Ah another option to throw in the pot! I’d not heard of Howard whistles before. The low Ds are normally out of my price range but they have some Bstock whistles, (with cosmetic defects or scratches) including a low C, for £72!
Howard low Ds are a bit odd but they have a lovely sound and play nicely. IMO the better option over a Kerry Optima. However a Chieftain V5 is even better but also more expensive. Don’t believe the “you get what you pay for”. So far I haven’t found a low D that was “bad” or out of tune. Besides - the best low D on the market at the moment is the Qwistle and it doesn’t cost 300£. How many low Ds are even in that price range (not counting exotic stuff made from wood)? I can only think of Goldie and MK. And there is many fine low Ds apart from those. Most boils down to personal preference concerning the sound.
Edit: I do plan buying an MK and Goldie sooner or later anyway for the collection but you can play just fine on a cheaper whistle. You could even make one from pvc pipe for 2€ and 20 minutes of your time.
Merry Christmas to all the Whistlers!
Just my experience:
I started on a Kerry Optima some years ago and I have to say: for me there couldn’t have been a better starting point! Good sound, easy to play, does need no air… For the price excellent instrument!
In the meantime I play Goldie medium/soft 0.9, MK Pro, Kerry Pro restricted, Alba, Chieftain V4, Chieftain V5 (btw. an amazing instrument).
Go for the Kerry Optima and don’t look back!
When you are infected, like I am, invest a bit more and go for something better, as your skills are growing!
Best whishes from Vienna,
Stefan.
Hmm Chieftan V5 or Kerry Optima tunable? I have about £100 to spend on one. Tuneable isnt essential but if you can get it for the same money why not?
If you’re up to spending the money, I think I would take the Chieftain, there was a thread about it not long ago that made it sound like a good choice for playability & tone.
(Just my thoughts. 
)
Yea I’m torn. The optima is tuneable, but the fixed chieftain is mentioned a lot as a very good whistle. But with postage it would just nudge it over my budget, unless I could find it on Amazon.
Well, I had been thinking about getting a Low D, for a couple of months now, & seeing that Howard did ‘B’ stock sales, that is where I have just put my own money, as I’m not ready to spend over £100 on just one whistle at the moment, (& may never be). 
Well the Kerry Optima tuneable sells for £85 on their site.
David
I will say that judging whistles from YouTube videos is practically worthless.
I found that out when I made my first Low D Whistle comparison video, and discovered that whistles that sound dramatically different in person sound more or less alike on YouTube.
I’ve only played one Optima, the one that went on tour a few years ago. They could vary from whistle to whistle (most makes do) and the design could have undergone changes over the years (most makes do) but the one I played was not suitable for performance due to the tuning of the octaves. Ditto the Dixon I have. For me the baseline requirement of any instrument is that it plays in tune.
The only inexpensive Low D I’ve been able to play onstage is the Sustato. I’ve owned a few different Susato Low D’s and they’ve been well in tune, had good volume, and good voicing. There’s just something odd about the way they play, unique to Susatos, and I moved on to the higher-end whistles like MK, Goldie, Burke, and Reyburn, all of which are in tune.
I should mention that Susatos have great honking Bottom D’s and if you’re looking for a whistle to do that old-school honking wooden flute style on, the Susato comes closest to being able to do it. Ditto Burkes.
Well the Optima tuneable low D is ordered!
@pancelticpiper
Valid points. I think the “problem” I had was your statement with the 250-300 pounds. Not even an MK pro costs that much. What about Alba? Never tried one but I heard good things about them. And I have zero problems with the tuning on my V4, V5 or Thunderbird. The Qwistle is tunable anyway – the only thing I don’t like about it is the crossfingered C nat (oxxooo) that sounds too breathy in comparison to the rest of the notes. Next on my list is definitely an MK Kelpie – since I play mostly for myself I don’t “need” it to be tunable. So far, when playing with my wife who plays accordion, the low Ds all sounded fine. I had much more problems with the tuning of the cheaper high Ds. The only one where really every note is perfectly in tune is the carbony “quiet” model I have – I guess there is a reason for the price apart from the custom made carbon tubes. So I made the exact opposite observation – with the high Ds a more expensive one sounds better, is easier to play and better in tune most of the time, compared to a cheaper one. There are exceptions of course. My brass Feadóg I just got for xmas is really well in tune, compared to a Generation for instance.
edit: just checked my Thunderbird with a tuner and the tuning between octaves is great, not more than maybe 5 cts difference between 1st and 2nd octave and that can be corrected with the breathing.
The MK low D is £239 on justflutes
My Howard Low D just arrived, it has a lovely tone, & I’m well pleased with it! 
I think you’ll like it–happy whistling!
Thanks. Just waiting now…
Maybe the dollar sign I typed shows up as a pound sign for some people?
Just looked up the prices from various makers sites and converted everything to US Dollars:
MK Pro 252USD
Reyburn 300USD
Goldie 303USD
Burke 340USD
Indeed, my mistake 
. Sorry about that. Still - my whistles from kerrywhistles.com are all nicely tuned and easy to play.
I don’t think so. As Sedi has implied, it seems he mis-read your original post.
I do tend to agree with you, Richard, that, for low whistles, unlike high whistles, one does seem to have to pay a fair bit of money for anything decent. I’m very lucky to have three nice low whistles, one of which is an absolute beauty: a sterling silver Copeland two-piece tuneable, bought from a member here some years ago. But I like my maple head Reyburn nearly as much, and it has different, desirable qualities - the old ‘magic drainpipe’ sound, for instance.
Well those are two very nice Low Whistles!
Your Copeland is worth more than my car, probably!