The Peltor Sport Tactical 500 is a smart electronic hearing protector that effectively prevents permanent damage to hearing. It's incredibly durable, and a great step up from the cheaper options. Here's a hands-on review.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
Peltor Sport Tactical 500 Smart Electronic Hearing Protector for Shooting and Hunting
Top-rated: 10,448 ratings | 559 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Clear voice tracking and improved speech intelligibility.
Helpful review: "I decided I needed electronic ear defenders a few days before a big multi-national military marksmanship competition was to commence. I searched the web and found to my surprise that Amazon sold items such as this. I read the reviews and decided to buy. The Peltors were a bargain and the convenience of shopping with Amazon far outweighed any possibility I would try to find a retailer from which to buy this product to save a few dollars.
Now onto the Peltor's. In previous reviews, there had been mention of hissing. Mine work perfectly. The sound is crystal clear and if you turn them up to full volume, they are like hearing aids. You actually hear more than you would otherwise. If I have a complaint it is that I can't tell if the batteries are going flat and the on/off switches are too easily bumped on. Often when I took the defenders out of my webbing I found they had been rubbed into the on condition. When you turn the switches off and leave them for a while, the batteries recover a little bit. When you turn the switches on, you have normal operation but after a few minutes, if the batteries are flat, the sound diminishes. Knowing I would be doing a lot of shooting and have the defenders on for most of the days I was in the competition, I took the precaution of taking spare batteries so the matter of depleted batteries was not a problem.
Other than that, the Peltors's are terrific. They fit around the back of the head allowing you to wear head-dress which was mandatory according to competition rules. They don't get in the way of the rifle butt when firing rifles with a straight through butt configuration as is the case with most modern military shoulder fired weapons. Haven't tried them out with a combat helmet but suspect they can be accommodated. There was mention about sweating in the head sets. The weather was down in the low 15 to 10 degrees with 10 to 25 km/hr winds coming off snow and ice so sweating was not a problem; even with body armour on and running from mound to mound. In fact, I found myself sometimes wearing the Peltors as ear muffs to protect my ears against the stinging cold.
So... am I happy? You bet. All of my fellow competitors were seriously impressed with these defenders as they had older models that had the strap going over the top of the head. They were even more impressed when I told them how inexpensive the Peltors were and the speed with which Amazon provided them.
As a last helpful comment. Shooters need good, powerful, compact, zoom binoculars that will fit into an ammo pouch. You kind folk at Amazon might consider having them on the same page as the Peltors. I think you'd sell a few of them also. Thanks Peltor for a great product at a good price. Thank you Amazon for great service." — Noah O. Thompson
Get it from Amazon now: $199.99 & FREE Returns
Credit: Amazon.com