3M Peltor Tactical 6S Active Volume Hearing Protector

I am very much pleased with these muffs! This year I had so much trouble hunting. I shoot a 7 mag, thats a loud mother but I always want to be able to hear. In the past I have kept my muffs pulled up above my ear slightly. Problem there is, it starts to hurt your ear, it bends the ear's natural fold to where I can only hear whats directly beside me and you run the risk of scaring game when repositioning them. My fiance has sat with me to be extra eyes and ears and she wore no muffs, luckily I never took a shot.All those problems made me finally break down and say I'm going a new route. I'm so pleased with the 97044s. They look sleak, they feel sturdy and they fold up to a compact size. They fit comfortable and tight. The amplification of my hearing ability is awesome! A real upper hand when hunting. Battery life seems to be decent too. I will agree with the review that said battery placement and changing is difficult and could have been better designed, but I've got it down now, so no more problems there.As for the dB rating, I can believe it. When I first put them on, I did a series of hand claps and other noises in front of the mics. Cut right out just as promised. Confident with it I shot my 7 and my PLR-16 (which is ungodly loud with a muzzle break) and 100% satisfaction. I've seen some reviews saying that the 97044s did not work well, I'm going to contribute it to maybe Peltor isn't consistant with product quality?As for the delay time after the cut out, who cares? I don't take a shot and then carry on an important conversation immediately. There is a few seconds delay but I mean come on, for general usage, is that really a problem? It does not bother me in the least bit.I'm no expert on shooting muffs, but my range junkie buddies tell me there is a lot better quality protection out, but for the price these are outstanding muffs. Thats why I didn't rate them a full 5 stars, because they have been improved upon. But the quality I got for the price is unbeatable. I will be ordering more for family and friends before this year's deer season.

The current model of these is not what they used to be. I concurr with current reviewers on this major point.I bought a set for my 11 year old for a shooting kit to go with his new Henry Golden Boy.I've had a previous generation set for years and mostly like them for the audio and protection and slimness. And knowing the negatives of the somewhat difficult to change batteries and the exposed knobs often turning them on in the bag - with no auto-off - killing the batteries (thus getting into difficult to change batteries).But I ordered a set for my 11 year old because I knew them well and he really liked the fit and feel.I could immediately tell they were newer - the plastic moulding is (acceptably) different. I could not, without fear of wrecking the ear pads with excessive force, remove them to put in the batteries. Period. Pads would not come off without risk of damaging the pads. I trued the usual grips and angles I use on mine that help - but nope. So while I figured he'd have difficulty and need my help on batteries - I wasn't expecting myself, an experienced user of these, to find it impossible to access the batteries.So when 3M bought this from Peltor - they ruined them. Poor quality control on fit and finish of pads and battery access make these unusable.At the time I bought mine years ago - these were both the best and only in their class. That is not so now. Knowing the possibility I had also ordered and tried Howard Leight. Those my older son and I really like - but their rectangular pads won't cover the lower back corner of my 11 year old's ear/head. So I'm still searching for something for him. I may give him my older generation Peltor Tactical 6S and get Howard Leights or another perhaps higher end model for myself to replace them.EDIT 3/18: Compared against Howard Leight's . The Audio is crisper than the Howard Leight's. No "spacey" sound. The Peltors didn't have as much gain (volume). The Howard's only had that "spacey sound" with volume turned up.On the plus side - the cutout and in particular the recovery (cut-in) is FAST. I miss that attibute when I need more than 19db protection and use the Sport Tac 100s.So I gave my 14 year old the  Howard Leight R-01526 Impact Sport Electronic Earmuff  and my 11 year old will probably get these (my older model pair).As a side note - ALL of these Peltors are far improved in comfort by the HY80 gel seals. I highly recommend them. You've got to spend hundreds to get them by default - so consider that as an upgrade - you won't regret that purchase even if you defer it.3M / Peltor - what have you done with a gold standard? Unfortunate but true.

I ordered these based on a colleague using a pair they are different model but the same , I was unsure and some reviews said cahnging the batteries was difficult but having seen my friend and watched u tube video I went ahead, the work well and for the price they are very good value, but the removal of the ear cushions was the first time easy but when I went to fit the actual batteries ( not just a test set ) I found it very difficult to remove the ear cushions they were so tight they left indentations in my fingers for a while, but they do work and the quality is good the battery terminals are a bit weak so be a bit careful with them. As described and recommend

These ear defenders are adequate, but nothing more. Build quality is flimsy and poor, certainly not what I expected from a premium £60+ product. They feel like something produced cheaply in China and shipped over.Performance wise they perform well enough, but to be honest I've used defenders less than half the price of these which performed better.Other people have said they had trouble opening the casing to insert the batteries - I found no problem there and managed it easily.I paid more for these as they are a well-known brand and wish I hadn't. Save half the price and get a cheaper brand - they will perform as well and feel at least as good.

These do what they say they do and are comfortable to wear.I've not given them 5 stars because the listing is inaccurate. It says 4 AA batteries needed and are included. Wrong. The defenders take 4 AAA batteries and were not included. Disappointing.

Amazing product, drowns out the sound of anything loud. Can hear yourself and other people talking clearly. As other people have stated about inserting the batteries as being difficult and annoying, i have to disagree. Read the instructions clearly and you wont have a problem as i have got the hang of it. Batteries wont need changing for about 6 months depending on how regular you use them. Amazing how they work, excellent ear defenders and great brand. Highly recommend

Bought these after months using ear-plugs for shooting. Comfortable to wear, fully adjustable and efficient which makes them excellent value for money - can hear all the barracking and insults about my shooting but cuts out the gun reports so as you hardly notice. Good purchase.