As a firearm instructor I am a huge fan of electronic ear muffs as they allow both myself and students to safely and clearly hear instructions on the range without yelling or misunderstandings, which can affect safety standards. It is also far less tiring when you can hear properly over several hours.
But, because I do spend long periods on the range on a regular basis I am also well aware of the downsides of many of the newer, lesser known brands of electronic hearing protectors, and so I have stuck exclusively to two “big name” brands for a long time. I currently own six sets and so I feel able to comment on the Earmor brand in this review.
The five big failings of many brands (even some very well-known ones) are as follows:
- They do not effectively lower gunshot sounds to a safe level.
- They do not fit well, especially on shooters wearing eye protection (which should be all of us). This reduces noise protection ability.
- They become uncomfortable within a short period and are seriously unpleasant after 3-4 hours without removal.
- They have a electronic “hiss” or buzzing which will give you a headache after a few hours.
- Batteries don’t last and/or are hard to replace.
I will address all these issues in this review to help you know if these Earmor protectors are of interest for you.
Earmor hearing protectors are imported by Backcountry Outfitters (formerly Pro-Tactical), who are also the importers of Rigby Rifles (in case you have a spare $15K or more lying about) and several other products you will be familiar with. Although recently renamed, the family company has been around for many years and is a reliable supplier to Aussie gun shops.
I agreed to review the Earmor M31 Protector because Tom at Backcountry Outfitters was so enthused by both their performance and their competitive price point.
Earmor is a new brand to most of us here in Australia but has been running for several years and provides mil-spec level hearing protection to a number of government agencies worldwide. It has a good reputation in acoustics research and a wide range of products.
The M31 plus is Earmor’s base-line protector and does not feature microphones or Bluetooth etc, though for only a little more dollars you can get models that include those features. They all feature the same level of hearing protection, so why pay more for features if you don’t need them?
They are a nice-looking, solid type of hearing protector, and seem well-built.
After using them heavily for over 6 months I can safely say they only ever experienced one issue, which in the end turned out to be my mistake. They have been completely reliable even after being bounced around range bags and in 4WDs across Queensland as well as accidentally being dropped onto concrete more than once.
Let me address the five issues I look at in any electronic hearing protector and see how the Earmor rated.
1. Sound Reduction
The Earmor M31 Plus automatically kicks in to reduce volume whenever sound over 85 decibels is detected. It has a rated reduction of 22 decibels. I took them to an F class shoot with dozens of people shooting loud centrefire rifles and swapped them back and forth with my own higher priced electronic muffs to see what I noticed. I was most impressed. The Earmor lowered sound (to my ears’ perception) noticeably better than my own muffs.
I also trialled them by adding ear plugs under them at indoor ranges to further lower sound and by increasing the input volume level I was able to have added sound reduction and still clearly hear range commands etc.
2. Fit and effectiveness
I believe one of the reasons the Earmor seemed to reduce sound better (even though on paper there was no real difference in dB reduction) was that they fit so much better when wearing shooting glasses than other brands. This is really important as any gaps created by hair or glasses etc can reduce hearing protection greatly.
3. Comfort
These Earmor M31 Plus muffs are the single most comfortable muffs I have ever worn for long periods. I have now had over a dozen uses where they were not removed for 4-5 hours at a time and twice they were on for a whole day. I have experienced zero sore ears or any discomfort and I put this down to the very well designed and built gel (not foam, like many use) ear cups. They are simply brilliant in the comfort department.
4. Buzz or noises
This is the one area I did have a problem at first, until I realised that I had used some old batteries I had lying in a drawer to power them up. I wondered if that could be an issue so I replaced the batteries with new ones and voila, no more buzz or noise whatsoever; such an improvement. I also learnt that sometimes it pays to use quality batteries before you blame the device.
They are now beautifully quiet with very clear and crisp outside sounds for normal conversation and I can turn them up to easily hear people mumbling at the far end of the range line if needed.
5. Battery life and ease of use
The M31 Plus uses AAA batteries that are extremely easy to buy and once I changed to new batteries, they have been going strong through almost six months of heavy use and are still good at this stage. The batteries are extremely easy to replace, with large knurled caps on the battery compartments.
So the M31 Plus easily passed all my requirements for good electronic muffs and I am very happy with them.
The controls are very intuitive and easy to use, with large buttons, which is helpful.
There is an audible sound when you power up (“power on”) and again when you power down; and apparently another when battery level is low but I cannot say on that as the batteries last and last and still have lots of power.
I have also been doing limited trialling of the Earmor “ear bud” type protectors (M20T) that are very comfortable and make a great Bluetooth player for music and phone calls etc. However, like most in-ear designs, they are best restricted for outdoor hunting situations rather than range use either outdoor or indoor.
Earmor muffs are available from most gun shops across Australia. If they don’t have them in stock, they can get them quickly in most cases.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Manufacturer: Earmor
- Model: Earmor M31 Plus (tactical black colour tested)
- Noise Reduction Rating: 22dB
- Noise Suppression: sounds exceeding 85 dB in under 1 milli second
- Ear cups: Gel ear pads
- Water protection: Waterproof IPX5 level (you can wear them even in the heaviest rain)
- Volume: Adjustable with 5 levels of sound
- Batteries: 2 x AAA batteries (not included)
- Audio input: 1 x 3.5mm audio input
- Auto shutdown: After 4 hours of inactivity.
- RRP: $129
- Distributor: Backcountry Outfitters
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