(Electronic) Leight, Peltor, or something else?

[reloader901]

Sorry... I'm sure this has been answered, but I have a match in a few days and would like to order something today (5/12/14)

I have multiple regular plugs and muffs and they have worked fine for 20 years, but I would like something a bit better so I can hear.

Leight and Peltor have electronic muffs in the $50 range. Are they okay or a waste of money? (Have never tried electronic hearing protection)

My top budget is $100, but $50 is much better.

Thanks

[Avezorak]

In that price range, Howard Leight Impacts. That said, I would buy a set of passive muffs and save for a set of MSA Sordins. Cant be beat.

[Rigs]

I've got a pair of Howard Leight Impacts that I've been using for two years with no problems. Bought two pair of Peltor's, neither set lasted for more than 6 months. I also had a very poor experience with Peltor customer service when I tried to get them fixed.

[reloader901]

I've got a pair of Howard Leight Impacts that I've been using for two years with no problems. ....

Do they cut out talking or low volume sounds or only loud noises? Do they really catch all of the loud volume of the shot, or do they transmit the first fraction of a second and then quiet for the remainder of the shot?

[pjb45]

i have had Dillon electronic muff that lasted. The HL are heavy. I have two pairs of MSA. One with gel pads for USPSA and 3G, the other pair for clays.

MSA are worth the money.

[reloader901]

Thanks for the input (keep it coming if y'all want).

I've been spending all morning on youtube etc, and have decided to wait and do my research. I don't even like muffs unless I'm shooting something like an AR with a muzzle brake. I prefer earplugs. (Muffs and plugs if very loud). Currenty using earplugs from Home Depot (they aren't cool, but they work).

Anyone like Surefire Sonic Defenders?

[Avezorak]

I run Surefire plugs more than I wear muffs. I really like them for doubling up when running an open gun or loud comp AR. There are several sizes and styles. I use med EP3 or EP4's.

[Jakobi]

I use medium EP3 and EP7s and love them. I switch out for foamies or double up if I need something better. I generally avoid ear muffs as much as possible.

-Jake

Edited May 12, 2014 by Jakobi

[Jaxshooter]

MSA Sordin Supreme. Excellent product with super customer service and repair center in Florida. Had one mike go out on mine sent it to them in Crystal River, Fl on Monday had them back that Thursday. No charge for repair or shipping.

[davsco]

been using a pair of howard leight impacts for a couple of years. my problem with them is they sit on top of my ears instead of surrounding them. just bought a pair of Pro Ears 300 that i definitely prefer. they cover my ears more and the padding is a lot softer. found a pair at $150 at optics planet.

[BeerBaron]

I really found the HL impact sports to be an inferior product. not very comfortable, very cheap materials and sound suppression is not that great.

for a little more dough the peltor tactical sport are a much nicer made product with much better electronics. you should find them just on $100.

when you have a few more $ spend $45 on the camelback silicone pads that improves them even more. part number HY80. they will provide an excellent seal, provide really nice comfort and improve the NRR.

I know lots of people like the HL, but I bought a set after someone stole my peltor tactical sports. used them twice and couldn't bare to use them again. they became the spare set and I bought another set of the peltor's. the MSA sordins are great too but nearly 3 times the price and not 3 times as good.

[Chucky]

In the $50 range the Howard Leights are hard to beat. I have been wearing mine for 4 years now and I shoot quite a bit. Not to mention I wear them hunting in the rain and they are still going strong. They are not the most comfortable on the market or the best sound quality but in the $50 range I don't know anything that compares.

[Dirty Rod]

Do they cut out talking or low volume sounds or only loud noises? Do they really catch all of the loud volume of the shot, or do they transmit the first fraction of a second and then quiet for the remainder of the shot?

They cut out. It's called clipping and it's going to be difficult to find emuffs in the $50-$100 range that have dynamic compression instead of clipping.

I really found the HL impact sports to be an inferior product. not very comfortable, very cheap materials and sound suppression is not that great.

for a little more dough the peltor tactical sport are a much nicer made product with much better electronics. you should find them just on $100.

when you have a few more $ spend $45 on the camelback silicone pads that improves them even more. part number HY80. they will provide an excellent seal, provide really nice comfort and improve the NRR.

I know lots of people like the HL, but I bought a set after someone stole my peltor tactical sports. used them twice and couldn't bare to use them again. they became the spare set and I bought another set of the peltor's. the MSA sordins are great too but nearly 3 times the price and not 3 times as good.

Can't agree more. I've tried two sets and, both times, my ears were ringing the next day. Perhaps if I wasn't shooting the occasional indoor match, braked rifles, or shotguns but they definitely didn't work for me. I did give them an A for being compact and comfortable though. Edited May 13, 2014 by Dirty Rod

[combat tupperware]

I use a pair of Caldwell low profile electronic muffs. They work pretty good, run on 2AA batteries and run less than $40 in most places. The current ones even come with a jack to plug your mp3 player as well.

[reloader901]

This morning I stopped into my local Walmart. Surprise! They actually stock the EP3s an EP4s. The EP4s were out, but should be back in a week or two. That is where I am going to start, because I can return them within 90 days if I don't like them.

The MSA muffs are impressive from the reviews here and youtube videos, but alas they are way out of my budget. Though I am glad y'all mentioned them. Perhaps in the future.

Looking at a few other threads here from a few years ago I noticed a number of people are using custom plugs they got from their ear doctors that don't transmit sound for $100 or less. If the EP4s don't work for me I might try that.

The Howard Leight Impacts might or might not be reasonably suitable based on the varying comments. Hopefully another local Walmart might carry them so I can return if I don't like them.

[Jakobi]

Excluding people that have diminshed hearing and want amplification in addition to hearing protection, why would you want to pay $50-100+ for a set of ear muffs instead of paying $10-20 for a set of ear plugs that do the exact same thing and have the same, if not better, rating than ear muffs (the ones I've seen anyway) and don't require batteries?

-Jake

[ummm]

Excluding people that have diminshed hearing and want amplification in addition to hearing protection, why would you want to pay $50-100+ for a set of ear muffs instead of paying $10-20 for a set of ear plugs that do the exact same thing and have the same, if not better, rating than ear muffs (the ones I've seen anyway) and don't require batteries?

-Jake

Because they don't do the exact same thing.

The larger area of physical protection offered by muffs is of value in some situations. Earplugs just block the highest-efficiency path to damaging your hearing, but the bones around your ear can transmit vibration, too, and if the sound is loud enough (meaning the vibrations are powerful enough), they'll overcome the inefficiency and vibrate your jaw / skull to a sufficient degree, which will transmit the vibration into your inner ear and cause damage.

That's partially why double-plugging only offers a little extra help, as opposed to [the sum of the NRR of the plugs + the NRR of the muffs]. At a certain sound pressure level, the bones in your skull simply cannot sufficiently dampen the vibrations, and the path you're blocking isn't the path from which the damage is coming.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, it's not all about that one tremendously loud sound (which, let's assume, the earplugs block very well). It can often be about repetitive, small injuries to the hearing apparatus caused by less-loud sounds, and those can come (can means "possible", not saying it's likely) from non-standard paths to the inner ear.

Edited May 13, 2014 by ummm

[Jakobi]

Muffs being better than plugs is news to me. Do you have any links handy for further reading?

-Jake

[BeerBaron]

muffs cover more of the ear canal, but it's important that whatever you get has a good seal. that is one area the HL fell over for me. Whatever you buy, if they have an option for sealing rings that have 2 seats and something like silicone inside they are worth the money.

I do agree that the HL's are good value for $50. BUT $50 is not enough to get 'good' electronic muffs. if the budget was only $50 I'd be buying something passive like the peltor optime 105/H10 muffs. they have a 33db NRR and when budget allows you can add the camelback silicone gel sealing rings to them (and later if you buy electronic muffs you can transfer the silicone rings over to the new muffs). They will offer much better protection than the HL's and be more comfortable and last a long time.

The level of sophistication in the electronics of peltor tactical sports vs the HL's is night and day. that extra $50 gets you a fair bit more for your $.

[Sarge]

I tried 3 brands of electronic muffs ranging from $100-$300 and got rid of them all and still keep going back to passive muffs. I had custom ear plugs made and they are great for shooting Production but don't cut it since I switched to Open.

The $100 muffs cut everything and if you are trying to talk while somebody is shooting it sucks when all sound is clipped. It's like talking to Mel Tillis.

The $300 Pro Ears were so packed full of electronics that my big old ears were getting crushed in them and I was in serious pain by the end of a match. But you could hear a whisper while guns are being shot right beside you and the loud noise was cancelled completely.

MSA's were very comfortable and the electronics are second to none but the noise reduction was not enough for really loud guns without plugging as well. Way too much money to still have to plug in my opinion.

A $25 pair of peltor 33db passives work great and they are more than adequate for my open gun. I just try not to talk much while there is shooting going on.

One reason not mentioned so far many prefer some type of electronic is for ROing. Much easier to hear things like squibs. I am working a few majors this year and will probably just get a cheap set of Dillon electronics and use cheap foam plugs underneath.

[bronxlive]

I have recently bought a pair of Peltors electronic muffs.

Before I used a cheap pair of electronic muffs. I couldn't wear those for more than 10 mins at a time or I would get a massive headache and have to switch back to the plugs.

I did a 2 x day shotgun shoot and wore the peltors both days for basically the whole day. They are very comfy and the compression makes a huge difference compared to the clipping.

The seal around my ears even with my glasses was just perfect. I didn't have any ringing in my ears like I usually do with plugs or the cheap muffs after shotguns or rifle shoots.

[awfaxis]

I have the Peltor Tac-Sports, and find them pretty good. I can hear people talking in the next bay! I've never noticed any clipping of normal conversation unless are shots fired nearby.

The only time I'm annoyed by them is when our Nevada winds kick up into the double-digits. Sounds like jets flying by.

Have never tried anything else, so I don't knows if these are the best, but works for me. I've been able to hear squib pops pretty clearly too.

[ummm]

Muffs being better than plugs is news to me. Do you have any links handy for further reading?

-Jake

No no, I'm definitely NOT saying muffs are always better, or "across all situations" superior to plugs. We all know that it's cheap to get a pair of plugs which have a better NRR than almost all muffs, and so for some situations, plugs are a great way to go. Just pointing out that there are some situations where the extra area of attenuation from the muffs is beneficial, and thus there are things the muffs do which plugs cannot.

[ardo]

I have been using Howard Leight muffs for 5+ years with no issues, they fit me fine. However, my son cannot wear them, they do not cover his ears well, so YMMV. Cons: sound clipping. Pros: low profile (good for shotgun shooting), great battery life, good price.

These are insufficient alone when shooting indoors, so I double-plug. Plugs alone do not attenuate the sound traveling through the scull.

[austin rick]

My second set of Howard Leights just broke. Both times it's been related to the headband, this time where they attach to the muffs. This was my last set of $50 muffs. I shoot open almost every weekend and figure it's time to spring for something that will help save my hearing. I double plug while shooting and use pro ears plugs while watching.

I'm looking for a recommendation on which MSAs guys are using and how do they compare to the pro ears gold (slim).

Thanks,

Rick