necessity.