Howard Leightby Honeywell Impact Pro Sound Amplification Electronic Earmuff (R-01902)

These are the best set of ear muffs I have used. The noise reduction rating is among the highest I have seen. In high school I never used ear protection when I hunted and as a result, I have constant ringing in my ears. I have vowed to never again shoot without good ear protection. This is easy to do at the range, but when hunting, I want to be able to hear what is going on around me.The electronic amplification these provide enable me to hear everything while I hunt. The best part is there are microphones on each ear cup which provides stereo sound. Not only am I able to hear, I can pinpoint exactly where the sound is coming from just as well as I can with my naked ears.The ear cups are big and a little bulky, yet very comfortable. I can wear them for an hour straight and don't feel like my head has been in a vice when I take them off.Due to the size of the ear cups, shooting a rifle feels a little cumbersome at first as the ear cup hits the stock. After a little use, I didn't really notice anymore. Even at work, I use these for range training with both the Remington 870 and my AR-15. They don't interfere with either except for the clicking as the plastic touches the stock. If you are a pistol shooters, these are perfect as they are extremely comfortable and the size doesn't make any difference.The auto shutoff feature is a big money saver as I never remember to turn them off when I'm done shooting. Battery life is very good. I can't remember the last time I have replaced the batteries and on average, I probably use them an hour a week with the amplification on.I hunt coyotes a lot and sometimes I like to listen to music or books while I am on a set. It is great to be able to pipe the music through the ear muffs with the included cord. It didn't seem like an important feature until I used it. Now I really appreciate it. I don't use it often, but when I do, it's a great feature to have.The only thing about these that occasionally bugs me is being near power lines. From time to time, I hunt beneath high voltage power lines and the EM field from the electricity will induce a hum in the speakers that is irritating. In these situations, you can always turn the volume off and use them as normal earmuffs.All in all, these are a great set of hearing protectors. They are comfortable and have a great noise reduction. The stereo electronic amplification seals the deal.

Took this one to outdoor range today, and the initial impression is very positive:- This unit suppresses gun noise to fairly comfortable level, while human talk and ambient noise pass-through nicely, and can even be amplified if you turn up the dial. I obviously hear others talking than the other way.- Wearing glasses didn't compromise much of its performance, I will hold off the gel pad upgrade for now. However, I haven't tried indoor, where a gel pad may be a worthy upgrade.- Wearing comfort is good so far. I had it on for few hours and didn't feel uncomfortable about its weight. The pressure on my ear is about right. A very secure feel but not over done.The biggest downside is that it doesn't fold in. Most ear muffs I've seen can fold into the headband, this one can't. It takes more space when you carry it around. But I do prefer better protection if that's the price to pay. The size and look doesn't make it sexy neither, if that's important to you.I don't have experience with other brand/model to compare, and haven't try indoor range yet. Will update once I learn more.Update: I did a minor upgrade after watching YouTube. Open the earmuff, you will see some empty spaces. I put in around 20 form earplugs in each side to fill those spaces. I am sure it will help a little, but difficult to tell how much. It is an easy and low cost upgrade, and I recommend it.

A few years ago, most my trigger time was spent outdoors. For outdoor use, the Howard Leight Impact Sport is a great muff. It's light, low profile and very effective at reducing gun shots to a comfortable volume. I also had no problem hearing the people around me--in fact, it actually improved my hearing and could give you an advantage in a home defense situation (more on this later). Unlike some cheaper competitors, they also have an auto-shutoff, which kills the electronic functions if the muffs are left on for more than 4 hours. For me, this is critical since I am notorious for leaving on my electronics. I haven't had to change the battery on my impact sports after 2 years of use.Last winter, I starting going to an indoor range near my office to keep up with my training (too cold, snowy for an outdoor range in my neck of the woods). My indoor range is about the worst possible environment for hearing safety you can imagine. It's a 30 yard range made entirely of concrete, including the walls for each point. There are 5 points to a room and no limit on what you can shoot (up to 50bmg from a rifle, but shotguns are limited to slugs only). With 12 foot ceilings and NO sound deadening materials to speak of, you need to rely on you muffs entirely to keep you eardrums from exploding. In this environment, the Impact Sports are NOT up to the task. My first time indoors, I quickly discovered that the lmpact Sports offered almost no protection by themselves. I had double up with foam plugs before I could shoot comfortably. Unfortunately, with the foam plugs, the electronic hearing enhancement was almost useless.I ultimately purchased the Impact Pro muffs in September 2016 (so I have had them for over a year now). They Impact Pro offers essentially the same electronic hearing enhancement (with auto-shutoff) as the Impact Sport, but with a much heavier, bulkier profile that substantially improves the Impact Pro's noise reduction abilities when compared to the Impact Sport (31 decibel reduction compared to 22 decibel). My ears are safe, even when the range is filled with big bore rifles, AR's and shotguns. I can also carry a conversation with the Impact Pro on--just have to play with the volume a bit to find a good balance. The Impact Pro is, however, far from perfect. After switching to the Pro's, I had to adjust my cheek weld because these bulky muffs were in the way. I also find it can be tricky to wear these with a hat and eye protection because the hat and eye protect can cause the muffs to break their seal with your head, letting in dangerously loud sounds. I can tweak how I wear my glasses/goggles, but this can cause other issues by either reducing the protection from my eye protection or causing me to wear my eye protection in a way that makes it heard to aim well.In short, if I had a better, reasonably priced option for protecting my ears at an indoor range that allowed me to hear what is going on around me--without the bulk and compromises I have to make with the Impact Pro--I would jump all over it. If I am shooting outdoors, I would go for the Impact Sports over these every single time. However, for the purpose of shooting at a LOUD indoor range, this is really the only option I have come up with that fits my needs and costs less than $100 on Amazon. I know there are other options out there, but the cost of going to a custom made electronic plug is just not feasible for me. So, the Impact Pro's are my go to option for indoor shooting--at least for the time being. For this reason, I am giving them five stars (but with a caveat).Side Note: I also keep an extra pair of the Impact Sports, with fresh batteries, in my hidden gun safe in my bedroom for home defense purposes. The electronic noise filter on both the Sport and Pro muffs (I would guess they are almost the same, if not actually the same, electronics uses in both pairs) does an outstanding job of amplifying and enhancing low volume sounds. I can put them on in my bedroom, crank up the volume and hear my kids talking softly at the other end of the house. If you have never used a pair of electronic muffs, it can be quite starting the first couple of times you have them on. I expect this could give me a big advantage in a home invasion situation, where the introducers have nothing on their ears and I have the hearing of a fox. :) The Impact Sport and/or Pro are worth owning for this reason alone.