If you love hunting or indoor shooting, it is important that you shield your ears from the harmful loud gunshots. The Howard Leight Impact Pro and Pro Ears ear muffs are two of the best hearing protection devices for gunfire. The following is an in-depth review of the two.
A set of hearing protection headsets is essential when protecting your ears against harmful noise. Whether you’re shooting or work in an industrial environment, you need to be able to safeguard your ears while still hearing people around you. This is where electronic hearing protection headsets come in. Howard Leight and Pro Ears are the two of the leading brands in this products. Today, we’ll look at two of their top-selling products: Howard Leight’s Impact Pro and Pro Ears Predator Gold. The following table highlights how the compare.
What are the differences between Howard Leight and Pro Ears?
Howard LeightImpact Pro |
Pro Ears Predator Gold |
|
Noise reduction rating |
30 dB |
26 dB |
Comfort padding |
Well-padded headband |
Pro-foam leather ear seals and viscoelastic foam |
Power source |
2 AAA batteries
|
4N-size batteries |
Battery life |
Up to350 hours |
Up to 250 hours |
Sound amplification ratings |
82 dB |
70 dB |
Availability |
Howard LeightImpact Provs Pro EarsPredator Gold – How do they compare?
Noise reduction rating
If you’re a gun enthusiast, then you know that the noise reduction rating in any hearing protection device is the most important factor. A higher rating means better ear protection.Here, the Howard Leight Impact Pro has a higher noise reduction rating than the Pro Ears headsets. The Impact Pro is rated at 30 decibels whereas the Pro Ears stands at 26 decibels. Note that when shooting, it is recommended that your protection device is between 26 and 30 decibels. This means that although the fall within the same range, the Impact Pro would be the obvious choice for any indoor or outdoor shooting.
Comfort
Another key comparison factor is the comfort each product offers. Comfort refers to how well the headsets fit against the head, tightness, and cushioning material used on the ear cup seals.The Pro Ears Predator Gold is much more comfortable than the Howard Leight Impact Pro and there are a few reasons for this. First, the Pro Ears are quite premium both in quality and price tag. It fits perfectly against the head without being too tight or loose. On top of that, the ear cup seals are made from gel liquid cushioning that offers extreme comfort as well as sealing the ears properly. On the other hand, the Impact Pro comes with a padded headband and slim ear cups that aren’t really that comfortable. Therefore, Pro Ears is the winner when it comes to comfort.
Size and portability
There’s a great chance that you will be carrying around your hearing protection headsets especially for industrial and factory workers. Because of this reason, you need a small, light and portable pair of headsets to make life easier. Once again, the Pro Ears beats the Howard Leight headset in portability. The Pro Ears Predator Gold is smaller, lighter and folds smaller than the Impact Pro. At only, 0.26 kg, the headset is among the lightest in the market without compromising on quality. The Pro Gears also uses a unique fold design that allows it to fold into almost half of its size which is rather impressive. On the contrary, Howard Leight’s Impact Pro is known for its bulky nature. It weighs 0.4 kg and folds well too. However due its already large size, it’s still bulky when folded.
Sound amplification rating
Another common rating in hearing protection devices is the sound amplification rating. Noises below this rating will be amplified to this rating. When the devices are on, this is what allows you to hear and have conversations with people around you. Once again the higher the rating, the better the performance. Howard Leight’s Impact Pro is better as it has a higher amplification rating than the Pro Ears.It is rated at 82 decibels against 70 decibels on the Pro Ears headsets. This means better ear safety for you.
Howard LeightImpact Provs Pro EarsPredator Gold – A comparison overview
Howard LeightImpact Pro
- HIGH NOISE REDUCTION RATING (30 NRR): Designed for handgun and pistol shooters looking for high NRR;...
- AMPLIFIES AMBIENT NOISE UP TO 4X: Built-in directional microphones amplify range commands and other...
- BLOCKS HAZARDOUS NOISE: Actively listens and automatically shuts off amplification when ambient sound...
- COMFORTABLE, SECURE FIT: Rubberized pressure points prevent gunstock scratching; super deluxe padded...
The Howard Leight Impact Pro are a powerful set of electronic earmuffs manufactured by the Honeywell Company. With a superior noise reduction rating of 30 decibels, they make indoor and outdoor shooting a comfortably quiet task. The set can also be used in loud working environments such as factories and construction sites. Like other Howard Leight products, the Impact Pro features a robust bulky design for ultimate durability. However, these design choice compromises on the portability of the headset. So if you’re looking for a small size headset, the Impact Pro may not be for you. Other than that, these headsets offer great performance on the ground. Each ear cup is fitted with a microphone with an amplification rating of 82 decibels. This allows quiet sounds to penetrate so you can hear the environment around you.
The Impact Pro is powered by 2 AAA batteries that offer up to 10 hours of batter time. It is also fitted with a 3.5mm audio jack for music, volume wheel and a nicely padded headband for comfort.
Pros
- High noise reduction rating of 30 dB make them ideal for shooting
- Great battery life
- Amplification rating of 82 db amplifies surrounding for awareness
- Comfortable and easy to wear
Cons
- Speakers are not great music
- Bulky and not portable
Pro Ears Predator Gold
- WHAT SETS US APART FROM THE REST? For starters, Pro Ears offers the only ear muffs with dual,...
- WHY'S THIS IMPORTANT? It allows the incredible ability of independent volume control. Set each ear level...
- PROPRIETARY SOUND TECHNOLOGY: World's only DLSC Technology with Full Spectrum Sound to protect hearing...
- INDUSTRY-LEADING METRICS: The Pro Mag Gold Series has a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 26 and a...
The Pro Ears brand is known for its premium hearing protection headsets. Among them is the Pro Ears Predator Gold. The Predators Gold come with a noise reduction rating of 26 decibels which is the recommended rating for shooting. Although not really high for a premium headset, Pro Ears is able to attain the perfect balance between the noise attenuation and amplification. Because of this, it performs as well as headsets with higher noise reduction ratings. The Predator Gold also feature a military grade circuitry system that allows for both analog and digital operation.
This model comes in four colors all of which are jungle colors for the best military feel. It is also lightweight weighing just 0.2 kg. Furthermore, it is built using high quality materials making it one of the most comfortable headsets in the market. Lastly, the product comes with a five year warranty.
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to carry around
- High noise reduction rating ideal for shooting
- Extremely comfortable headband and ear cup seals
- Battery alert sound when level is at 50%
Cons
- Short battery life
Conclusion
Overall, the Howard Leight Impact Pro and Predator Gold offer superb ear protection when shooting. The Predators Gold however are much more comfortable and offer a balanced performance. Howard Leight’s Impact Pro is better for shooting as it has a higher NRR.
Which is better? Howard Leight or Pro Ears?
The Pro Ears have a slight edge over the Howard Leight Impact Pro. They are more comfortable and have better sound quality in their speakers. Pro Ears also have a faster suppression time which means better ear protection.
FAQs
-
Does the Pro Ears have an automatic shutdown feature?
Yes. After 4 hours, the feature activates
-
Does the Howard Leight have a battery indicator?
Yes. But the alert comes on five minutes before shutdown
