Something or nothing to be honest, but thought I'd share something with the forum if they are having problems with ear plugs, whether it's comfort or they just don't work. I have real problems with getting any sort of plug to stay sealed in my ears and are comfortable at the same time. For some reason if I turn my head, or open my Jaw, my right plug always loses it's seal. I have had and tried many plugs over the years, from the squidgy types, pinlock, auritech, countless ebay/Amazon offerings and also had three sets of purpose made plugs from people like Ultimate and others that frequent bike shows and the like. I've spent a small fortune. Anyway, you get the picture. Well, for the first time since 2013 (When I got back on a bike after a long time off them) I appear to have found a set of plugs that work! I do not know what is different about them because they are very similar in design to others I have tried. These seem to work, are comfortable and I can hear what is going on around me. I'm not affiliated with the company, no kick backs, discounts or anything else like that, they just seem to work well for me. I'm using the larger of the plugs with the black inserts. If I have one criticism that would be they are a bit fiddly to remove. I'll put up with that though.
I started wearing ear plugs about 2004 when I bought my first big bike, which happened to be an ST4. Back then the choice of disposable ear plugs was very limited, predominantly the yellow foam jobbies that I found uncomfortable. I had a pair of custom made, but found them to be only marginally more comfortable but plugged into my itouch. Sometime later I found the pink and yellow Laser Lites and have been happy with them. I probably buy a box of 200 pairs a year and pick them up at various work sites. Like helmets ear plugs are very personal, I’m lucky the ones I like are cheap, helmets are the complete opposite. thanks for sharing
I used to use the Howard Leight Max orange plugs but have now changed to the 3M EAR Soft FX. With both of these I snip the tips off so they're flat, rather than domed. Far more comfortable and just as effective, plus they have less of a tendancy to self eject as they expand.
I use the soft squidgy throw away types. I’ve had the custom fitted types but always fall back to the throw aways… more hygienic imo… Plus I use them at work all the time.
Can’t get along with workplace ear plugs so I had some custom made defenders. They visit you or you can visit their factory, they take an impression of your ear and a few weeks later they arrive in the post. They’ve been excellent so far.
I have some Isolate Titanium ones because I believed the the nonsense in the ad so thought I'd try... so I now still use the orange foam expandy throw away ones... and I randomly lose one nearly every ride :-( so try to always carry a few spares.
...Interesting... It seems that the 3M Ear soft FX have slightly better SNR... I always thought that the Howard Leight Max (what I have used for years) were the best on the market...I'll try them out next time
Laser Lite SNR 35 dB, 3M Ear soft FX SNR 39 dB. As I understand it dB is a logarithmic scale so 4 dB could be a large difference, I don’t know which is better though.
I've been using JBL ear buds. Very secure fitting, until helmet is removed then you need to catch the left one. But they are superb. Allow bike noises in. But completely cut the wind out. Not sure how tbh. AND they let me bluetooth directions off the phone. Win win
I found they all vary in where they attenuate the noise...some best at lower or higher frequencies...and also in combination with the helmet...so it always seems to be try-them-and-see..
More comfortable too I found, especially with their tips snipped off. This stops the pointy end pressing against my inner ear and also allows the flange at the other end to seat better*. Might just be my ears though. I only need to remove the very tip, a few mm. Huge difference, especially on long days on tour and no real perceivable impact in noise attenuation. * this does occasionally make removal a little more difficult, grasping the edge of the flange with finger tips or with a stubborn bugger using a key to carefully eek it out just a little...
Yup, got some of those too. My right ear is probably reminiscent of a scrum half’s ear because even the purpose made one’s keep popping out.
Anyone have experience of UtimateEar's Motorcyclist Bluetooth SoundEar's? and/or experience of other custom ear-plug makers? Looking at the pics of the Motorcyclist Bluetooth SoundEar's I can't help wondering if the controller and what I guess is a battery pack on the other side 'flap around' in the wind so to speak?.... possibly irritating?
Review video... ...warning... tediously long! I commented; So the mic is outside your helmet?... isn't that an issue with a fullface helmet? Thanks for the vid.
