3M 1100 Foam Ear Plugs, 200-Pair , Orange

BEST EARPLUGS for the PRICE !!WARNING:IF YOU ALREADY GOT THEM - FIRST, READ the BOTTOM OF MY REVIEW (SCROLL DOWN), for HOW TO AVOID PAIN, INEXPERIENCED PEOPLE MAY INCUR w/EARPLUGS, SPECIFICALLY with this model# (3M 1100-series/Orange).===Don't believe the spec of 29dB NRR as it seems real spec. of this Earplugs is much BETTER than mfg. specifies! Surprise, b/c often you may discover products in reality worse than advertised, but this product (3M 1100series/"Orange" earplugs) is the opposite - better than specified/advertised!Why? B/c its spec of NRR = 29dB must be a mistake or severe UNDER-rating, as it performs much BETTER than all found in stores/pharmacies rated supposedly at (higher) 32/33dB, and it is equal (or better!) in Noise Reduction vs. market's formerly top brand e.g. Hearos, etc. rated strangely at higher 32-33dB, & yet this 3M 1100's are more comfortable !So happy to have found these, after a longtime of relying on others! It still doesn't negate my use of the competitor & my former favotire "Hearos" (32-33dB NRR/Blue, stiff, not soft ver.), but now the "workhorse" (most often used) for me is these 3M 1100's. Additionally, accidentally discovered 3M makes higher-rated NRR of 32-33dB (similar to "Hearos", etc.) & based on the statements above, you might expect them to equal 35-37dB in real life (but that I've not yet tested, only writing here about 1100's series, in subject of this review).SO,I suspect 3M tests/defines their spec more conservatively than others & thus 3M is hurting own sales, b/c no way these are merely 29dB NRR (more like 32-33dB). This 29dB spec 2 years ago, made me very skeptical and on the verge of cancelling the order, when I was forced to buy it (3M 1100's) when my previous favorite 33dB "Hearos" went out of stock or price rose unreasonably, so I thought "OK I'll try 3M 1100's just temporarily, until Hearos & one other brand are back in stock", looked at this 3M high/positive reviews but was put off by their (low) 29dB NRR spec.But WOW, after getting the shipment & testing some - was surprised by how not only equal, but BETTER than my usual earplugs, these 3M 1100's/Orange turned out to be:Performance (Noise Reduction) + Comfort (minimize pressure/pain) + Price (extraordinarily better, albeit only when in bulk 200-1000 pairs [but Hearos, etc. competitors don't do bulk-packing anyway), & if you know where to buy). Besides these two brands (3M & Hearos), I no longer bother w/others (and the experience using earplugs is long enough - since year2009), only these 2 lead the market performance-wise IMHO, still in 2017 (unless your ears are tiny or hyper-sensitive, and you go for extra-soft e.g. Mac's, etc., even Hearos make a special softer version, but all these are bad performance-wise [Noise Reduction])Note: NEVER buy earplugs in physical stores (at pharmacies & supermarkets), esp. store/pharmacy-branded or generics, they're all over-marketed GARBAGE. To comply w/Amazon's rules, Won't mention store names/brands, but ironically they're often rated at (fake) higher NRR of 32-33dB, yet the noise comes thru easily unlike these 3M/Orange rated at lower 29dB NRR (strange!), & even more contrary to common sense, those stores/ pharmacies-branded junk, cost much higher (why?) than 3M (or Hearos) online, their only benefit is (sometimes) extra-softness but as stated above, they simply don't work (sometimes a pharmacy does sell the leading brand e.g. Hearos, but typ. worse/non-professional (or softer) version & at ridiculous price, whereas I haven't seen this 3M 1100's/Orange (being reviewed here) sold at a pharmacy (or outside of Online in general, unless your employer distributes for free).===OK, here is the promisied Instruction & why (some) people suffer (as they don't know the tricks we, experienced users, learned):The Instructions is supposedly on the box, but seems to fail to mention the following key trick:1) WARM these 3M 1100's alittle before inserting - if you're in a cold climate/winter, e.g. by your breath, or squeeze enough times to warm-up, or warm-up otherwise. So doNOT insert if they're cold enough to feel like "rock"-hard, else they'll hurt your ears so rough, you'll give it a terrible review here, like some folks below (mistakenly) did !But once inserted - DON'T worry, as your bodyheat (inside ears) will maintain proper temperature (37^C) from now on.This model# 3M 1100-series is strange, in a sense (and it has tobe PRINTED on the box, unless already there, I've not seen?) that its ability to conform to your ear DRAMATICALLY changes vs. temperature, and I mean dramatically as it can go from "hard as a rock" (pain to insert) to very (perhaps excessive) comfortable softness, in a narrow range of temperatures, ideal is normal body temperature (37*C).Unlike other brands (incl. Hearos on the good side & store/pharmacy-branded junk on the bad side), which don't transform as much vs. Temperature, obviously 3M 1100's is a different material & "fine tuned" for human bodies (37*C or higher).It really is a disaster to apply when too cold, although "too cold" doesn't apply to much of the U.S. South (unless AirConditioning is crazy)2) Second trick I've discovered, is:If you originally inserted too "zealously" (squeezed thin, inserted deep, then allowed to expand), to maximize performance (Noise Reduction), pain "may" (depends on your ears) develop over a short time, pain may become intolerable, but all I do to fix it perfectly is - pull out slightly until pain is gone, at this moment performance drops [Noise starts to come thru, obviously as earplug is not at a proper depth), wait awhle (& don't worry about increased Noise), then re-push back in (w/your index or little finger) as much as the oriinal insertion was & allow earplug to re-expand again at that depth. DoNOT pull out much or remove completely, just enough to stop pain, wait 5 minutes, push back in:Performance will restore, not 100% but good enough, & pain won't come back.

The box was a bit bigger than I expected but that's not a problem. These are exactly what I was looking for. Plenty of individually wrapped pairs of ear plugs I can keep in the car or with emergency kits to hand out to friends. These are perfect for any kind of unexpected noisy environment like construction, parades, motorcycle convoys, etc. An excellent value.

I use these to sleep and for general noise blocking. I tend to feel overstimulated and these are great and comfortable. I live in a noisy household and neighborhood and these were perfect. I can sleep well with these on and I even go out in public with these.

I did a good bit of research on the best ear plugs for concerts. These work perfect for concerts (just as well as big name reusable ear plugs) and are great for my construction projects! I haven’t had any trouble with the plugs falling out once they expand and seal the inner ear. They are comfortable to wear and a lot of times I forget I have them in. They are perfect even for going out when I don’t want to be overstimulated and prevents fatigue after being in spaces with loud noises. I love to keep a handful in my bag to give out!

Your search for the perfect hearing protection is over! These are the ones!We average going to 3-6 concerts a year, and have tried all kinds of earplugs: cheap ones you get at a pharmacy, nice reusable plastic ones, etc. One time we forgot to pack some for a show so we just grabbed what they had available at the venue -- which were these -- and our minds were blown. I pulled out my phone, found them, and added a big ol' box to my cart immediately. I missed part of one of the acts because finding these to have them forever was more important to me in that moment.Where plastic earplugs can be scrathcy and irritating, these are soft and comfortable. Where cheap foam earplugs are squishy and loose, these are dense and form fit your ear perfectly. The comfort is unmatched and the music still comes through great, I don't feel like I'm sacrificing any sound quality AT ALL!I also have a daith piercing that's kinda-sorta "inside" my ear so finding good plugs that offer full protection without getting in the way or irritating my piercing was always a challenge, but not with these :)A little unfortunate they're disposable and create waste, but otherwise we love 'em love 'em love 'em! Would ABSOLUTLY buy again!