Topic: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers (Read 4846 times)

RedLeader · « **on:** December 17, 2010 »

Quote

DOWN District Community Safety Partnership has made available a limited number of personal alarms for use by people hiking in the Mournes.

The alarms can be obtained free of charge from Newcastle Tourist Information Centre or The Mourne Heritage Trust office which is situated in the Newcastle Centre. The alarms are designed with thick shock absorbing sponge on the barrel ends, a reflective strip and will emit a 120 decibel siren to attract attention if hikers run into difficulty. The pin is held captive with a karabiner clip and an on/off switch eliminates accidental activation.

Councillor Mickey Coogan, Chair of Down District Community Safety Partnership said, “The Mourne Mountains are the jewel in the crown of Down district, and there are many who enjoy walking in these picturesque surroundings all year round. The Community Safety Partnership is committed to improving safety throughout the district, and these personal alarms will assist hikers greatly if they come into difficulty and need to attract the attention of other hikers quickly.”

http://www.downnews.co.uk/brief/personal-alarms-for-mourne-mountain-hikers

LennyJ1 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 17, 2010 »

Great idea.

I bet some of you are thinking what is its weight?

MG1 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 17, 2010 »

Most people would carry a whistle anyway. I always have one attached to my pack.

suspectmonkey · « **Reply #3 on:** December 18, 2010 »

Quote from: LennyJ1 on December 17, 2010

I bet some of you are thinking what is its weight?

That was going to be my question... how many grams?

Wonder how many decibels a whistle is? Seems a bit silly giving out personal alarms, because if it sounds the same as the personal alarms they give out to vulnuerable members of the community then people will probably ignore it and assume its the sound of a car alarm in the distance. You can't mistake the distress signal of a whistle for anything else...

DryBag · « **Reply #4 on:** December 18, 2010 »

I carry a fox micro on my keyring which is 110 dB and accidental activation is avoided by keeping it away from the kids.

Drongo · « **Reply #5 on:** December 18, 2010 »

I'm too going with the ill advised approach on this...

Whistles would have been a much more effective, reliable and cheaper option...

Anyone in the Newry and Mourne area to complain about a waste of your tax money...?

Would have been much better spent on education programme, wardening, litter control, vandalising control etc...

chris · « **Reply #6 on:** December 18, 2010 »

Whistles are good I'll admit. I'd never go into the hills without mine.
However what about a situation where you cant blow a whistle? you could be stuck on the hills for hours, have you ever tried to whistle for more than 5mins!? what if you've fallen unconscious or are seriously injured? pretty morbid thoughts but i'd rather have a buzzer making a noise than waste my energy!

DryBag · « **Reply #7 on:** December 20, 2010 »

I'd say there are occasions when this would work better than a whistle, but not many.
if you're unconscious you won't be able to switch the thing on, release the crab and pull the pin.

I'd also be interested to know if anybody on here has ever needed to use a distress whistle. I know one kayaker who reckons it saved his life, but it's one of those things you should carry but hope you'll never need.

suspectmonkey · « **Reply #8 on:** December 20, 2010 »

I just realised the other day that I actually carry 3 whistles with me in the hills! There is one on the sternum strap of my rucksack, one on the headband of my Petzl headtorch and then there is the bright orange whistle that I originally bought when I started walking.

Reassuring that I can blow one whistle with my mouth and the other two with my nostrils...

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Author Topic: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers (Read 4846 times)

RedLeader

Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

LennyJ1

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

MG1

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

suspectmonkey

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

DryBag

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

Drongo

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

chris

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

DryBag

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

suspectmonkey

Re: Personal Alarms For Mourne Mountain Hikers

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