Posted: 6/3/2012 2:51:18 PM EDT
| I'm looking to buy electronic ear protection. I've seen it priced from $35-ish to well over $200. Anybody have a set the really like? I want a good set, but don't want to spend $200+ if a sub $100 set is just as good. Thanks for any thoughts. |
| Ive had to Peltor 6's. Not a bad entry level set of ears. I've recently upgraded to the Sordin Supreme Pro X with gel ear cups (in excess of $200) and I love them. I wore them during week long (90 hrs) active shooter course and through several firearms classes (8-45 hours) and I can say I will never go back. Unless you plan on beating the hell out of them I'd just go with the Peltor 6's or something comparable. Just my .02 worth..... |
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I have and use a pair of Peltor 6's myself, they are a decent set. They are NOT just as good as the $200+ sets, I won't even try to make an argument there, but they do get the job done at a price point of around $60 IIRC. They have been a step up from the $35 sets you speak of; I used to use a set of the cheaper Caldwell ones, which performed decently electronically, but the cups began shifting around pretty quickly when I sweat in them, I don't know if they used a water soluble adhesive or what. That, and I've run into that ticking/interference sound with them, too. The only other set of electronic earpro I have ever experienced was a pair of Peltor Comtac ACH/Comtac III's with the upgraded gel cups; those seemed very nice, the sound quality was excellent and the comfort level was beyond anything else I'd ever tried.
I chose the Peltor 6's because they seemed like a decent compromise between meeting a certain level of durability and quality while staying within a tight budget. They should last me long enough til I can afford something better. |
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I have these and can't say anything bad about them that wouldn't apply to all over the ear designs:
http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01526-Electronic-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O They are perfectly suited for me. Very compact, have an aux input, and function very well. |
| I also have the MSA Supreme Pro-X and they were worth every penny. If you want some but dont want to spend over $200, there is a lot of military surplus available in brand new condition of the MSA sordins with the boom microphone and one communications cable on the left side. You can flip the cable up inside the headrest, or you can snip it off. You can then move the boom mic up and out of the way. They have the same noise canceling headset as the Pro-X but they are being sold for $130-140 new. That is a steal. |
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We used to have the Peltor ComTac and it was ok on the flat range. I would double up (in ear hearing protection underneath the headset) when we shot inside or in a shoot house because the sound was still really loud. They started getting uncomfortable after a few hours of wear and we ended up going with a different kind of commo altogether which requires in ear protection.
I bought a pair of in ear plugs that are molded to the shape of your ear canal and i really do like them. ETA: We were using an older model of the ComTac, and tried the newest model for evaluation before getting new commo gear. The newer ComTacs were a lot more comfortable than the model we were using at the time. |
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I have these and can't say anything bad about them that wouldn't apply to all over the ear designs: http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01526-Electronic-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O They are perfectly suited for me. Very compact, have an aux input, and function very well. I've got these too, and they're OK I think. They cut out the largest crack, but the resounding boom of a gunshot is still decently loud, but below damaging decibels. |
| I've got a set of Sordin Pro-Xs and they are awesome. It definitely stings to spend more than $200 on earmuffs, but they've been awesome. The selling point for me was that they are fully sealed and waterproof, unlike others that can be corroded by sweat(I sweat a whole lot). |
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That's funny, I've never felt that any shots were still "decently loud" but that's probably because I always double up with in-ear pros when I'm in confined spaces. Outside, they are comfortable for me alone without the in-ears.
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I've got these too, and they're OK I think. They cut out the largest crack, but the resounding boom of a gunshot is still decently loud, but below damaging decibels. |
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Ironically, the guys at the Sordin booth could only get one of their headsets to work when I went by on the last day of the shot show. If I buy of set of nice ear protection, I will likely get the pro-ears. They offer better NRR options and seem like a a very personable company that would have great customer service. If you look at videos of guys at range days from brownells, grafs, midway, etc they are generally wearing pro ears.
If you wear muffs daily you have different priorities than someone who wears them 12-15 times a year. Electronics fail and generally its random, not caused by a certain amount of use. I look for a company that will stand behind them and be easy to deal with if a battery goes bad etc. I am not the type to come home and pull the battery out. |
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I have these and can't say anything bad about them that wouldn't apply to all over the ear designs: http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01526-Electronic-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O They are perfectly suited for me. Very compact, have an aux input, and function very well. I've got these too, and they're OK I think. They cut out the largest crack, but the resounding boom of a gunshot is still decently loud, but below damaging decibels. I have these as well. Shooting the AR or pistol and they are still a little loud, shotguns they are perfect (all outside). I have them typically set pretty low anyways. Shooting inside, I usually go with in ears underneath. Overall for the price, I think they are good, but I would recommend something a little nicer if you are going to have to wear them regularly. I only wear mine once in a while and its mostly for outdoor shooting. My biggest gripe against them, and any earmuff is that when I get a good check weld on the rifle or shotgun, they will on very rare occasion get pushed off a little. |
| When I shoot inside I always wear in ear and outer ear protection. My weekly USPSA matches are inside so I was thinking of getting a nice pair of electronic outer ears so I'm not constantly taking them on and off. Outside, unless I'm shooting something really loud, I just wear the outer ears. Thanks for the thoughts. |
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That's funny, I've never felt that any shots were still "decently loud" but that's probably because I always double up with in-ear pros when I'm in confined spaces. Outside, they are comfortable for me alone without the in-ears. Quoted:
I've got these too, and they're OK I think. They cut out the largest crack, but the resounding boom of a gunshot is still decently loud, but below damaging decibels. I think I am going to try them with plugs next time. Maybe turn the electric ones up, I'll have to see. |
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I also have the MSA Supreme Pro-X and they were worth every penny. If you want some but dont want to spend over $200, there is a lot of military surplus available in brand new condition of the MSA sordins with the boom microphone and one communications cable on the left side. You can flip the cable up inside the headrest, or you can snip it off. You can then move the boom mic up and out of the way. They have the same noise canceling headset as the Pro-X but they are being sold for $130-140 new. That is a steal. I have the MSA as well and they are great. I feel bionic when wearing them as I can hear better than without them. 
That said, where can I find the $130 ones with the boom mic? I might be able to use that with our track radios and it would be great to be able to hear what is going on around me, unlike the normal headphone ear muffs that kill all sound. |
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I've used just about every kind I can think of.....the only ones that I like and use are the MSA Sordin Supreme X with gel cups. Outstanding. You turning me and a bunch of others onto them was great. I am still running on the original batteries over a year later and they really amplify everything but the shots. 
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This is where I got my MSA Sordins. Great price, and I've never had a problem ordering from here. http://www.botachtactical.com/msasosuproxe.html ...Oh boy...  Backstory? if you google botach reputation it comes up smelling bad. also they seem to have them for 199 and elsewhere its 299 so who knows. |
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This is where I got my MSA Sordins. Great price, and I've never had a problem ordering from here. http://www.botachtactical.com/msasosuproxe.html ...Oh boy... I've placed probably a dozen orders through botach, including the Sordins, and never had a problem. Very fast delivery on everything. Have you had problems with them personally? |
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It's not just the reputation for customer service...it's the fact that they jacked people up and ripped people off, including one of our very own.
Botach might be serving people better now, but only after a long history of complaints...and people kept coming back to save money. It doesn't change the principle of the matter. That's why some of us choose not to give them any money. |
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I've heard quite a bit of bad stuff about Botach, but I've ordered quite a bit of stuff in the past and never had a problem myself. Haven't ordered anything from them in a few years, though.
The gel cups are more comfortable if ya sweat a lot, plus they don't press your eye pro into the sides of your head. |
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It's not just the reputation for customer service...it's the fact that they jacked people up and ripped people off, including one of our very own. Botach might be serving people better now, but only after a long history of complaints...and people kept coming back to save money. It doesn't change the principle of the matter. That's why some of us choose not to give them any money. |
| Used them a couple times at Bigwoods last week and they work well. It's a bit creepy at first being able to hear everything "normally" until somebody fires. You still hear the shot but it's clipped down and muffled differently than what I'm used to with normal earmuffs or plugs. They even worked well when some dbag in the lane beside me decided he needed to fire off his 300 win mag a few times. |