HOWARD LEIGHT IMPACT SPORT EARMUFFS | REVIEW

At the range or on the hunt, the Howard Leight Impact Sport Electronic Shooting Earmuff keeps you protected from hazardous noise.

If you’ve ever been to a shooting range, you’ve probably heard the term, “eyes and ears”. This is a shortened term for the most basic and essential pieces of safety equipment required for a day of shooting sports, eye protection and ear protection. Howard Leight is a company that’s no stranger to protecting your hearing in either the workplace or in a sporting environment. And has been at the cutting edge of preventing occupational hearing loss for over 30 years. Recently, I was fortunate enough to test one of the newest items from Howard Leight, the Impact Sport Earmuffs.

The water-resistant earmuffs came in a flat black color (OD Green also available) and sport a padded leatherette headband. The overall slender design of the Impact Sport Earmuffs reduced any interference when shouldering a rifle. In addition, they fit comfortably under a Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH). As well as the Ops-Core and Team Wendy helmet variants.

Features low profile earcups for firearm stock clearance

Despite temperatures in Northern Michigan dipping into the low teens, I headed out to my range for a test session with the Impact Sport Earmuffs.  After inserting the AAA batteries and turning the control knob to its highest setting, I placed the well-fitting set of earmuffs on over my hat. The sensitive microphones amplify the slightest ambient noises essentially giving you super human hearing. The birds, a light breeze, a whisper, all at full volume in the ear cups.

Although I can see the advantage of this while hunting, I really needed to dial back the volume knob to a more underwhelming level of acuity. I’ve shot 9mm, .40Cal & .45ACP handguns, short barreled rifles in 5.56 and 9mm, 12 Ga shotgun and some bolt-action long guns with these earmuffs. Regardless of the volume setting on the Impact Sport Earmuffs, they attenuated the sharp crack of the firearms with lightning efficiency every time.

When the electronic ear protection is switched on, it employs built-in directional microphones that amplify ambient sounds to a safe 82dB.

Gone are the days of yelling at your shooting partners while on the range or in competition. The Impact Sport Earmuffs allow up to 82db of noise pass through the microphone. Once that value is exceeded, they reduce any impulsive damaging noise by 22db. The earmuffs fold up into a nice tight package and fit neatly in any range bag. Additionally, they never wavered on my head despite my attempts to unsettle them. Even with various hats, watch caps and my shooting glasses tucked into the ear cups, the earmuffs never felt like they would leave my head. The fit is comfortably snug, unlike some headache inducing headsets I’ve used in the past.

The single on/off volume control knob and solo battery compartment are a major plus in my book. I’m less likely to leave one earpiece on. Something I’ve done on occasion resulting in a dead battery which can be very annoying. The single on/off switch eliminates that possibility and also features a 4 hour automatic shut off to preserve the battery should you neglect to manually shut them off. And with a 350 hour battery life, I don’t see myself swapping batteries in the near future.

Impact Sport Earmuffs Additional Features:

• Built-in directional microphones amplify range commands and other ambient sounds to a safe 82dB. Providing more natural listening and enhanced communication.
• Actively listens and automatically stops amplification when ambient sound exceeds 82dB.
• Features low profile earcups for firearm stock clearance; adjustable headband for secure fit; compact folding design for convenient storage.
• Includes AUX input and 3.5mm cord to connect with your music device or radio scanner or another audio source.
• Includes 2 AAA batteries; automatic shut-off feature after 4 hours increases battery life; approximately 350 hours of battery life.
• Noise Reduction Rating (NRR): 22dB.
• Purchase here

Final Thoughts:

With a reasonable price point, I feel the Impact Sport Earmuffs deliver a great feature laden value as compared to the other electronic earmuffs on the market. The ergonomics of this headset are well thought out down to the smallest of details. For example, the soft tactile feel of the textured on/off volume control knob are reminiscent of the current dashboard controls in an Audi. The leatherette headband is a nice comfort feature often overlooked or left out by other manufacturers. Take a good look at the Howard Leight Impact Sport Earmuffs for your next set of “ears”.