Harris and Sons Ear Pro

[JAustin316]

Anyone use them? Are they worth the $$?

 

https://harrisandsons.com/

[vtecpaoche]

I have them and like them very much.  They are pricey though but it is worth it for me.

 

I like earplugs in the summer.  I started with the Surefire EP3s and then moved on to Ear Inc Chameleon HearDefenders.  The issue with the HearDefenders was that I could not hear conversations and had to pop them out to have a conversation.  I was at a JJ class and he was using these.  I decided to reach out to them to find out how much they were.  After speaking with Mason there, I decided to move forward with these.

 

It is a process to get it fitted as you need to go to an audiologist to get a mold and a hearing exam.  You'll send them off to them and they come back with your hearing aids as my wife calls it.  I have two different profiles configured on them, one for indoor and one for outdoor.  I generally use the indoor setting as I feel that is sufficient.  I've shot open guns with this without any issues.  You can turn down the volume on these especially if you are using an open gun.

 

I did have one of the electronics fail while I was at Nationals last year so I had to resort to using my MSA Sordins though.  I reached out to Mason and it was quickly repaired but the timing wasn't ideal.

 

I have had others tried electronic hearing from other places and it seems common that many of the electronic earplugs tend to fail though so I would always have a spare pair of hearing protection available though.

 

One con is that it using hearing aid batteries so you need to keep these readily available.  If you only occasionally shoot, this may not be viable as you'll spend quite a bit of money on batteries as the batteries only last a few days once you break the seal on the batteries.  I was told that you can seal up the battery again after you are done but I have not tried this.

 

Another con is if you shoot in the winter, they will not keep you warm.  You may still want a pair of muffs for the winter.

 

They are pricey and you can go with some cheaper options but I like the custom fit of these.  There are some other companies that are in this range and possibly more expensive.  I suppose I do not have the Bluetooth version.  It would be pretty cool to be able to play music as you are shooting or take a phone call without taking your ears off but I can live without these features.

 

If you don't need electronics, there are some other good options out there as well which are probably more reliable and some shooters prefer to block out all noise when shooting.  The Ear Inc molds are pretty good for more basic fitted hearing protection.  I just naturally block out all the noise in between beeps.

 

The electronics on the Harris & Sons seem to be better than the MSA Sordins to me.  The best plus is Mason at Harris & Sons is a good guy to work with.

[Silverscooby27]

This is fantastic. Thank you! I am tempted all the time to buy the Bluetooth ones. My main concern is battery life, and they’re expensive as eff when my Peltor 500s will get the job done at a fraction of the price, granted the muffs are definitely less comfy, especially as these days get hotter.

 

 I’m sure the Bluetooth ones will suck down batteries even more, but how many local matches would you say you can do on 1 set of batteries? Do you have to change them out each time?

Edited May 15, 2019 by Silverscooby27

[vtecpaoche]

I haven't tried the method of covering the air holes on the batteries back with the sticker it originally came with.  I was told that this would extend the life significantly.  I typically use them for the weekend.  Sometimes I will only get one match a weekend but I think it's about 2 - 3 days if you leave the batteries exposed to air.  I obviously do not wear them long enough to drain them.

 

They are expensive but it came with a bunch of batteries.  I have not used up the original batch that came with the ear plugs.  When I shipped it back for repair, he sent me a new batch of batteries so I have not had to spend money on batteries yet.  I did buy a pack of 48 batteries from Costco for $9.  I figure that if I swapped batteries out every weekend, I would be spending about $20/year on batteries.  That's not too bad.

[Silverscooby27]

Thanks! I guess I still need advice from someone who has the Bluetooth version because I would hate to plop down $2500 and find out that it doesn’t last even one match. This has happened to me with the Peltor TEP-100s. I have 3 pair, not one of them will last a whole LOCAL match. The Ottos will last a match and get down to about 60 or 70% battery life. I have 2 pair of those, they are both the same.

[vtecpaoche]

Give Mason a call at Harris & Son.  He can give you advice on it.  You have to gauge whether it is worth the extra dollars for the Bluetooth version.  Are you using it for the convenience of picking up a phone call?  Are you using it to stream music while you shoot?

 

The Bluetooth version does use a bigger battery so you may make it through the day.  You may just not be able to make it thru 2 days though.  The perk of hearing aid batteries is that you can just swap them when you run out of batteries.

 

I did keep them on after a match as I wanted to see if it got uncomfortable if I left them on for 12 hours.  I would say I didn't even notice they were in my ears most of the time although when I was in the car, the music sounded a bit hollow though.  I'm sure the electronics are not as good as what I would hear from quality speakers though so I was not surprised that music would not sound as good.

[FatPanda]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:41 AM, Silverscooby27 said:

Thanks! I guess I still need advice from someone who has the Bluetooth version because I would hate to plop down $2500 and find out that it doesn’t last even one match. This has happened to me with the Peltor TEP-100s. I have 3 pair, not one of them will last a whole LOCAL match. The Ottos will last a match and get down to about 60 or 70% battery life. I have 2 pair of those, they are both the same.

 I hate my TEP 100s! At first I thought it was me and just defective plugs. I don’t use the electronics and they are now $200+ foam ear plugs lol. 

[bcwarshauer]

Sorry to bring up an old post, but does anyone have a contact for Mason or someone there? I have been waiting for my hearing pro from Harris and Sons for over a month now and it has been very difficult to communicate with them. I have tried the number posted on their website and facebook but I have never had someone answer the phone except when they told me to call so I could pay them the very first time. If I email them it takes a few days for a response or I get no response. This is not to bash them, i've only heard good things about their product, I just want to talk to someone and see what is taking so long. Thanks 

[Akkid17]

.

Edited October 20, 2019 by Akkid17
Found answer elsewhere

[emjbe]

If you are having problems getting these, here's a suggestion: I use SoundGear (https://www.soundgearhearing.com/collections/custom-fit) purchased from Chris Bain at https://www.houseofhearing.com/hearing-protection. Note - if your work/insurance has a hearing protection/aid benefit it might cover some or all of the cost.

 

Chris is a shooter and sponsors SMM3G.

 

When I got mine I had the molds done locally and sent them to Chris via UPS. less than a week later my ear pro showed up in the mail.  Been using them for 2+ years now with now problem.

A new set of batteries lasts several matches and several practice sessions. I usually change them monthly. Amazon has 60 batteries for $15 which lasted me 2+ years.