The difference in sound quality is similar to that between a vuvuzela and a trumpet blown by Wynton Marsalis. I've given away every Balilla I've ever bought.
I have a Fox 40 classic and a sonik blast FG. I love the sound of the classic; shrill, authoritative, and you can vary the volume. The Sonik blast is easier to blow, but I hate its sound. Instead of an easily recognizable whistle, It comes off more as a high pitched, annoying noise. It also sound a bit too cheerful, which is not what you want when blowing for a foul.
Balilla 2 is my whistle of preference. Fox 40 hurts ears, both players and mine. I carry it (Balilla 2) with my keys...I could be pretty harmful with simply a whistle. Finger lanyard.
My favorite is the Sonik, but I only use it on windy days, large fields or as my voice: if I'm REALLY pissed I'll lay on the Sonik when I whistle for a foul. Does the trick. Otherwise it's a Fox40 classic (which I don't like), a 40mini (which I can stand okay) or a Pearl (which sounds like a wounded duck, I use it during tournaments since most carry a classic).
I use Sonik Blast for most of my games . I don't use any type of lanyard ( or FG ) only the whistle . I have Fox-40 classic , mini,, dolphin and micro ( which I like to have on me when I'm an AR just in case ) . Ditto to whoever coined "Referee jewelry " . We haven't even discussed cards, data wallets, and coins yet
I ran across the Valkeen recently: Michael Hester (NZ) and Tomohiro Inoue (JPN) both used it at Dallas Cup this year. It has top and bottom ports of different frequencies. Hester and Inoue both remarked on how much they like the rubber "hold". I've never seen anything like it, but it helps you to palm the whistle, set it aside to write, but access it quickly. I have a few on order and will report. Ordering them has proven to be an odyssey of Devastator proportions, requiring domestic parcel forwarding from Japan. I seem to be attracted to difficult whistles. Not certain of the final cost, either, what with export/import duties, forwarding service, etc. More when I have them in hand.
The Japanese Referee who was at the 2010 World Cup ( can't remember his name at the moment ) gave one of these to every Referee at the tournament . Each whistle he gave had a metal plate with the Referee's name engraved on it . Marcos Rodriguez ( MX ) told me he loved it and wanted to know where he could get another . Where did you order yours ? I want to get one eventually ( soon ! ) .
That sounds right. Michael told me that it had been a gift. I suppose it was Yuichi Nishimura (JPN) who was handing out the whistles. I'll post information on how to get them when I know a process and a vendor that is bullet proof. So far it's been quite frustrating and it seems to be perpetually out of stock from vendors who will not ship internationally.
Benito Armando Archundia had his with him when he came to our Memorial Day Tournament. He said it was around $60 US and only available in Japan. The "hold" was very cool, it was like a cross between a finger grip and a lanyard.
It was Nishimura ( JPN ), correct . Great . I wonder if personalized engraving would be possible ; I thought that was a pretty neat detail when he showed me it .As far as the sound : It is fairly similar to the Dolphin . I'm pretty sure Rodriguez (MX) ( and most likely a lot of the WC Referee's ) are using the whistle for matches .
I'm in Okinawa, Japan and I think I saw a few of these at the local sports store for around 5200 yen which is close to $60. Have to check it out.
While watching the USA/Panama game, I thought the CR's whistle looked odd - thought at first it was a Sonik Blast then decided it looked more like the Dolfin. Turns out it was the Valkeen with the grip thingy: You can see it flopping around from about 0:16-0:20 in this video: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_cEsH1hY_s&feature=player_embedded#at=19[/ame]
Engraving is possible. There is a side panel that appears to accept an adhesive backed strip of metal, much like the top shiny bit. You can special order it, but I haven't attempted that bit yet. It's something that you could add yourself with the correct measurements.
Maybe an e-mail to someone we can talk to in English? Their international site does not have this whistle. Thanks!
You have to have a parcel forwarding service due to the export concerns. Probably the easiest is finding someone in Japan to help you out.
Well things are looking brighter regarding the Valkeen. Unlike the first two attempts, this time it looks like my order was accepted and has shipped from the vendor to my forwarding service. Since my AMEX hasn't been hit yet, I remain cautious, and I still don't know what I will be charged for forwarding, tax and duties. I won't post details on my vendor until I am 100% certain of success, but for you impatient types, here's the gist: Register with a domestic parcel forwarding service such as Tenso in order to aquire a domestic shipping address: https://www.tenso.com/en/login/ Register with Rakuten, which from what I can tell, is a large online shopping mall with a centralized billing system for small vendors: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ (Wait for the dialogue box to pop up offering USA/English interface) Then search Rakuten for the whistle. There are a few vendors who offer it, but stock levels are inaccurate and some vendors have proven unreliable with respect to using domestic forwarding and very few are willing to ship internationally. Apparently, this is a frustrating process for small vendors over there and most don't bother. You then have to wade through some difficult to follow instructions about how to order with your domestic address, and you have to be willing to store credit card information on the Rakuten server. If you are lucky, you then get an incomprehensible set of emails in Kanji, which Google Translate can butcher into something vaguely understandable. If this sounds like way too much trouble (it is), once I am convinced it works, I would be willing to gather up funds and place a single large order to save folks $ on the extra charges. But you'll have to wait a bit, as I won't do that until I'm convinced I have a workable pipeline setup. The price per whistle is at roughly $52 at the moment, before add-ons.
The whistles arrived while I was at FWRC in Boise. The total order to delivery time was about ten days. The vendor I used (you can find them via Rakuten) was: イレブンスポーツプランニング(Peladiso) The rest of the information on how to make this happen can be found in my prior post. I don't have a final figure, because, amazingly, I still don't have a charge on my AMEX. My best guess at the moment is $65 per whistle when all costs are factored. I'll update when I know. Will use it tonight and post a review. The claimed specifications: 125dB @ 10cm 4.15kHz & 3.67kHz dual frequencies over 4 octaves. Peladiso will sell the whistle for ¥4,200 with three holds or ¥3,360 without holds. You get three different sized holds to pick from.
An update on the Valkeen: I have purchased roughly a dozen using the process I described in earlier posts in this thread. I've passed them on at cost ($65) to referees who wanted them. Everyone seems to agree that it's a super loud whistle, easy to modulate, and most really enjoy the hold. I've used the extra holds to put on other whistles when I'm not using the Valkeen. I've also been in touch with Molten USA to discuss availability outside Asia. Today, I learned that it should be available through USA distributors and via their USA website starting sometime in January, 2012. Hopefully, the pricing won't be as outrageous as it is in Japan.