I had planned to just review the Howard Leight*1 Impact Sport Electronic Earmuffs but plans changed.
Customer Care
A few months back I got in contact with Howard Leight about getting some earmuffs to review for shooting but what I didn’t know at the time was that I was going to review the company as well. When I contacted the company, instead of my normal getting bounced around and transferred five times until I talked with the right person, I talked with ONE person. I had the pleasure of talking with Customer Care Rep Laraine from Howard Leight.
Empowered Reps
Normally I have to talk with someone in marketing or another division who handles media requests such as this one. With Howard Leight, I only worked with the customer care rep who the company has empowered to be able help the customer not like a number of other large (non-firearm) corporations. Most companies keep sending you to the next tier up because all the first tier customer care rep can do is ask you if you have turned the product on and off.
I am not going to get on my soap box and talk about that because I really want to just talk about Howard Leight and how I had such a pleasant experience with them.
skip to Earmuff Review
I called Howard Leight and spoke with Laraine about getting the earmuffs and she was more than willing to help me out with this not just because I am a blogger but because Howard Leight seems to only employ customer care reps who CARE. I know this to be a fact because in the few times I did have to call the company and ask for Laraine I would always be greeted by one the of reps who would try to help me in any way they could before I would ask to speak with Laraine.
Consistency
I have contacted Howard Leight a couple of times since my first contact and have spoken to different customer care reps who were just as helpful and knowledgeable as Laraine.
Lifetime Customer
Howard Leight makes great ear protection but they have also made me a lifetime customer because of how they work with the customer.
Specs: Impact® SportFolding
Source: The Howard Leight website |
Impact Sport E-Earmuff Review
For a number of years now I have used the surefire earplugs or my good old non-electronic over the head earmuffs because both offer me what I need for shooting.
The surefire plugs are great if I am going to be just shooting and minimal talking on the range and when I have a rifle stock glued to my face.
My non-electronic over the head earmuffs offer me noise dampening but they are quick to slide off if I need to make a video or hear what the crew is saying, they are overly bulky and you hear every tap of the buttstock to your earmuff.
Adjustable Volume
The Howard Leight electronic earmuffs give me the best of both worlds. I can adjust the volume when I need to listen or almost turn the sound off when I am firing on the line with the three .30-06 rifles going off. The muffs are low profile so the overly bulkiness is minimized to the point it is comfortable to run and shoot with a rifle or to sit on the bench and shoot long distances.
Long Battery Life
We have been using the muffs for about 5 months now and haven’t had to change the batteries yet.
Increased Range Communication
I like the fact that I can adjust the volume easily when I am shooting from the bench and we have other shooters near us. The spotter and shooter can almost whisper to each other adjustments without having to listen to everyone on the range. I can also turn the volume all the way up and hear the crew from a distance without anyone having to scream commands.
Overall Thoughts:
The earmuffs will run about $50 but for the safety of your hearing and still being able to hear what is going on around you, they are well worth the investment.
|
*1 Howard Leight is owned by Honeywell, An American multinational conglomerate company that produces a variety of commercial and consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments. |