peterogers
15-05-2007, 09:53 AM
By the time we've spent all our money on nice rifles and glass, there's not always a great deal of money left for hearing protection - or is that just me ? I’m now the owner of three different sets of the lower end of the ear defender market, so thought I’d post in a quick review to help my like minded financially impoverished shooter that’s just blown his wad on rifle and scope only to find he’s having to stick his fingers in his ears on the range !
The first defenders I bought were the in-ear type by Radian. The body of the plug features rubber baffles which allow low volume sound to pass but block out higher decibel noise – in effect an active sound defence without using electronics. Costing less that £10, they’re easy on the pocket in both cost and storage – which means if you’re absent minded like me that they’re easy to mislay ! Whilst providing perfectly adequate protection for both rimfire and centerfire shooting, the baffles seem to lend themselves to the plug working itself out of your ear, constant adjustment seems to be the order of the day. In addition, I found them uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time (say more than fifteen minutes). Possible their best strength lies in their lack of profile. My natural head position on the stock is quite low, and these plugs never interfered with me mounting a rifle.
Due to the comfort issue of the radian plugs I started looking for something less invasive of the ear canal and yet even less invasive of my pocket, so when budget chain Netto were clearing out electronic active ear defenders for £10 or less I was there. These are a traditional style set of ear defenders with an external microphone feeding internal speakers, the microphone cuts out when the external volume exceeds a set decibel rating. This means that the external sound feed is either on or off, which can be quite disconcerting when you’re trying to hold a conversation – “flat spots” punctuate the conversation as muzzle cracks trip the external microphone off. Whilst this issue does not occur with non electronic plugs, it does offer a greater amount of protection rather than the softening of loud sounds which the passive protection offers. In addition, being entirely external they are more comfortable than the internal plugs. However this benefit is paid for at the cost of size, these definitely will not fit in your pocket. And for myself, their external profile caused me problems in getting a good, consistent cheekweld on the stock.
So I had the best and worst of both worlds in two sets of protection, in ear plugs that I didn’t like to wear but gave me the best chance at shooting well, or more comfortable protection that hindered my aim. Not having the budget for slimline electronic defenders such as Peltor Tacticals or custom in ear plugs from the likes of Green Leopard, I figured I would just have to make do until my lottery numbers came up. Then I spied an advert in Gun Mart for a new set of defenders from Napier titled Pro 9.
The Napier Pro 9 ear defenders look like slimline personal stereo headphones. These are external headphones, with the “arms” being plastic tubes bending at ninety degrees at the ear and terminating in foam cuffs which sit in the ear (at this point you may be best to Google and take a quick look, I wouldn’t recognise my own pair from that description). The foam cuffs are not as invasive as traditional in-ear protection, they are a kind of half way house between in ear and external protection. They offer passive protection by channelling excess volumes up and out through these plastic tubes, allowing lower volumes straight in to the ear. Their design allows them to be folded up to aid storage, or they are light enough to be comfortable worn around the neck when not in use. Initially I felt that the protection they provided was a little low, but actually reading the instructions on the back of the packet (something as a man I am not genetically disposed to) you are advised to fit them on a forward tilt, then angle them back across the head which does indeed improve the fit and hence improves the protection. The external profile gave me no issues with gun mounting. At a shade under £25 they are not as cheap as either of my first two sets, but still well under what you’d pay for some of the top end gear available.
In all the Napier set have become my favourites, offering me adequate protection, good comfort and no problems in shooting. I’ll reserve the Netto bulky set for RO duties (their bright yellow casing are almost as good as a high visibility vest !) and the Radians will sit in my bag as emergency reserves as the take up almost no space.
I hope this inane rambling is of use if you’re looking for budget ear defenders, and if anyone wants to spring for some expensive sets for me I’ll add to the comparison :p
Radian Comfort 5 Protection 6 Shooting 8
Netto Comfort 8 Protection 7 Shooting 4
Napier Comfort 7 Protection 7 Shooting 7
The first defenders I bought were the in-ear type by Radian. The body of the plug features rubber baffles which allow low volume sound to pass but block out higher decibel noise – in effect an active sound defence without using electronics. Costing less that £10, they’re easy on the pocket in both cost and storage – which means if you’re absent minded like me that they’re easy to mislay ! Whilst providing perfectly adequate protection for both rimfire and centerfire shooting, the baffles seem to lend themselves to the plug working itself out of your ear, constant adjustment seems to be the order of the day. In addition, I found them uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time (say more than fifteen minutes). Possible their best strength lies in their lack of profile. My natural head position on the stock is quite low, and these plugs never interfered with me mounting a rifle.
Due to the comfort issue of the radian plugs I started looking for something less invasive of the ear canal and yet even less invasive of my pocket, so when budget chain Netto were clearing out electronic active ear defenders for £10 or less I was there. These are a traditional style set of ear defenders with an external microphone feeding internal speakers, the microphone cuts out when the external volume exceeds a set decibel rating. This means that the external sound feed is either on or off, which can be quite disconcerting when you’re trying to hold a conversation – “flat spots” punctuate the conversation as muzzle cracks trip the external microphone off. Whilst this issue does not occur with non electronic plugs, it does offer a greater amount of protection rather than the softening of loud sounds which the passive protection offers. In addition, being entirely external they are more comfortable than the internal plugs. However this benefit is paid for at the cost of size, these definitely will not fit in your pocket. And for myself, their external profile caused me problems in getting a good, consistent cheekweld on the stock.
So I had the best and worst of both worlds in two sets of protection, in ear plugs that I didn’t like to wear but gave me the best chance at shooting well, or more comfortable protection that hindered my aim. Not having the budget for slimline electronic defenders such as Peltor Tacticals or custom in ear plugs from the likes of Green Leopard, I figured I would just have to make do until my lottery numbers came up. Then I spied an advert in Gun Mart for a new set of defenders from Napier titled Pro 9.
The Napier Pro 9 ear defenders look like slimline personal stereo headphones. These are external headphones, with the “arms” being plastic tubes bending at ninety degrees at the ear and terminating in foam cuffs which sit in the ear (at this point you may be best to Google and take a quick look, I wouldn’t recognise my own pair from that description). The foam cuffs are not as invasive as traditional in-ear protection, they are a kind of half way house between in ear and external protection. They offer passive protection by channelling excess volumes up and out through these plastic tubes, allowing lower volumes straight in to the ear. Their design allows them to be folded up to aid storage, or they are light enough to be comfortable worn around the neck when not in use. Initially I felt that the protection they provided was a little low, but actually reading the instructions on the back of the packet (something as a man I am not genetically disposed to) you are advised to fit them on a forward tilt, then angle them back across the head which does indeed improve the fit and hence improves the protection. The external profile gave me no issues with gun mounting. At a shade under £25 they are not as cheap as either of my first two sets, but still well under what you’d pay for some of the top end gear available.
In all the Napier set have become my favourites, offering me adequate protection, good comfort and no problems in shooting. I’ll reserve the Netto bulky set for RO duties (their bright yellow casing are almost as good as a high visibility vest !) and the Radians will sit in my bag as emergency reserves as the take up almost no space.
I hope this inane rambling is of use if you’re looking for budget ear defenders, and if anyone wants to spring for some expensive sets for me I’ll add to the comparison :p
Radian Comfort 5 Protection 6 Shooting 8
Netto Comfort 8 Protection 7 Shooting 4
Napier Comfort 7 Protection 7 Shooting 7