Peltor Sport Tactical 100 Electronic Hearing Protector, Ear Protection, NRR 22 dB, Ideal for the Range, Shooting and Hunting, TAC100-OTH

Peltor is the only company that seems to have figured out how to make ear protection that isn't either extremely uncomfortable or outright painful. They're low-profile enough to never make contact with my arms or shoulders (even when overhead), they're lightweight, they hold their fit settings excellently, and they are comfortable enough to make me forget I'm wearing them. If I'd bought these when I'd first wanted to, I'd still have my hearing. They also work just fine as regular hearing protection, allowing you to hear the world in a way that isn't immensely discomforting. The noise compression and other electronic features work excellently (for both shooting and daily use), but everyone else has already talked about how amazing that is. The comfort, on the other hand, is a bit underappreciated and shouldn't be. I am never buying over-ear protection from anyone other than Peltor again.

My hobby is projects in the workshop. I am a blacksmith and metal worker. Loud sounds are everywhere. I damaged my hearing when I was a teenager and once I became wise enough to treasure what hearing I had left, I became protective of it. I work with my father at times and wearing standard muffs, I was constantly taking them off for conversation and having to put them back on for the loud work. Not anymore. Hear everything like normal except the loud noises. Turn up the volume and you have super human hearing. At one point, I was running a grinder, heard my phone ring, shut off the grinder, and took the phone call while still wearing these. I just held the phone speaker up to the microphone on the ear muffs. If there is any background noise at all, you can tell when the muffs compress the loud noise. It is interesting how many loud noises I didn't even think about and usually didn't protect against. Things like blowing off an air hose. What is your hearing worth? I wish I had bought them sooner. Update 9/21: Still love them. The only negative I can say is if you are in an environment which is continuously noisy, these will either compress the noise if it’s really loud, which will make it so you can’t hear conversation, or if the noise is not too loud, these will pass the noise to the speakers which also makes conversation difficult. Supposedly the more expensive models do better with this but conversation is difficult in noisy environments with or without muffs so I don’t blame the muffs. I am still glad I bought them. I wear them regularly. They make great music headphones when mowing the lawn too. I did buy the upgraded gel ear cups which are overly priced but very comfortable. They are especially nice when wearing glasses as they form around them better producing less pressure on the head. I did not find the original cups uncomfortable, the gels are just more comfortable. I deal with head pressure causing headaches and the gels help lessen that. The battery life, especially when listen to music, isn’t super long. Several hours though. It is only two AA’s which keeps the muffs weight low. I use rechargeable batteries so it doesn’t bother me any.

I will review these in comparison to the Howard Leight Impact Sport. First of all, both are excellent hearing protection that I would recommend to all shooters. The electronic amplification they provide allow shooters to hear those around them without sacrificing their hearing to gunshots. If you care about safety, having these is a no brainer. Both sets of hearing protection claim 22-NRR, which is great for lower caliber firearms. If you are firing higher, louder caliber rifles I would recommend "doubling up" by wearing foam ear plugs underneath. This doesn't mean that you'll get the 22-NRR plus the 30-NRR of your ear plugs for a total of 52-NRR, but it does mean that you'll get over 30-NRR and preserve your hearing. The amplification is great for those who double up, so they can still hear those around them while receiving the best ear protection possible. Now the differences. Both do claim the 22-NRR rating but the Peltor 100's provide a better seal and thus better noise reduction. The Howard Leights tend to be looser on the bottom of your ear, which can allow sound in. Not only do the Peltor's offer a better seal, but they're quicker to put on and get the seal right. With the Howard Leights, you'll find yourself constantly adjusting them while the Peltor's hardly need any adjustment. Regarding size, both offer a slimmer profile than most other ear muffs. At their greatest width, the Howard Leight's are slimmer, but the Peltors are chamfered to be slimmer near the bottom of the ear. Both work great on rifles when it comes to size-- they allow you to get a good and consistent cheek weld. In terms of quality, the Peltors do seem a little more durable, notably at the head band. Functionality, arguably the most important feature, is great in both but there's notable differences. The first notable difference off the bat is the volume. Howard Leights win hands down in providing greater amplification-- it's like super hearing. Peltor's do make sounds more natural, but their loudest setting is only slightly higher than normal hearing without them on. They both block out loud sounds, but the Peltor is a lot more sensitive and will kick in for not just gun shots, but for quieter noises like the clapping of hands. There is a noticeable delay from when the technology activates and deactivates, but that doesn't really bug me. The sound quality is better on the Peltors, but the ability to have super hearing on the Howard Leights is great. As far as price goes, I purchased the Howard Leights for $41 and these Peltor 100's for $55. If I were to give both a rating on a 1-5 scale, the Howard Leights would receive a 4 and the Peltor 100's would receive a 4.5. If the Peltor's had the ability to hear louder like the Leight's, I would give them a 5. If the Howard Leights had a better seal and noise reduction, I would give them a 5. The quality of the seal and better noise reduction make these .5 better than the Howard Leights. Hope this helps!

Control knob has 3 Levels of delay on the compression (timeframe when sound returns to normal). Has echo rejection; others don't. I bought and returned Howard Leight Sport first. Spent so much time messing with volume controls at indoor range. Heard frequency squelch, couldn't hear buddy talking right at my ear muff. lots of echo at indoor range. I took the new Peltor to the same range at same time of day and it was awesome. No squelch, VERY LITTLE echo, I could hear voices clearly. Batteries last a long time. Comfortable after stretching out. A little tight until you stretch a bit. If you are doing your first research into muffs for indoor ranges I can tell you a few things for sure as someone with experience in audio engineering. 1) human ear/brain processes sound faster than ANY microphone or compression/clipping electronics....you WILL HEAR LOUD NOISES on indoor ranges. 2) If you value your hearing double up with foam ear plugs, you don't have to jam them all the way in your ear; just block the ear canal, 3) I tried 32NRR passive (no battery) muffs side by side with these Peltor's and there is very little difference (with ear plugs, I didn't try without cuz I value my hearing). I didn't try the audio jack. Not interested in having a cable dangle and be distracted by music while shooting.

The noise reduction was excellent, they are very comfortable, lightweight, and sealed well around the ear pieces of my glasses. Great product for this price!

Peltor tactical 100 is the best bang for the buck. I gave them 5 stars because they did as I asked for under $100. Are there better electronic ear muffs? Sure. And you will pay more. Here is my comparison. I have Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic ear muffs. I like them. They do a nice job. They use clipping technology to achieve their NRR 22 rating. They are a reasonable price. They cut the sound but are slow to come back to normal hearing. I am a firearm instructor and I wanted something better without going over $100. I wanted electronic muffs that use compression technology. That's what Peltor uses. It's better, faster, and more expensive. I used the Peltor Tactical 100 recently for a IL concealed carry class. They were more comfortable than the Howard's. Even though the NRR of 22 is the same as the Howard's. I thought that the Peltor's were a little better. Sounds are much clearer. I can communicate better with the students. They cut the sound during shots (indoor range) and resume normal/enhanced hearing very fast. Good sound compression. Good communication on the range. Comfortable. Reasonable size. (Folds into itself to fit in range bag) Good price. Exactly what I was looking for. Highly reccomended.

I own several Razor models and like them a lot. I decided to try Peltor even though they are nearly twice the price. They are more comfortable so you can wear them longer and the noise reduction is twice as good. With Razor you get a little bit of static noise. The Peltor have zero static noise and I double checked to make sure they were even on! Even the slightest noise that could appear harmful gets immediately cut out. If you budget can afford them I highly recommend owning a few.

Tried several different brands before these and each had a problem or annoyance. One amplified everything including the gunfire. These Peltor Sport Tactical 100s are great! They have a special feature that extends the sound canceling which reduces echoes in addition to the original shot. VERY helpful when in indoor ranges. Are comfortable even in hot weather.