Printed ones are great - I'd never say not to. But cheap whistles bought in bulk are way less expensive.
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2026
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It may end up being faster too.
Sadly it's not just a question of expensive anymore, it's also a question of whether they can track your purchases (they can) and whether those purchase records will eventually have ICE banging down your door in the middle of the night to have you disappeared for your seditious act of buying justice-obstructing terrorist whistles.
3d printing is not impossible to track either but it's certainly a lot harder to track when you are using basic internet hygiene and money isn't changing hands.
Counterpoint: Flock cameras also exist. Surveillance police state dystopia is already here and it's spreading much faster than I think most people are prepared for, we have to take it seriously.
Counter-counterpoint: The less cash you spend today, the more ammo you will be able to buy tomorrow.
I mean, we live in a time when 3d printed guns exist, I'm pretty sure having a 3d printer and ordering filament is probably about as likely to get you on a list as ordering some whistles
But whistles are readily available and cheap, without looking too hard I can get a dozen from them at target for less than $5 with lanyards. Leave your phone at home, pay cash, take a bus or park in the next shopping center over or wear a mask like you're getting over a cold and a baseball cap and you're about as anonymous as you can get.
Can probably get them even cheaper if you shop around a bit, if you have a party store around you I'll bet you can get a bunch there for cheap as party favors for a children's birthday party goody bag or whatever.
I am very much of the opinion that ICE whistles should sound like those Aztec Death Whistles.
I have printed a few
I want to print some more and make little bags with a whistle and a zine in it and start taping them to utility poles around town