Hearing protection is getting increasingly innovative nowadays, moving from the traditional designs that only cut down on noise by covering your ears with a thick layer of insulation to all sorts of gadgetry that adapts to the environment and even offers entertainment options. Noise-canceling technology is nothing new, having hit the civilian audio market nearly 30 years ago. Still, the shooting sports were slow to adopt, mainly because nobody equated anti-shooting-noise gear with fine audio equipment such as Bose or Harmen-Karten. People don’t usually don a pair of shooting muffs to listen to Mozart.
Even before the advent of Bluetooth, shooter ear protection added one feature that everyone welcomed: electronic microphones. One of the toughest challenges when wearing ear protection is achieving the balance between muffling loud gunshots and hearing the instructor or the world around you. Active hearing protection accomplished this by adding tiny microphones to each muff that stay open to allow the wearer to hear the surroundings—including instructions—and then instantly shut off once the gunfire started, working the same as traditional muffs to protect those delicate eardrums.
In the early days, this new-fangled technology was confined to muffs only, mainly because of the copious space required to add the hardware. It wouldn’t fit into anything smaller. But, as we all have experienced, technology keeps shrinking. Eventually, the sound system in electronic ear protection got small enough to fit into earbuds, thus introducing noise-canceling electronic earbuds to the shooting world.
Texas-based Walker’s (anyone besides me picturing Chuck Norris with a badge right about now?) was one of the pioneers of the electronic ear protection market, introducing its early models over 25 years ago. Since then, they have become synonymous with electronic ear pro for everything from hunting to sporting clays to training on the range to protecting the hearing of militaries worldwide. Some would argue Walker’s set the industry standard early and stayed there.
My first encounter with Walker’s was via a pair of Razor ear muffs I bought nearly ten years ago. They lasted for a solid nine years of frequent use before the wire that led to one of the earpieces finally frayed from repeated folding to store in my range bag. I contacted customer support for help, and the nice lady on the other end offered to send me a new pair of the latest model at no charge, even though the original pair was officially out of warranty. This gesture was far more than I expected. I don’t guarantee every customer service rep will do this should you encounter the same problem, but it spoke volumes (ha!) to me about their customer care. The new ones arrived two days later and still work great a year later.
As mentioned above, noise-canceling earbuds are the latest and greatest hearing protection, made even more impressive if they have Bluetooth technology built in. Enter the Rope Hearing Enhancer Hearing Protection with Bluetooth, stage right.
The Lowdown
These earbuds work two ways: as a passive plug similar to foamies that cancel out loud bangs, and with the electronics turned on so you can hear the world around you between shots. Plus, they have Bluetooth that pairs with your smartphone, letting you listen to music or make phone calls between volleys. Need to make post-range-session dinner reservations? Put the gun down, dial away, or ask your phone’s smart assistant to call for you without removing your earbuds.
Here are the specs, according to Walker’s website;
- Onboard Bluetooth technology
- HD internal speakers
- USB-rechargeable lithium battery
- Omnidirectional microphones
- 3 pairs of foam tips for a custom fit
- Multiple user-selectable sound compression settings
- Includes 12” charging cable and storage case
My pair arrived on a Friday afternoon with a minimal charge, so I plugged them in and had a full charge in about 30 minutes. Walker doesn’t claim how fast the battery charges, but half an hour is more than respectable. Fully charged, they went into my range bag along with my Razor muffs, just in case I didn’t like the earbuds. Always have a backup plan, right? Shooting indoors can be painful without adequate hearing protection. This particular range has very little sound insulation—almost none—which is why I normally wear the full muffs and sometimes even double up with foamies. The thought of wearing only earbuds made me nervous.
Testing, Testing…
I had already scheduled an indoor range session for Sunday, so the timing was perfect. My range plan for the afternoon was to work with two guns: a Ruger 10-22 that’s been sitting in my safe unfired for over five years, followed by throwing a couple of boxes of 9mm downrange through my EDC, a Smith & Wesson Shield, because it’s always a good idea to get in some reps with your carry gun.
Since the 10-22 is quiet compared to pretty much every other gun out there, I started by shooting it to test the hearing protection at the lower level. The first test was with the electronics turned off because I wanted to try the noise-stopping function without any gadgetry or assistance. The result? It sounded like I had added a suppressor to the rifle. Perfect.
Next, I turned on the electronics and ran through another magazine. The result this time? A bit disappointing. Too much sound, in my opinion, leaked through, and the microphones didn’t seem to cut out fully. Not being one to quickly blame the equipment, however, and since I was the only one in the bay, I removed the earbuds, squeezed the rubber ends tighter, reinserted them deeper into my ears, and let them fill out for 15 seconds before resuming shooting. They worked better the second time. Diagnosis: user error.
Next came the 9mm. Ensuring that the earbuds were still inserted correctly (they hadn’t moved, so I wasn’t worried), I fired the first shot—and was pleasantly surprised at how muffled the sound was. So I kept shooting, switching the electronics on and off throughout the session. At the end of shooting, my ears felt the same as they would with the Razors, which I consider an excellent pair of electronic shooting muffs.
The big test came when I taught a class with six students, all shooting inside the concrete range. How did the earbuds perform against all that cacophony? Admirably, but I did find it more pleasant to turn off the microphones during the shooting. However, it was nice to flip the switch back on during down times and talk with my students without the need to remove the earbuds every time.
Hello? Can you hear me now?
The final test was the Bluetooth function. I paired them with my phone, opened a music app, and played with the volume to gauge the sound quality. While it might not have been Bose, it was certainly respectable.
Next, I called my wife to see how phone calls sounded. “Crystal clear,” was her answer. She said she could hear me just fine, and her voice was as clear as if it was through the earbuds that came with the phone.
Overall Impressions
The Walker’s Rope Hearing Enhancer Hearing Protection with Bluetooth is an impressive piece of gear. I teach many classes in the bay where I tried them out, so they needed to work well, which they did. Any ear protection works well outdoors, where sound is less of a factor, but indoors, that’s a whole other matter. Hearing protection has to work well inside the concrete box that is an indoor shooting range. These earbuds did the trick.
At $119 MSRP, they aren’t cheap, but they also aren’t cheap. I have not done an endurance test yet, but if they are anything like the Razors, they will last for a long time.
