Best Electronic Ear Protection

[mremmate]

I have been using some cheapy ear protection at the range. Recently I tried a pair of Peltor Comtac's that someone let me borrow, WHOA what a world of difference. Gunshots where muffled and normal voices were audible.

I'm torn between Peltor Swatac's and Sordin SSP's. If any of you guys have used these could you give me some feedback? Also what price you paid for them and where.

[KimoBBZ]

on a budget?

I've tried my brother-inlaw's Peltor Tactical's and they were very nice... Couldn't justify the expense though at $170... ended up with the Sportman's Guide special for $30 !!

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=148541

They do the job at the range nicely, knocking down loud sounds but letting conversation in. If you were going to use yours in a tactical or home defense situation, then by all means spend the $$ for the Peltor's.

[NRAhighpowershooter]

I went with the Pro Ears 6 years ago.. Cost me $230 distributor price back then.. Not sure of the cost now.

[socalguns]

You only have one pair of ears so don't skimp. ..

Its ok to skimp.
What you're paying for is NOT hearing protection,
its sound quality.

Chuck speaks the truth

http://www.chuckhawks.com/hearing_protection.htm

I find it surprising that the most expensive type (Electronic earmuffs) typically offer no more protection than cheap earplugs.Their advantages are in other areas.

[TonyM]

Pro Ears here.

Last two times at an indoor range last month I doubled up with cheapie foam plugs inside. I'm going to continue that at the indoor range as I don't tend to have conversations while shooting there anyway.

[rips31]

my foam plugs have nrr of 33, i think. i believe that's better than even electronic protection.

[taloft]

I thought the range on the NRR chart was 0 to 30? What plug gives a NRR of 33?

[johnny_22]

Howard Leight MAX1/MAX-30 NRR of 33 dB

Available corded or uncorded. Found at Longs Drugs or volume purchases at Lab Safety Supply (www.lss.com).

After using EAR (30 dB) for years and getting good results, I switched to these. Outstanding noise reduction; great for concerts, airplanes, BART and the range.

[MrEd]

heh? , what ? can you speak louder ? I can't hear you when you all whisper

[spaceburger]

Peltor Tac 6 and Tac 7 Stereo

We bought one each of these a year ago ($80 and $120) and they work great. The Tac 6 is smaller, folds up, has one volume on/off adjust for each side and uses AAA batteries. the Tac 7 is stereo, 1 on/off adjust for both sides, does not fold up and bigger, and uses 1 9V battery. I have not tried anything else. Both work great in there is little background noise, you can hear a wisper right next to someone blasting away, and the recovery time to hear the wisper again is short, under 1 second.

[Eljay]

Here's another vote for double plugging indoors. I find if I put in earplugs and wear electronic ear protection over top that and crank the volume way up I can still hear conversations but the actual gunfire is quite muffled.

[rips31]

I thought the range on the NRR chart was 0 to 30? What plug gives a NRR of 33?

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/holemaxuffop.html

we use them for work. i use them also on airplanes, concerts, clubs, etc.

[-hanko]

Sordin is the best I've seen, especially in separating gun fire from ambient noise. With larger calibers I usually also stick in a pair of foamies.

-hanko

[50BMGBOB]

I have ProMag and Tac 6. I use the ProMag's usally but the Tac 6's are slimmer. Always double up with plugs for indoors or with my 50. I'll even some times use one plug when shooting rifles in case the muff's ride up aginist the stock. Hearing loss does not get better!

[gobabygo]

Mepablu are supposed to be very good, maybe a little better and cheaper than the Sordins.

There is this very long thread at SIGforum discussing the Mepablu and the summary is that there are electronics and warranty issues with the Mepablu, so the 2 US distributors (i-shot and MLE shooting sports that I know of) are not selling them until this stuff gets sorted out, which is not moving very quickly.

So while the Mepablu's might have a slight edge on the Sordins, the fact that they're unobtainable makes me think that the Sordins are the best right now. That's what I have and I like them a lot.