Hearing Protection - My Gear and Recommendations for the Best Ear Protection
Having adequate hearing is a no brainer in this sport (or for any shooting)! Over the years, I’ve used a variety of different hearing protection and ive complied a short list of recommendations of actual ones I used and as to why I choose it. You’ll notice I will only recommend using Electronic Ear Protection of any kind because its imperative to hear what is going on around you… so I won’t be presenting any cheap or non-electronic options.
Best All-Around Ear Protection
Sordin Supreme Pro-X Slim
Pros
Decent Sound Clarity in Electronic Mode
Strong Directional Sound
Great Protection for Indoors & Outdoors with the best seal when wearing eye protection
Comfortable and Durable
Slim Design
Cons
Long use (after 4 hours) can cause strain
Battery life not as good as Peltors (nor fun to change)
Don’t fold up as neatly as other Ear Muff styles (for storing)
Expensive
Why I use them - They do the job for me. Decent Sound clarity which make it easy to distinguish the direction the audio source is coming from such as an RO that is behind me. They’re the most durable set of Ear Muffs I’ve used and have not indicated that they will break anytime soon. While battery life is not as good as the Peltors, I’m just in the habit of replacing them before any big match. Its also a plus that they’re comfortable largely as they come with gel inserts for your ears… just make sure to replace them every so often as they can wear out and cause tension if you wear them for a while (after 4 hours or so)
Best Sound Clarity and Ear Protection
Peltor Sport Tactical 500
Pros
Best Sounding in Clarity & Directional Sound
Great Protection for Indoors & Outdoors
Large design is great for staying warm in the winter
Great Battery Life and uses AA Batteries
Warning indicator that will give you an additional hour or two of use for when the battery is low
Strong Value for the Price
Cons
Bulky Design - Makes shouldering a rifle a challenge and takes practice
Structure is flimsy and cheap
Dont seal the ears as well as the Sordins
Why I use them - Jumping from the Walker Slims was a huge upgrade. The sound was clear, robust and it made shooting rounds off not as surprising… would highly recommend for beginners. The drawback though was the portion the connects the top strap to the frame that holds the actual ear muff. I broke this twice with heavy use in 6-8 months. After the second one broke, for this reason… I went with the Sordins.
Best Value for Electric Ear Buds
AXIL GS Extreme Ear Buds
Pros
Flexibility and Best Comfort (Virtually no weight on your head)
Able to use for other actives such as jogging or working out due to Bluetooth
Compact profile for transporting
Sufficient Electric Audio
Great Value
Cons
Durability
Doesn’t provide adequate noise reduction from guns and or environments that are typically louder such as Comped (think Open Guns), Muzzle Breaks or shooting an indoor match.
Low Battery Life (4 Hours or so)
Why I use them - I bought these originally as I wanted a less bulky option to ear muffs. These fulfilled that role in conditions that made sense such as shooting Outdoor IDPA matches back in the day before they had comped guns or even practicing. For a time, I would use these to go running as they had Bluetooth and worked. However, the drawbacks in total ear protection (Largely due to ear plug size not having an option for larger ears) for various situations for me out weighed the benefits such as shooting indoor matches and/or being around open guns (USPSA). It was compounded by the general battery life which was around four hours (although rechargeable) which is why I bought a spare set and would keep it charged up in my range bag. If you feel you need to go the air bud route, AXIL offers custom options but that comes at cost well over a thousand dollars.
Best Affordable Electronic Ear Muffs
Walker’s Razor Slims
Pros
Great Ear Protection, especially for the cost.
Electronic sound works and does the job
Slim Design and Comfortable (replacement Gel inserts can be bought if worn out)
Decent Battery Life
Cons
Not the best Electric Sound Clarity
When they break, they break
Why I use them - These wear not only my first set of ear muffs for general ear protection, but electric as well. These are widely available and easy to obtain.. they’re virtually for sale at anyone that supplies any type of shooting equipment. The ideal consumer for this is for the shooter that occasionally shoots, but long and extensive use is where you start to see why they are priced less than most. Sound quality is not as good as the rest in this article and the two I’ve owned would just stop working with no warning. The good news is that they do the job… which is great ear protection with adequate electronic clarity…. But for the serious shooter, you may want to consider other options.
If you’d like to see run Matches with this gun… Check out my Instagram account… yes my account is private as I just want to share info on there to my audience and not whomever… so just request and I’ll accept!