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I need advise on earplugs, thanks.

Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
58
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0
Location
Austin, Tx
First Name
Cesar
Last Name
Moreno Hernandez
Hi all,

First of all, is it legal in Texas to wear wearplugs while riding a motorcycle?

Next, if it is legal, what kind of earplugs do you use? I guess it involves a few factors to consider (...type of helmet, type of bike, speed, wind protection from the bike, etc). Anyway, I'd like to hear some opinions from you guys.

Thanks for reading,

Ride safe,


Cesar
 
I wear the Howard Leight Max 33's. Buy a box of them at a time, wear a few times and toss. With my full face helmet, they reduce considerably the wind noise and ambient noice to an acceptable quiet level, yet allow you to carry on a conversation, hear sirens/horns etc. Great at low speeds all the way up to warp factors. Comfortable for all day as well. As I say, "roll 'em tight, lick 'em then stick 'em".

Twenty-five bucks for 200 pair, uncorded.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013A0C0Y/?tag=twowhetex-20

41P5MTBKJAL._SL500_AA280_PIbundle-200,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg

.
 
I bought a set of custom molded plugs and loved them. Yeah, they were expensive, but they were comfortable and very effective. The foam plugs start to hurt my ears after several hours.
 
I bought a set of custom molded plugs and loved them. Yeah, they were expensive, but they were comfortable and very effective. The foam plugs start to hurt my ears after several hours.

ditto
 
I've tried a number of different ear plugs, but I usually use Marshmallow earbuds for my iPod. They seal off a lot of external noise and allow me to listen to whatever I'm listening to.

I think, though, I'm going to get some of the Jabra Ear Gels from Aerostitch. Those look more comfortable to me.
 
I bought a set of custom molded plugs and loved them. Yeah, they were expensive, but they were comfortable and very effective. The foam plugs start to hurt my ears after several hours.

I use the molded plugs when I'm out for more than a couple of hours and foam plugs from Home Depot for the shorter stuff. Not sure why but I do.
 
Legal or not - if you don't ear ear plugs you will get tinnitus. You can take that to the bank.

I also like the Howard Leight plugs - I use the "Laser Lites" and I prefer the corded version. Get a big box - you need them around the house if you have any chain saws, leaf blowers, or gas powered weed eaters. Good for long airplane rides too.

Dave.
 
I use the Winchester brand from wal-mart there a soft ear plug and comfortable to wear, works good for me.
 
Can you still hear the bluetooth helmet speakers with those plugs?

If you have the speakers positioned correctly, they should sound better with earplugs. You will need to adjust the volume piped into your helmet a bit, but not so much that it's blaring. The earplugs cut down on the noise that fights what is coming out of the speakers.

I use whatever the green ones on the purple cord are. I don't so much care for the cord, but they do come in handy so as to not drop a plug now and then.

Like M38A1 said, roll them tight and stick them in (I don't lick mine - EEW!)
 
I have tried several, and found my favorites to be the Moldex Spark Plugs UF Foam Plugs (NRR 33). I buy the box of 200 pairs. Yes, they do have the NASCAR logo on the package, but I got over that. :doh: :lol2:

I can hear my Autocom helmet speakers just fine while wearing these. There is no way I can ride a bike for any distance without earplugs. They block out all the wind noise and let me hear exactly what I need to hear.
 
I wear Etymotic ER6i's sound quality is quite good and the noise isolation is great. I wore them for a 23hr ride once and didn't have a problem.
Yes, they do take a little getting used to them, but once you do, they are great! :thumb:

Don't buy them direct. I got mine off of Amazon.com for ~$85 shipped. Just keep your eyes open and they're available much cheaper then from Etymotic

One tip I picked up along the way, was to loop the headphone cord over your hear. That way when you pull the helmet on, its less likely to disrupt the position of the plug.
 
I use the skull candy ear plug (Inkd) also, for the price I just do not think they can be topped. I have tried other types from skull candy and they do not work as well. the Inkd are small enough that they fit in my ear, sound great for a cheep pair of in ear buds, and have a lifetime warranty.

Other models just do not fit as tight in my ear and just not worth the extra $$ in my book.
 
The skull candys work as well as a pair my father spent $150 on. I don't use my ipod except on long rides but my wife has used this setup every ride for at least two years.

She clips an ipod shuffle on her sleeve and runs the cable down her right sleeve to the ipod.

ipod-shuffle.png
 
I wear the Howard Leight Max 33's. Buy a box of them at a time, wear a few times and toss. With my full face helmet, they reduce considerably the wind noise and ambient noice to an acceptable quiet level, yet allow you to carry on a conversation, hear sirens/horns etc. Great at low speeds all the way up to warp factors. Comfortable for all day as well. As I say, "roll 'em tight, lick 'em then stick 'em".

Twenty-five bucks for 200 pair, uncorded.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013A0C0Y/?tag=twowhetex-20

41P5MTBKJAL._SL500_AA280_PIbundle-200,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg

.


I use those when not wearing my Creative Lab ear plugs ($25) connected to my sandisk MP3 player.
 
I picked up a pair of the Skull Candy earphones at Cycle Gear for half price ($9.95) "with any purchase" about a month ago. Not sure how long the offer was running though.
 
I have thought about getting the skull candy Asym flush fitting buds as they go in youe ears with nothing sticking out and the wires wrap around your ears

http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/asym-p-123.html?zenid=iq1bfdibngb347ilgvi7hnf3c6

I don't have a problem with noise on the bike, I wear a Shoei RF-1000 and with the face shield down it is a quiet helmet.


Thanks, I hadn't seen those. I just ordered a set with the optional foam tips so I'll know soon enough. I wish my RF-1000 experience was the same as yours cause mine is terribly loud.
 
My all time favorites have been Howard Leight MAX, (NRR 33) with the cord; I wear these at work for hours on end.
I also wear these on the airplane, first thing I do when I hit the seat is put in a pair. (....um, no, I'm not interested in how your business trip went....:yawn:

The Etymotic ER-6's get the nod for handling musical chores, very comfortable, excellent sound quality, very good reduction of ambient noise;
very low profile too, no interference with helmet fit or removal. :clap:

Aerostich also carries earplug sampler kits.
 
As to its legality, I'm not aware of anything that addresses it nor have I heard of anyone being cited for it. Maybe someone else will pipe in wit some real knowledge.

The NRR or noise reduction rating is the amount of noise that they block. I've never seen anything above 34. The closed cell foam plugs that several people recommended are pretty good, can be washed and are comfortable for a long time. The softer the material, the easier it is to compress them so they can be inserted and they will expand in a short while to seal. Be careful not to over insert them. Harder foams can be a little harder to insert and get to seal. The early open cell foam plugs like the original EAR brand could become uncomfortable for some after a while. I wore them for short periods with out trouble but I didn't like them for an hour or more.

The Howard Leight Max that people referd to are a shape that has become common in the industry and have a high nrr

Mike
 
I wasted close to $200 on custom molded earplugs by http://earinc.com . Huge mistake. One side had a loose wire when I picked them up so I had to wait another 2 weeks for replacement. I only wore the replacements a few times before the silicon molded rubber started disintegrating, resulting in more noise than no earplugs at all. The howard leights mentioned are the way to go unless you have to have music. I always carry a few extra pairs for friends or in case i lose one.

PS lick the fingers, not the earplugs.
 
Ok I dug around and found there is no law prohibiting headphones, buds, or earplugs but it is discouraged as they can keep you from hearing emergency vehicles or screaching tires etc.... And lead to distracted driving/ riding accedents.
 
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