Spyderco Forums

I am up late tonight listening to "Coast To Coast AM" with George Noory. He has Stan & Holly Deyo as guests ( [url]http://www.standeyo.com)[/url]. The Deyos are experts in survival. Holly was saying here on the show that in a survival situation it is very important to have some kind of a whistle. It just dawned on me that the Assist I with the carbide glassbreaker has a whistle installed in the knife handle.

Until I heard it on this show I had never really thought of a whistle as a survival mechanism. It just goes to show how far ahead that the Great Spyder Factory is with virtually all of its products.

I keep an Assist I with glassbreaker & whistle on my sunvisor in my truck. I will now try to get a couple more of them. And I do encourage all of you to get one or 2 of them for a survival/preparedness kit that you might be putting together. Albeit the Assist I would be great for a myriad of other reasons as well. I don't even recall a thread on this blade now that I think of it :confused: JD :spyder: O

I just don't find that whistle to be loud enough to be of use...it has to be piercing loud to be heard for any useful distance.

There are super light weight "survival whistles" that are much better...naturally I don't have any examples to offer...I just know they exist. :rolleyes:

Yours just must not be working correctly or there might be something clogging it up because I just tested mine and it works great. But the whistle is just one of the survival aspects of this knife. The Carbide glassbreaker truly has some practical uses as well as the knife itself.

Actually as nice as the Assist I is I can't see how they sold many Assist II models without the glassbreaker. :spyder:

There are different types of survival, of course.
sometimes a whistle can help you if you have to depend on other people.

sometimes it could get you killed.

but most of the time it serves absolutely no purpose at all.

JD Spydo wrote:I am up late tonight listening to "Coast To Coast AM" with George Noory. He has Stan & Holly Deyo as guests ( [url]http://www.standeyo.com)[/url]. The Deyos are experts in survival. Holly was saying here on the show that in a survival situation it is very important to have some kind of a whistle. It just dawned on me that the Assist I with the carbide glassbreaker has a whistle installed in the knife handle.

Until I heard it on this show I had never really thought of a whistle as a survival mechanism. It just goes to show how far ahead that the Great Spyder Factory is with virtually all of its products.

I keep an Assist I with glassbreaker & whistle on my sunvisor in my truck. I will now try to get a couple more of them. And I do encourage all of you to get one or 2 of them for a survival/preparedness kit that you might be putting together. Albeit the Assist I would be great for a myriad of other reasons as well. I don't even recall a thread on this blade now that I think of it :confused: JD :spyder: O

I think the Assist I (or II) would be great as 'rescue' knives, especially for getting yourself (or other people) out of a vehicle.

For survival/prepardness, I think you're far better of with a 4" fixed blade (Fallkniven F1) and a pocket survival kit (Doug Ritter PSK from Adventure Medical Kits).

While a whistle might not help you survive alone in the wilderness. However, it can help get you found (by others) and get out of the wilderness sooner if you get lost and become the object of a search. In forested areas, where the line-of-sight is limited, the sound of a whistle will carry much further than someone can see. You can also blow a whistle loudly for a much longer time than you can yell loudly. Thus, a whistle can be a great survival tool because it can get you rescued sooner.

JD Spydo wrote:Yours just must not be working correctly or there might be something clogging it up because I just tested mine and it works great. But the whistle is just one of the survival aspects of this knife. The Carbide glassbreaker truly has some practical uses as well as the knife itself.

Actually as nice as the Assist I is I can't see how they sold many Assist II models without the glassbreaker. :spyder:

Nope it was new in the box when I tested it...just not that impressive...a cheap Walmart whistle is way louder.

I think for a survival whistle I'd rather buy one of the true survival whistles with multiple bands. They don't cost much, are light, take up little space, and are much louder and more distinct. If in a pinch, the Assist is better than nothing. :)

Slvgx wrote:I'd rather buy one of the true survival whistles

Like the Canadian designed and manufactured Fox 40 "pealess" whistle :D

The Assist whistles may be good for a searcher to use notifying others that the subject has been located.

I personally have a Fox 40 in my SAR-pack - can't beat 'em. Cheap, durable and a sharp, shrill sound out of them. Plug your ears if you blow really hard!

Does anyone have a photo of the glass breaker on the Assist I engaged? Is the glass breaker part of the blade or is it part of the handle?

It's part of the handle. It comes out when the blade is squeezed into the handle. No pic..sorry

speyederlover wrote:Does anyone have a photo of the glass breaker on the Assist I engaged? Is the glass breaker part of the blade or is it part of the handle?

I will take a pic tomorrow, its night time here. The carbide glass breaker is in the handle. When you squeeze the handleit comes out 3/4 millimeters (out the bottom of the handle. Mine rattles.

I must say its a big, heavy knife, very heavy duty type knife. Personally i dont really like it, i bought it more for the collection.

Ted wrote:It's part of the handle. It comes out when the blade is squeezed into the handle. No pic..sorry

Hey Ted does the Assist I and the Assist II ( without glassbreaker) both have the same model number? I know the Assist I with the breaker is C-79.

Both are C79. IIRC the Assist II has a '2' added to the SKU

C79PSBK
C79PSBK2

One of the basic essentials we tell our scouts is to have a whistle. My son has one of the fox40 ones. I have one with my ritter kit. I thought that the whistle on the assist was loud enough. I didn't want to carry around that much weight for a whistle.
My brother turned me onto the fox whistles. They are used by NBA officials.
My .03US
Chris

I personally carry an Assist I in my car (glovebox). With the carbide tip and built in whistle, it is the perfect candidate for a survival knife. I also have a Blue 93mm Rescue in my center console just in cause I can not get to the glovebox.. Better to be prepared that have nothing when the time comes.