Description
The Pro Tac Slim muff is the premium model of Pro Ears. Designed with a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 28, the Pro Tac Slims provide exceptional protection for the loudest environments while still amplifying quieter sounds for improved situational awareness. Constructed using dual circuit board technology, adjust your hearing and amplification levels separately for each ear to compensate for uneven hearing loss using the dual knob system. Additional adjustment for high and low gain using internal pin settings. For the ultimate in Performance, Comfort and Reliability.
Lais-sez-faire – Verified Purchaser –
Excellent for hearing protection but a bit pricey
Color: Black – Lithium 123a Batteries
The Pro Ears – Pro Tac Slim Gold is a great headset. The hearing protection and sound quality are excellent, far better than my Howard Leight Impact Sport. The Pro Ears uses sound compression technology rather than a simple cut off of high decibels. It’s much more clear and natural with less interference. You do get some distortion at higher volumes. I’ve found it’s best to set the volume at a quarter turn or less. They do have a high gain setting (haven’t tried), presumably for hunters wanting to pick up sounds they normally wouldn’t hear. For the most part, the Howard Leight Impact Sport are fine and I would’ve been completely satisfied if it had a higher NRR rating. What I like about the Impact Sport is the low profile, but for me it’s not enough protection indoors. I was very tempted by the Impact PRO but I think that’s even larger and slightly heavier than the Pro Tac Slim Gold. So, for 30 NRR and much better sound I chose the smallest headset I could find at a reasonable price. These are still slim enough for a good cheek weld when shooting rifles. I’m not sure these are really worth $160. They certainly don’t look like it. The memory foam ear pads are very nice, but the plastic headband and ear cups seem fairly ordinary. Other than the price, these are outstanding.
Barry – Verified Purchaser –
Watch how you store these.
Color: Black – Lithium 123a Batteries
Great passive protection to go with the electronic enhancements that allow for hearing activity around you. They work quit well, and have a great volume range, and pickup everything going on around you. They do not fold up to a very compact package, thus they take up a bit more space on range bag than my other shooting ear muffs. The most compact storage position places the ear cushion of one muff against the hard plastic back of the other muff. After three or four days stored in this position, the ear cushion was stuck to the plastic, and left part of itself on the plastic when separated. I suspect I will need a refurbishing kit to remedy the damage, which I assume the vendor will manage under warranty. Be careful how you store them.
Chris Jaronsky – Verified Purchaser –
Very comfortable and great noise suppression
Color: Green – Lithium 123a Batteries
I have been using these while shooting for a few weeks now and I really like them!
I was using a pair of the Howard Leights, which are much less expensive, but I guess you get what you pay for? While the HL earmuffs did a good job with noise suppression, they were not the most comfortable. I normally practice at the range a few times a week for at least an hour. Then I shoot matches (USPSA) on weekends a few times a month, which can be an 8 hour day. Let me tell you wearing an uncomfortable set of headclamps (earmuffs) can be very uncomfortable after a few hours.
These Pro Ears are a noticeable upgrade.
The first thing you notice are the incredibly soft ear cushions. Noticeably more comfortable. Then you notice the ear boxes are larger, so my ear fits inside without any discomfort. Since I started using these the longest I have worn them was three hours. I will be wearing them for six-plus hours this weekend, and I have a feeling they will perform well as even wearing them for three hours I did not reach the point of annoyance and wanting to throw them to the ground as I sometimes feel like doing with the HL earmuffs.
The noise suppression features work well. They are quiet and the noise suppression works very fast so I can easily carry on a conversation while people are shooting nearby.
The only negative I have found was instead of a single volume controller there are two, one for each ear. I was so used to a single volume controller that I thought having two was a disadvantage. I found it a bit harder to adjust both perfectly. Turns out having a separate volume controller for each ear is actually much better. An example of this is during a practice last weekend I set up some hard entry targets with barrels stacked about two feet from a wall. I was coming in hard to that opening to shoot the targets. The gunshot noise was deflecting off the wall and was quite distracting in my left ear. I turned down the volume on my left ear, leaving the right at normal volume, and found that it was much less distracting now. So it seems having two volume controllers is actually good.
Richard – Verified Purchaser –
Pro Tac slim gold
Color: Black – Lithium 123a Batteries
Very nice product. I greatly appreciate the sound attenuation performance as I already have significant hearing damage. With other products I needed earplugs as well as the muffs, with this one only if indoors and shooting especially loud weapons.
The jumper is a bit fussy a mini switch would be a step up (used to set audio amplification range). I recommend this product.