HOWARD LEIGHTImpact Sport Bolt Digital Electronic Shooting Earmuff

As a first-time buyer of electronic hearing protection, I want to say that these seem to work very well. Comfort: they seem to be just fine. I had just as soon not wear anything to be comfortable, but I would say that these did not impose any discomfort. I live in Texas and more often than not it is hot when the need arises for hearing protection, so nothing is best, but these are not uncomfortable. I prefer a behind the head retention system to allow for a wide brim hat, but that appears to be impractical in an electronic hearing protection device, so this is fine. I guess I could find a huge hat that would comfortably fit over the strap as well.I am not one who just arbitrarily adopts new technology just because it is new. I had a pair of Outers conventional earmuffs I used for over 30 years that worked well but had to be replaced when the foam deteriorated. Those were replaced with another pair of conventional earmuffs. What drew me into the market for a pair of electronic hearing protection earmuffs was the possibility of going to training classes where it is important to hear directions and comments from range officers and others around me. I have to say, these work very well in that regard. Putting them on and turning them on, you hear an initial tone to indicate they are on and then you basically cannot tell you have them on because you hear all ambient sounds with directional awareness. If you hear a bird singing, you can tell which direction the sound is coming from. To safely test that they would work, I started off by firing a 22 long rifle. The beauty of good functioning electronic hearing protection is that it will sense the increase in decibels beyond the maximum allowed and limit the sound for that nanosecond and you are back to ambient listening. In addition, you can increase the volume sensitivity to hear ambient sounds with amplification and still block harmful bursts. From my research, higher ratings of brands or models based on performance comes primarily from the reaction time as well as the ability to handle rapid instances of fire such as at a public range with many shooters firing intermittently.How I came to my decision: After deciding to add a pair of electronic hearing protection muffs to my equipment, I thought the logical choice for brand and model might be user ratings and or YouTube reviews. The first problem I saw right off is there is a strong sense of brand loyalty out there. Without any research, I was predisposed towards Peltor since it is made by 3M and a defense contractor. Next up I thought would be Howard Leight since it is made by Honeywell, another defense contractor. Walkers is another top name in the market, just one I was not familiar with. I cannot express enough that there seems to be a strange sense of brand loyalty because one review would list a brand and model as the best in the world and another would say the lag time between limiting sounds was too great, especially for indoor ranges.In a world where is seems often that reviews are slanted because of financial considerations or sponsorship with free test merchandise I could not make heads or tails of reviews and YouTube videos. Then I came across a review from Ryan Cleckner at gununiversity.com that listed tangible reasoning for the choice after testing various models. As a self-funding consumer, this was my greatest concern: How many sets would I have to purchase to find a good set that does what it should and is built to last a reasonable service period. It appears by his review, all work pretty well, this is the brand and model that hold up for years of service. I know it was a long review but if you made it this far, I want you to know it was written by a real purchase who spent a couple of hours researching to come to this conclusion. Not someone who was gifted a pair to write favorable review.

Work like a charm! Very clear audio - conversations come through clearly and the noise protection kicks in automatically. 100 % as described, I’m very pleased.

The stock pads are ok and reasonably comfortable but the aftermarket gel pads (I doubt the brand makes that much difference but I have the BJKing ones) are a worthwhile upgrade. These are an absolute game changer compared to non-electronic hearing protection. I recently went shooting with a buddy who had used only passive muffs and he was an instant convert. Being able to hear conversation and everything around you, even amplified above the level it would be with nothing if you want, but have gunshots reduced to comfortable level is really great. Not constantly lifting one ear or taking them off to hear what someone is saying or constantly saying, "WHAT?" "HUH?" and people having to shout at you makes all the difference in the world. This is especially true at public or club ranges where there is probably a range officer as well as other shooters. For just shooting on your own land it may not be as important, but it's still nice to be absolutely aware of everything around you while still protecting your hearing.One review said they are not quiet enough indoors. I have not tried them indoors because I generally dislike indoor shooting, but my impression - again I'm not sure of this but it seems to be the case - is that rather than going completely "off" when the sound level exceeds whatever their threshold is they just decrease the gain of the amplification circuitry to make gunshots (or other sounds that exceed the threshold of course) no louder than that set level. So, for example, if the high cutoff level is 110 db (I don't know, this is just for illustration) then gunshots are reduced to 110 db, not completely muffled. You can easily verify this by simply turning them off and shooting with them as passive muffs. Shots will be considerably quieter that way than with them on. For me and for outdoor shooting this is absolutely fine, as the level is safe and not unpleasant, and for that matter still leaves the feeling that you are shooting. But for maximum quiet when shooting, simply wear simple ear plugs like the cheap and effective foam ones, UNDER them. Turn the amplification up to compensate and you should be able to hear pretty well around you yet have gunshots virtually silenced.I also do Cowboy Action Shooting and the one drawback of amplified shooting muffs like these is that you absolutely can't wear them either under or over a cowboy hat! So I get a reminder of what it's like by going back to passive ear plugs every time I shoot CAS, and it's a stark difference. I would never go back to just passive protection any other time.The bottom line is that if mine died tomorrow I'd immediately order a new pair.

Just went for a walk wearing the Howard Leight ear muffs. The sound quality is very good. I played with the volume and was astounded at the number of birds I could hear in the brush.A helicopter was approaching from the East and I thought it was close. Took forever till it passed by and I realized the volume was turned up. Played with the volume and discovered that there is a wide range .It reduced the sound of the 7.62x39 to a talking level sound. I am very happy with this hearing protector.

Noise Cancellation - Good,not incredible (see: BOSE QC35). I don't notice the faster response time compared to regular Impact, probably because the release time (after the noise) is still long. Has that on/off switch effect instead of a smooth or fast recovery.Comfort- Par for the course. Still kind stings after use from smashing the cartilage.Value - if I buy another set it'll be the regular Impacts (save thirty bucks.) Maybe I'll spend the difference on those gel pads everybody raves about.

I really liked the performance. Much fast response time than the ones I was using. My old ones started working fine so I ended up returning these. When mine finally die I will buy again.

These seem to fit nicely but i have not worn them for a couple hour’s straight at the range. I have to get out of the habit of taking them off after i shoot to hear whats going on. Stylish and compact so does not affect how i shoot rifle or shotguns.

The product is excellent as expected but the shipping delays was awful.. One month to reach from one EU country to another...

Excelente calidad, sus micrófonos me permiten escuchar con gran calidad a mi alrededor cuando los tengo puestos.

I have only used them the once so far. Very impressed with the sound quality IE enables you to still hear animal noises etc which is important when hunting, yet when you fire a gun it reduces the noise to safe levels.

Producto incompleto sin cable y sin el belt clip. Trajo las baterías puestas. No vino en el empaque original sellado sino en una bolsa transparente. Muy mal! No lo recomiendo.

il s'hello I write to you to tell you about a problem I was living with my SHOOTER'S DIGITAL ELECTRONIC EARMUFF it was buy on 6/09/2019 it have worked very well for a month I was delighted with their performance it was superior to my Howard Leight Impact Earmuff electronic sport. The problem is that there is weak and continuous crackling in the ear or is the control of the volume. Can I do something to avoid getting very unpleasant inconvenience. I need it in it's time if my coyote season starts I can't get through.A big thank you and I expect your news ont parfait