Need A New Hiking Backpack? Make Sure It Has This Potentially Life-Saving Feature
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Hiking is a great adventure, whether you're venturing deep into the woods or scaling a hillside trail. Before you head out, though, be sure you're keeping safe on your next mountain adventure. For example, you'll want to bring along some safety items — and a whistle should be one of them.
This is a vital safety feature that could save your life on a hike. If something goes wrong during your outdoor adventure, a whistle is likely to be heard farther away than your voice. Also, think about what yelling does to your throat. How long do you think you can keep doing it? If you were hiking alone and had to wait for another hiker or group to find you, you could yell your voice right away. With a whistle, you're taking away that strain on your vocal chords and allowing yourself more time to alert people to your need for assistance. This is why they're so important when it comes to staying safe on a solo hike.
One problem with whistles, though, is that they're small, and they can be easy to lose at the bottom of your backpack. So, to ensure you choose the right backpack for your hike, consider finding one with a built-in whistle.
Where to find a backpack with a whistle
Before you head out to buy a new pack, you may want to take a closer look at the one you have. There might be a hidden whistle you didn't know about; in one popular Reddit thread, many users posted about discovering them on packs they'd owned for months. If your backpack has a hidden whistle, you'll most likely find it on the latch of one of the front sternum straps.
Some of the brands that offer packs with hidden whistles include Gregory and Avalanche. If your current backpack doesn't have a safety whistle and you're not in the market for a new pack, you can also purchase an aftermarket chest strap, like this one from HDHYK on Amazon. And while you could invest in a stand-alone whistle, having one attached securely as part of your backpack ensures that, when an emergency does strike, your call for help is right there.