Product Review: The Birdie
Written by Julia Loten
As a college student, I often find myself walking around at night, whether heading home from a friend’s place or the library, or hanging out downtown. And as a female, these walks can be less than comfortable. When female friends head out after dark, we warn each other to be careful. We ask, “Is your phone charged?”, “You’ll text me when you get there, right?”, and “Are you sure you don’t want a ride?” This prudence has become a daily conversation for many women, which frustrates me as I know men don’t have to deal with the same level of fear when they are out alone -- I’ve never had to ask a male friend if he wanted to be walked home, for example. The fact that my safety isn’t guaranteed if I aim to get home alone after dark infuriates me because I shouldn’t have to live my life in fear of impending harm. So, for us females, the Birdie is an exciting product.
I opted for the aqua-colored device, as pictured above. It was surprisingly small enough to fit perfectly in my hand, and it comes with a carabiner that attaches to the device so I can add the Birdie to my keys or find it easily in my backpack or purse. Needless to say, I was impressed by the device’s design.
Now for the functionality: I wanted to test out the Birdie as soon as I got it, of course. I followed the instructions and pulled out the pin from the body with a small tug--I feel as though the pin would never be loose enough to just fall out, but it’s also not a time-consuming or difficult to pull it out and activate its alarm. And let me tell you, the alarm is LOUD. At 125dB, it echoed from my parents’ kitchen throughout the house and successfully disturbed my entire family.
In fact the alarm was so loud, and the flashes so bright, that I became too overwhelmed to push the top pin back into the Birdie in order to shut off the sound and lights. While my inability to shut off the device quickly was super irritating when I was testing it in a house full of my unsuspecting family, this experience does indicate that the device can successfully disrupt the train of thought of whoever is near it when it’s activated; even when I was expecting the light flashes and loud alarm, these features still scrambled my brain so much that I couldn’t perform the simple task of getting the pin back into its slot. In other words, I think the Birdie will really be effective if I ever have to use it to ward off an attacker and alert bystanders of my situation.
My mother approves of the Birdie, too! While the alarm was going off, she ran in to see what was the matter. When I finally got the device to shut off, I explained what the Birdie is and what it does. She had heard of it before and was glad I got one. Then she started thinking of different places I could attach my Birdie to so that it would be easiest to access. I appreciated her enthusiasm, which mirrored Birdie’s slogan, “Make your mama happy.” I am happy with the Birdie too, so far, and I already feel more confident with the device on my key ring.
Buy the Birdie for yourself or a loved one here!