Everyone should have a whistle in their survival kit in order to attract attention when screaming for help is not enough. However, you can accomplish the same thing with an air horn if you don’t have a whistle handy. There are lots of different ways to create an air horn, from simply using a straw to building a loud and powerful warning device out of PVC pipe. Let’s look at a couple of the simpler tricks that may prove to be valuable in the field when you need to get someone’s attention.
Using a Straw
Making an air horn out of a straw is ridiculously easy. All you need is some scissors or a good knife, and a drinking straw. The first step is to flatten one end of the straw by pinching it between your thumb and index finger nails. Once it you have about ½ to an inch of the straw flattened, cut off an angle from the left side going inward until you reach the center of the end of the straw. Repeat for the right side, and the end result will be two pointy tips, like the end of an arrow or spear.
All you need to do is put the pointy end in your mouth, hold the straw with your other hand and blow. You will notice that the noise produced by the straw will depend on it’s length, and longer straws will have a lower pitch than shorter ones. You may want to cut the straw down to about three or four inches to create a loud and high-pitched noise when you blow. Using this method is ideal if you are in a place where there’s not too much background noise and you want to call out for help. It is much louder and more irritating than a scream, but it can easily get drowned out if there is a lot of other noise in the area.
Makeshift Air Horn
You can make a much louder air horn by using a balloon, plastic film canister, scissors or knife and a straw. The first step is to poke out a hole in the bottom of the film canister that’s large enough for the straw to fit into snugly. Create another small hole in the side of the canister, near the middle. It doesn’t need to be as big as the one made for the straw, but make it big enough for you to be able to blow through.
The next step is to trim off the top of the balloon. Make sure that it is big enough to fit over the top end of the canister. It should also be big enough to drape down the sides to ensure that it will be taut when you put the lid of the canister over it and secure it in place. The balloon will vibrate as you blow into the hole, and the noise will escape through the straw, creating a distinctive and irritating siren sound.
If you don’t have a film canister handy, you can also use an empty prescription bottle instead. If you don’t have a balloon, you can also use latex gloves as an alternative. Try these tricks out for yourself and see how easy it is to attract attention even if you don’t have a whistle.
