Introduction
Even inexpensive hearing protection is better than none. I went most of my shooting career using foamies, mainly because I wanted to spend my money on things besides ear protection. But times have changed, and I am the happy owner now of several good head sets to protect whats left of my hearing. Today we are going to take a look at one of the most affordable sets I have, the Walkers Game Ear Razor Slim Ear Muffs. These are battery powered ear muffs that amplify normal sounds so you can talk and listen to whats around you, without going deaf from gunfire.
The Razor Slim Ear Muffs
Walkers Game Ear Razor (WGE) Slim muffs are available in a surprising variety of color and even patterns. The use a wire-band spring to hold the two muffs together, padded to fit the top of your head. The unit is powered by two included AAA batteries.
The muffs use dual omnidirectional microphones to pick up sounds from all directions, and their .02 second compression time means you’ll only hear safe levels of sound. Full range speakers are used in the muffs to provide clear sounds while you are shooting. This all results in a 23dB reduction in noise.
Powering up the unit is done using a dial on the left side, you can simply roll it with the tip of your finger. It has definitive click when it reaches the off position, so you dont waste battery life. As you roll the dial it adjustes the volume. These also have WGE’s typical input jack, allowing you to add your own sounds to the mix. Or it can be used together with WGE’s walkie talkie attachment to enhance communication between people.
On the Range
In no time I was on the range, shooting both rifles and handguns. Even though I often shoot suppressed, the fact that other shooters don’t often requires me to wear hearing protection anyways.
With the Razor Slim muffs powered up, I could comfortably hear people talking around me on the firing line. Even little things like bouncing brass and footsteps on the dirt would come through. This gives you much better situational awareness while shooting, and that can be important around others.
Wearing the muffs for an hour here and there during the course of my shooting gave a good impression. Some other muffs often give me a headache from squeezing too hard. The soft cups of these muffs felt fine, and even sealed up over the temple arms of my glasses well. To be sure they were comfy, I even wore them around the office for a few hours.
Pros and Cons
These muff are perfectly serviceable for most shooting purposes. Whether you shoot indoor or outdoors like me, they will keep you hearing safe from gunfire. I will say this, when shooting extra large guns like the 50BMG, you may want to double up by adding some foamies underneath the muffs. I love the various color patterns, allowing you to get your own custom look. Additionally it is much less likely to get your muffs mixed up with someone else’s. They fold up nicely, and fit easily into your shooting bag.
I am not sure if my demerits for these muffs are fair. I have several other pairs of hearing protection, but they are significantly more expensive. While the others might be more comfortable, and have added tech like bluetooth, that comes at a cost.
Whereas the WGE Razor Slim muffs are obviously meant to be more for the mainstream. If you need those additional features that come at a higher price point, you can certainly look at WGE Recon or Firemax muff sets.
Final Words
Unless you are some kind of professional shooter, these WGE Razor Slim muffs are more than enough hearing protection for most American shooting enthusiasts. And even if you are a professional shooter, they’d still probably work. I am going to make sure they are always in my shooting bag, in case I need them, or someone needs to borrow a set. With a street price under $60, its a small price to pay to keep your dirty shooting fingers out of your ears.