shopping for Ear Pro - school me (us)

[lurkingknight]

So, there's some concerns raised in some games about noise making devices that are too loud for unprotected hearing.

Legit concern.

We all know what peltor and sordins headsets to convert with use on radios, they get expensive, but they also work for ear protection as well as radio mics and radio operations. That's fine and dandy. If you want to flip for them and have the cash to do it, by all means. I'm looking for some more utilitarian stuff at a cheaper price possibly.

I have some further requirements and I'd like to poll the community that may or may not have more experience with this.

So help me spend money... Here's what I need:

hearing protection to prevent loud bangs... basically shooter hearing pro.

must allow me to hear things at a regular conversational level, but kick in to cut out the loud bangs.

Have removable mic or method to plug mic in or method to allow me to hear radio chatter from the radio.

I do a lot of car related things and I'm also looking at an upcoming 14 hours of plane ride in march. The last time I did this, I was not pleased with listening to jet engines drone for 14 hours. Is there a set of ear pro that meets the above requirements while at the same time can filter out ambient drone like normal noise cancelling headphones?

I know there's standard shooting phones that can plug audio sources into (some inexpensive ones come up on searches very quickly), these would be handy just for airsoft, but I'm not sure if they are able to block out ambient noise.

Likewise I can spend 200$ on noise cancelling headphones at bestbuy, but they are likely not able to block dB spiking.

[Danke]

For the plane ride go with the nice noise canceling earbuds if you want to listen to music or the tv. Or just get cheap foam plugs and toss them.

For the game and for any actual shooting the real deal is your only choice. I prefer over the ear muffs instead of the in the ear plugs.

If it's airsoft only then this should be more than enough. I've had a set for over a year and it's still ticking along.

http://airsoftdepot.ca/catalog/produ...oducts_id=1706

[Cobrajr122]

I use MSA sordins.

They are real and rated for shooting.
They hook up to comms systems with some modification.
With the gel ear cups they are crazy comfortable.
TACTICOOL AS FUCK.

Downside for what you want:
Mic and downlead are not removable

You can get lesser versions of sordins that carry the same protection rating and tech but do not have a mic at all. They do have an audio input so you can hear radio chatter though.

[lurkingknight]

I have a set of ztac sordins clones that I used at nightfall last year, they worked fine, but I was reading somewhere they weren't super reliable.

For airsoft I'm already covered, but was wondering if I could simplify things by having just 1 set that can do both types of suppression.

[grantmac]

There are silicone ear plugs which have a sound canal that will allow you to hear normal noises almost as well as when not wearing them but still provide decent protection for burst noises. They are also compatible with any acoustic tube type comms set-up.

Not Comtac or Sordin tacticool but very useful for $15.

-Grant

[lurkingknight]

I should stipulate not looking for in ear things.. I find them very uncomfortable

[lurkingknight]

yes, I've read up a bit o the peltor 6s and 7s as well as the howard leight sets.. they seem really good for the price, as well as being able to plug in a standard pin to hear radio chatter, as well as retaining ability to attach a separate lapel or throat mic.

I'm not sure if my repros just drain batteries or if the auto shutoff kicks in, but I find they turn off by themselves after a while.

From what I can find on google, the technology that is used in shooting headsets vs noise cancelling headphones used for stuff like planes, are 2 very different beasts. So far, nothing has turned up that can do both.

[wind_comm]

I've been carrying around surefire ep3s and I like them a lot. not as much db reduction closed as a set of .10c orange foamies that I like, but you're there for the noise brakes really. they attenuate the really loud stuff (better than nothing) and everything else about 10-15 db (guess). they're just pieces of silicone so there's obviously no amp factor, but you get to still hear stuff and if things get really loud you can close them. not much of a tactical advantage but this is airsoft and you only get one set of ears.

[Drakker]

You know, this topic keeps popping up. Wouldn't it be simpler to just save everyone 200$ and put a sound limit for those dangerous "noise making devices"? They are not required for a fun game, and everyone's hearing should definitely not be put at risk because a minority likes loud bangs. Besides, they are the one throwing the grenades, so they don't even face the dangers of their own loud bangs.

You can also vote with your wallet and save 200$ and stop attending games that allow such devices. Eventually, when their players pool dries out, the admins will have no choice but to control noise making devices.

As for the plane ride, if you don't mind the silly look, a 15$ work shop ear protection set would work marvel on a plane. Just don't plan on having a conversation with these on. ;)

[Ozone06]

Originally Posted by Drakker

You know, this topic keeps popping up. Wouldn't it be simpler to just save everyone 200$ and put a sound limit for those dangerous "noise making devices"? They are not required for a fun game, and everyone's hearing should definitely not be put at risk because a minority likes loud bangs. Besides, they are the one throwing the grenades, so they don't even face the dangers of their own loud bangs.

You can also vote with your wallet and save 200$ and stop attending games that allow such devices. Eventually, when their players pool dries out, the admins will have no choice but to control noise making devices.

As for the plane ride, if you don't mind the silly look, a 15$ work shop ear protection set would work marvel on a plane. Just don't plan on having a conversation with these on.

Naw dude naw. More bang more fun! There's a LOT of people who love the operator-esque nature of chucking something that goes BOOM into a room full of bad guys then running in after it.

[Drakker]

Yeah, and then none of these guys call hit because your ThunderB doesn't throw any BBs and strangely none of them was within the 5-10 feet kill range. My Tornadoes might not go bang, but they are very good for clearing rooms thank you.

[Ricochet]

Decent reproductions will work. No, the quality isn't there, but they will be there for you. If an earplug/bud system isn't what you are looking for, then full coverage is the only other way for protection.

On a Sordin repro you'll still have full coverage though the construction and pads won't be as good. Here's the thing; if they can't protect your ears with these, then something on your field is way, way, extremely way too fuckin' loud. No joke. There are bang devices on airsoft that may go over safe levels, but they don't geberally go off by your ear and are quick and not constant noises. So my question is, what on earth do you need this type of protection for?

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Drakker

You know, this topic keeps popping up. Wouldn't it be simpler to just save everyone 200$ and put a sound limit for those dangerous "noise making devices"? They are not required for a fun game, and everyone's hearing should definitely not be put at risk because a minority likes loud bangs. Besides, they are the one throwing the grenades, so they don't even face the dangers of their own loud bangs.

You can also vote with your wallet and save 200$ and stop attending games that allow such devices. Eventually, when their players pool dries out, the admins will have no choice but to control noise making devices.

Seriously? I hate you.

OP,
I know you said you don't like earplugs, but I have about 10 pairs of Surefires. My hearing is completely fucked now, so I have to plug them in whenever I go to a nightclub, music festival, the range, etc. They're awesome, versatile and cheap.

[ThunderCactus]

There are cheaper options, like surefire ear-pros, and cheaper options in the automatic noise gating devices, too.
You could always wear a normal $50 boom mic with a silicone ear bud UNDER a set of sordins (real or fake), which would save you the big cost of the PTT for the sordins.

I'm using a nacre quietpro, I gotta say it's pretty sweet. I think the sordins have better directional hearing, but the amplification and noise protection is pretty sweet.
We were using thunder-Bs indoors, they're freaking loud as hell. But with the quietpro's you just feel the shockwave of the blast, it deafens it almost completely, and if there's BBs in them it's like someone gently dumping a bag of ammo lol

[grantmac]

The one neat thing about running auto-gated ear-pro in that situation is that any time you experience a loud noise you get the cut out. It's very immersive for me to experience that when BBs are bouncing off a wall or a noise maker is employed.

However on the other hand it's very hard to hear bbs bouncing off your gear so you need to be extra vigilant with regards to calling those.

-Grant