Upland Bird Hunting Ear Pro

[Runningwater]

Tried two different pairs of axil GS 2.0 and both failed. Luckily purchased from Scheels so got money back. Now on to the Alclair EXP Pro. So far so good on the Alclair.

Appreciate it if you can give a follow up after some use. Pretty interested in those. Have a friend that swears by his Soundgear Instant Fits. If anyone has experience with those good or bad I'd be interested in hearing.

 

[BackCountryMulies]

Otto Noise barriers have done me well for years

 

[huntineveryday]

Appreciate it if you can give a follow up after some use. Pretty interested in those. Have a friend that swears by his Soundgear Instant Fits. If anyone has experience with those good or bad I'd be interested in hearing.

I have some of the Soundgear Instant Fits. Just about a full year into using them.

Pros: fit well and wear comfortably, have worn all day without problems, work great in the duck blind or dove hunting, have worn for upland and can still tell where the flush comes from, wind noise seems to be minimal, I am hearing things with them in that I wasn't before.

Cons: they seem to eat through batteries, so you always need extras on-hand, getting batteries changed in the field with cold hands isn't the easiest, they do change the sound some, but it doesn't take too long to adjust to.

I got mine pretty cheap at a Pheasants Forever banquet. At sale price, I'm happy with them. It didn't take too long to realize that the features found in the custom molded models would be great to have. The battery life has me really eyeing a pair of the Alclairs. They state a lot longer battery life and they would be custom molded.

 

[Runningwater]

I have some of the Soundgear Instant Fits. Just about a full year into using them.

Pros: fit well and wear comfortably, have worn all day without problems, work great in the duck blind or dove hunting, have worn for upland and can still tell where the flush comes from, wind noise seems to be minimal, I am hearing things with them in that I wasn't before.

Cons: they seem to eat through batteries, so you always need extras on-hand, getting batteries changed in the field with cold hands isn't the easiest, they do change the sound some, but it doesn't take too long to adjust to.

I got mine pretty cheap at a Pheasants Forever banquet. At sale price, I'm happy with them. It didn't take too long to realize that the features found in the custom molded models would be great to have. The battery life has me really eyeing a pair of the Alclairs. They state a lot longer battery life and they would be custom molded.

So roughly how long does a pair of batteries last?

 

[Speaks]

I hated the sound gear instant fit, they did ok for gunfire but would amplify the hell out of leaves crunching, or god forbit a bag of chips. Wish I could try a good custom fit pair before dropping the $$ for some.

 

[huntineveryday]

So roughly how long does a pair of batteries last?

I haven't kept close enough track to tell you how many hours, but it seems like I go through a pair in a weekend of hunting. So maybe 2 full days of hunting? If the batteries run out it isn't terrible, then it's just a regular pair of earplugs, but it can be annoying when one is working and the other isn't. The batteries aren't terribly expensive, but I seem to go through a $15 package quick enough.

Soundgear says 6-8 days of hunting with the size 10 batteries on thier website. My experience doesn't match that. (And yes, I let the batteries set for a few minutes after pulling the tab before use, and I store them inside so they aren't too cold or too hot.)

The allclair exp pro claims 150 hours with the size 13 batteries.

They do amplify the sound pushing through grass and cover. But I can usually hear where the dog is better too, so it doesn't seem to bother me very much.

 

[bdg848]

Stormy Kromer with the ear flaps down

 

[Public Land Drew]

Appreciate it if you can give a follow up after some use. Pretty interested in those. Have a friend that swears by his Soundgear Instant Fits. If anyone has experience with those good or bad I'd be interested in hearing.

I have experience with 2 pairs. They work pretty damn well…. when they work. I got a weird buzzing noise on 2 from the battery connection (apparently known issue), but they fixed it after warranty ( I believe one year that’s it).

I have lost 3 for what it’s worth, 2 to the washing machine and one in one duck blind. All my fault none of which is the product.

The last one standing is finicky, if the battery is not put it just right it doesn’t work. I’d buy them again when they go one sale for $250ish.

Batteries last for me about 4 days constant noise going on, basically is you’re a weekend warrior you need to replace every weekend.

 

[Public Land Drew]

I hated the sound gear instant fit, they did ok for gunfire but would amplify the hell out of leaves crunching, or god forbit a bag of chips. Wish I could try a good custom fit pair before dropping the $$ for some.

I didn’t find the the amplification of noise bad… maybe it’s because I’m already deaf

 

[Public Land Drew]

I have some of the Soundgear Instant Fits. Just about a full year into using them.

Pros: fit well and wear comfortably, have worn all day without problems, work great in the duck blind or dove hunting, have worn for upland and can still tell where the flush comes from, wind noise seems to be minimal, I am hearing things with them in that I wasn't before.

Cons: they seem to eat through batteries, so you always need extras on-hand, getting batteries changed in the field with cold hands isn't the easiest, they do change the sound some, but it doesn't take too long to adjust to.

I got mine pretty cheap at a Pheasants Forever banquet. At sale price, I'm happy with them. It didn't take too long to realize that the features found in the custom molded models would be great to have. The battery life has me really eyeing a pair of the Alclairs. They state a lot longer battery life and they would be custom molded.

I think this is a great analysis of the instant fits from my experience.

 

[jjarrell]

For those who have used Otto Noizebarrier Micro, do you find it manages wind well enough? All electronic ear pro I've tried fails to manage a moderate wind.

 

[CjMelendrez]

interested, following

 

[Public Land Drew]

Well, I bought the new Soundgear Shields... to say the least, I hated them and used the 30-day return policy. It just felt like I was wearing earplugs and it had little amplification. This is worse than the Soundgear shields I had.

Just pulled the trigger on the Otto's Noizebarrier Micro, probably the best thing before getting customs.

 

[jjarrell]

Well, I bought the new Soundgear Shields... to say the least, I hated them and used the 30-day return policy. It just felt like I was wearing earplugs and it had little amplification. This is worse than the Soundgear shields I had.

Just pulled the trigger on the Otto's Noizebarrier Micro, probably the best thing before getting customs.

Let us know what you think of the Otto's, and how they do managing wind noise.

 

[chemist]

Let us know what you think of the Otto's, and how they do managing wind noise.

You did not direct the comment at me, but I just picked up a pair of the otto noizebarrier micro and am four hunts in with them. I was previously using the walker silencer 2.0. I decided to upgrade primarily due to wind noise. Otherwise I did not have a problem with the walker silencers. I did not get an exact wind reading, but I hunted with them in what was easily 20+mph winds. I ended up paying $470 for the otto noizebarriers, and my verdict is that I am glad I purchased them. Given the amount of money we spend on other things within the sport, my recommendation is to pony up the money to buy them and cut corners elsewhere. Skip over the $100-$250 price range for electronic plugs and jump straight to these (or perhaps a more expensive brand). I will keep the walkers as a backup set in the case of uncharged batteries, etc but do not expect them to get a lot of use.

Otto Noizebarrier pros:

Handle wind noise better than any other electronics I have used. When I was hunting and I could hear wind noise, if I took them out I generally could still hear the wind in my ears without the earpro in. The wind noise also sounds more or less like natural wind noise instead of the static over a PA system you get from many electronic hearing protections. This is their largest advantage.

There is a little but not much in the way of crunching brush, etc. Huge improvement over the other electronic hearing protection I have used.

They seem to return to normal hearing after gunfire faster than other electronic hearing protection I have used.

They are comfortable for my ear canal. I would them for 8 hours straight and did not feel the need to take them out. This has not been the case with the Walkers. After about 3 hours with the walkers, I feel like I need to take them out to let my ear canal relax. The correct replacement foam tips might help with this for the Walkers.

I maintain directionality of the flush in all except for the most extreme cases. e.g. pushing through the really thick stuff. Honestly, I am not sure I would have been able to tell direction of flush without the hearing protection given the amount of noise I make busting through phragmites.

Comes with spare filters for keeping ear wax out of the electronic components.

My list of cons are not dealbreakers, and I am overall happy with the Ottos, but nevertheless there is always room for improvement.

Otto Noizebarrier cons:

No bluetooth capability.

Limited number of sound level to select from for amplification.

The case is "tactical" and slightly cheesy. It is also slightly bulkier than needed. That said, it seems durable and will serve the purpose.

When you turn off one earplug, the other does not automatically turn off.

The plugs charge from the case on a stored battery in the case. However, the case needs to be open in order to charge the case. This is inconvenient for charging in the truck and always having them in your hunting rig.

If I yell or use a quail call, it attenuates but does not completely cut out my own sound.