nstassel
NES Member
Recently I bought a set of the new Peltor EEP-100 electronic ear plugs and since a number of people have asked for my thoughts I figured I'd do a review.
I try not to skimp on eye and ear protection but I'm also pretty cheap. I have thought of buying some of the premium ear plugs but at 300-1200 bucks I was not interested. I wear MSA Sordin muffs sometimes with GI plugs or foamies underneath, and those weren't inexpensive but very good quality. In researching those I learned a bit about the NRR average db reduction which sellers are required to advertise but came to understand that the average reduction is not particularly useful in determining reduction in the range of gunfire . This is a good note on the subject:
MSA Sordin Supreme performance: the misleading “NRR=18dB” rating
When the EEP-100 came out recently I became interested because I wanted a pair of ear plugs for summer use. I have been wearing custom molded which are excellent but get tiresome cracking repeatedly at USPSA and IDPA matches that I frequent. So the price point of $143 on Amazon was one that I would consider taking a chance on, and I looked for more info.
https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media...ical-datasheet-electronic-earplug-eep-100.pdf
This data sheet has some interesting information. It claims that the plugs will run for 16 hours on a 180 minute charge. But more important is the db reduction at various frequencies with the different ear tips available.
You can see that for gunfire with the optional Skull Screws ear tips that from 1000 to 8000 hz these plugs claim to have a whopping reduction of 40.4 to 48 db! That got my attention and my Amazon order on the way. Note that the Skull Screws are an optional purchase of 20 bucks for 10 pairs which was annoyance but I sucked it up. Even with the stock plugs the reduction range is 35 to over 45 db.
They came a couple days later. The case serves as the charger which uses a micro usb cable which was included but no AC adapter. It is very sturdy and gasket sealed which I assume is at least splashproof if not waterproof. There are red and green shifting LEDs for each plug to show it is charging or not, and when it's done charging. After charging them for 3 hours as recommended, I began to mess around. I installed the Skull Screw plugs. Here is the link for them:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Sk...locphy=9002057&hvtargid=pla-307389792186&th=1
And they were very light and comfortable. The button is the rubber black portion which when pressed and held turns on the plug with a tone being audible. They default to the low volume setting. Pushing repeatedly goes to the two high volumes which each have a distinct tone. A long press turns off the device with two beeps.
I then wore them for three straight days for the Mass State IDPA shoot. The staff shoot was 13 stages with an indoor. I was immediately impressed with their sound reduction and filtering. Even at the indoor stage in close proximity to the shooting of my 10 person squad they well protected from the noise. For the 8 hours they remained comfortable without being removed.
That night and the next I charged them and wore them all day while staffing an outdoor stage. Running the tablet and taping for 10 squads coming through our pit they remained pretty comfortable and protective. I did have to periodically push them in a bit as they tend to work themselves out a bit over time.
On the last day I did not charge them and wore them again for a short match at Old Colony yesterday and they still did not run out of charge after another 3 hours of shooting. The quality seems to be holding up well for the case and the plugs.
That's about it. I really do think these are good quality devices and while not as cheap as Leight Sports, they do offer a good value for what they do and their performance. I am concerned about the lifespan of rechargeable batteries in them that are not apparently replaceable but for now I am impressed.
I try not to skimp on eye and ear protection but I'm also pretty cheap. I have thought of buying some of the premium ear plugs but at 300-1200 bucks I was not interested. I wear MSA Sordin muffs sometimes with GI plugs or foamies underneath, and those weren't inexpensive but very good quality. In researching those I learned a bit about the NRR average db reduction which sellers are required to advertise but came to understand that the average reduction is not particularly useful in determining reduction in the range of gunfire . This is a good note on the subject:
MSA Sordin Supreme performance: the misleading “NRR=18dB” rating
When the EEP-100 came out recently I became interested because I wanted a pair of ear plugs for summer use. I have been wearing custom molded which are excellent but get tiresome cracking repeatedly at USPSA and IDPA matches that I frequent. So the price point of $143 on Amazon was one that I would consider taking a chance on, and I looked for more info.
https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media...ical-datasheet-electronic-earplug-eep-100.pdf
This data sheet has some interesting information. It claims that the plugs will run for 16 hours on a 180 minute charge. But more important is the db reduction at various frequencies with the different ear tips available.
You can see that for gunfire with the optional Skull Screws ear tips that from 1000 to 8000 hz these plugs claim to have a whopping reduction of 40.4 to 48 db! That got my attention and my Amazon order on the way. Note that the Skull Screws are an optional purchase of 20 bucks for 10 pairs which was annoyance but I sucked it up. Even with the stock plugs the reduction range is 35 to over 45 db.
They came a couple days later. The case serves as the charger which uses a micro usb cable which was included but no AC adapter. It is very sturdy and gasket sealed which I assume is at least splashproof if not waterproof. There are red and green shifting LEDs for each plug to show it is charging or not, and when it's done charging. After charging them for 3 hours as recommended, I began to mess around. I installed the Skull Screw plugs. Here is the link for them:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Sk...locphy=9002057&hvtargid=pla-307389792186&th=1
And they were very light and comfortable. The button is the rubber black portion which when pressed and held turns on the plug with a tone being audible. They default to the low volume setting. Pushing repeatedly goes to the two high volumes which each have a distinct tone. A long press turns off the device with two beeps.
I then wore them for three straight days for the Mass State IDPA shoot. The staff shoot was 13 stages with an indoor. I was immediately impressed with their sound reduction and filtering. Even at the indoor stage in close proximity to the shooting of my 10 person squad they well protected from the noise. For the 8 hours they remained comfortable without being removed.
That night and the next I charged them and wore them all day while staffing an outdoor stage. Running the tablet and taping for 10 squads coming through our pit they remained pretty comfortable and protective. I did have to periodically push them in a bit as they tend to work themselves out a bit over time.
On the last day I did not charge them and wore them again for a short match at Old Colony yesterday and they still did not run out of charge after another 3 hours of shooting. The quality seems to be holding up well for the case and the plugs.
That's about it. I really do think these are good quality devices and while not as cheap as Leight Sports, they do offer a good value for what they do and their performance. I am concerned about the lifespan of rechargeable batteries in them that are not apparently replaceable but for now I am impressed.
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