There was a pretty thorough discussion going on TOB about ear plug options just before the troubles and -- because I'm not happy with what I'm using and too lazy to go over there and search out the old thread -- thought it made sense to start rebuilding that knowledge base here.

I'm currently using Mack's Ear Seals, mainly because that's what I have around to use for cold-water kayaking.



Unfortunately, wearing them under a motorcycle helmet tends to jam them deeper into my ears and gets pretty uncomfortable quickly. I can't seem to make the cheap foam ones work in my ears more than about 10% of the time no matter how much tugging, pulling, and instruction-reading I do.

What good options are there short of breaking the bank for custom earplugs?

I've never had anything remotely comfy that would stay in except for the custom ones. At the motorcycle shows they'll make you a set for $50. These are worth every penny. Fit great, durable, come in a happy little case. I know you don't wanna spend the money but....I've already damaged my hearing-trust me on this-you wouldn't like it.

If you can, go get a set of the customs-you can't feel 'em and they work great. 

1,000 Pair NRR33 EARsoft Yellow Neon EARPLUGS ear plugs $99.00

They will last a long time and with 1000 they are pretty much disposable after about 10 rides.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-000-Pair-NRR33-EARsoft-Yellow-Neon-EARPLUGS-ear-plugs_W0QQitemZ220202949110QQihZ012QQcategoryZ53152QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

/no not seller
//one of my best investments
///constantly giving them away too.

I use Surefire Earpros, they are awesome.  Mine seem to last about 6-9 months, then I notice that they start to let more sound in as they start to not fit as tight...

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/24306/sesent/00/EP3-Sonic-Defenderssupandreg-sup

Quote from: Jaman on May 29, 2008, 11:29:09 AM
I use Surefire Earpros, they are awesome.  Mine seem to last about 6-9 months, then I notice that they start to let more sound in as they start to not fit as tight...

http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/24306/sesent/00/EP3-Sonic-Defenderssupandreg-sup

I have these and I keep losing them.  Their clear color makes them tough to keep track of.  At $10 a pop, they're not quite disposable.  Great plugs though.

I've been using moldex spark plugs, and will be for a while (I bought a box of 200. Pairs.)
They've been good so far. I used to use the blue super Hearos or something before, but they were a little expensive for disposable foam plugs.

Link to a handy earplug article.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Earplugs/earplugs.htm

I use Hearos Extremes foam earplugs which when used as directed are supposed to reduce descibels by 33. I forget what I paid for a pack of 14 but less than $10 I think. They stay in my ears even though they don't seal they do reduce the external sound of my full Termi Exhaust w/out silencers and reduces wind noise nicely.

I used the $2.00 yellow foam set that I grabbed at the Indy 500 when I went out tonight, and they worked great.  It was a much more pleasant experience than riding without.  I'm going to have to make this standard practice.

They stayed in the whole time, didn't shift when I put the helmet on or off, and didn't irritate me in any way through about 45 minutes of blasting around town.  The only issue that I had - and I 'm not sure it's an issue - was that I didn't hear a police siren as soon as I would have without plugs in.  I still picked him up in my mirrors and pulled aside (he wasn't after me, for once...), but I wasn't alerted as soon as I would have been without plugs in.  I guess that's to be expected, what with the plugs deadening all the sounds - even the important ones.

So, am I just lucky to have well-shaped ears, did I find the magic cheapo foam pair, or what?  I guess I'm asking if the comfort difference and sound filtration with higher quality plugs is as pronounced as some posters are stating - because it if is, I just can't imagine it.

Thx!

ugh. no me gusta multi-flange plugs.

I was so pissed at the lady that fit me up for mine. she didn't seem to grasp why I kept flinching away from her as she tried to push those things farther against my brain 

not sure what brand we have at work, but I like mine 

Ive been throuhg several kinds, and these are honestly the best

http://www.amazon.com/MSA-Safety-Plugs-Storage-818074/dp/B0013JV8O4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1212129541&sr=1-6

they are long enough to really grab, plus you can clean them and after 2-3 washes they wont fully expand in 2 seconds leaving you no time to put them in yoru ear. They are also super soft. They come in a bucket of 200 (100 green 100 orange) for 15 bucks at home depot too.

Disposable ones are great since you can just throw them under your seat, in a jacket,  in your bag etc, and youll always have them, plus if you leave them somewhere, or if they fall out of your pocket,, your not out $$.

I swear by these guys:

You can still hear pretty well, for the most part, but it just really mellows out the sound and make riding totally pleasant...

This site: http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/  has em plus a ton more... Great value too at $8.95 a pair, and they last forever.

+1 on the Moldex SparkPlugs
http://www.moldex.com/foamplugprod/sparkplugs.htm
properly inserted, they work well.

Quote from: someguy on May 29, 2008, 10:34:07 AM
I've never had anything remotely comfy that would stay in except for the custom ones. At the motorcycle shows they'll make you a set for $50. These are worth every penny. Fit great, durable, come in a happy little case. I know you don't wanna spend the money but....I've already damaged my hearing-trust me on this-you wouldn't like it.

If you can, go get a set of the customs-you can't feel 'em and they work great. 

i've got these as well.... mine are bright pink 
M's are orange...
what color are yours?