New eyewear-friendly gelcups for Howard Leight (and other) muffs

[NealSintercore]

Howdy. I wanted to throw in my two cents as the designer of these. This is the first time I've had a reviewer say the glasses sat an inch high. Appreciate the feedback. Glasses should sit about 0.25" high with these cushions when resting in the channel, and, so far, I haven't heard anybody say it felt weird. I sent a PM about this and hope we can figure out a way to solve to issue (look in mirror and see if glasses were actually sitting completely above cushions? adjust headset down?)

The Howard Leight models ship as soon as the campaign ends, and all of the rest of the models ship ETA March '18.

[0uTkAsT]

Just a quick update - Neal is absolutely right, I must not have had my glasses in the channels correctly when I tried them on for the very first time. The difference between where my glasses legs sit normally vs. in the SightLines channel is somewhere between a quarter to half an inch. It still feels a tiny bit strange to me, but it's not uncomfortable. My glasses are very well fitted to my face and I wear them 16+ hours a day so someone with more traditional glasses or an occasional glasses/sunglasses/safety glasses wearer probably wouldn't even notice the difference.

I had the wife snap some pictures last night to compare side-by-side. Apologies for the horrible lighting and hat hair, but as you can see, the legs do sit at a slightly inclined angle but it's hardly what I had going on before and my vision through the prescription lenses was not impaired from what I could tell indoors.

Also, notice how the pressure has been relieved from my temples when the legs are in the SightLines channels! The pressure points have been visibly relieved which should translate into much greater all-day comfort. That, to me, speaks volumes.



I haven't had a chance to get these out to the range yet since I just got them Sunday afternoon, but I am very much looking forward to it.

[crosseyedshooter]

I’ve worn glasses for 30+ years and believe that the biggest benefit of these will be the gel material available for Howard Leight Impact Sports. The factory foam on these muffs are terrible and don’t conform to glasses while nobody is willing to make $40 gel cups for $40 ear muffs. The stock foam breaks what minimal sealing they have as soon as anything pushes upwards on the bottom of the muffs.

I also have Peltor Sport Tactical 100 and MSA Sordin both with gel cups and they seal and feel fine over glasses. Fortunately these models can use the same gel cups as their more expensive big brothers. I’m not convinced that the cut out area is really the main benefit compared to the improved material.

[0uTkAsT]

I’ve worn glasses for 30+ years and believe that the biggest benefit of these will be the gel material available for Howard Leight Impact Sports. The factory foam on these muffs are terrible and don’t conform to glasses while nobody is willing to make $40 gel cups for $40 ear muffs. The stock foam breaks what minimal sealing they have as soon as anything pushes upwards on the bottom of the muffs.

I also have Peltor Sport Tactical 100 and MSA Sordin both with gel cups and they seal and feel fine over glasses. Fortunately these models can use the same gel cups as their more expensive big brothers. I’m not convinced that the cut out area is really the main benefit compared to the improved material.

That's basically what I thought upon taking these out of the box, but after wearing them for just a limited amount of time both ways, I can say with confidence that the channel for eyewear to sit inside of is definitely a significant benefit to these. Just look at the top photos and you can see the dimples created from the tension of the muffs pushing the legs of my glasses into my fat head, and then in the lower photos those dimples are completely gone. Less tension = less discomfort and hotspots over time.

[jschmitt08]

http://www.valhollgear.com. Here is another option. I have them on my impact sports...no real time behind them yet but from what I can tell it's a great improvement.

[NealSintercore]

http://www.valhollgear.com. Here is another option. I have them on my impact sports...no real time behind them yet but from what I can tell it's a great improvement.

I agree, the Valholl Gear gel pads are a big upgrade from the stock pads.

However, I inspected their pads and they will be a bit harder and seal less well compared to my SightLines gel pads and the factory Peltor/Sordin gel pads, due to their chosen design. On SightLines and on the factory Peltor/Sordins gel pads, the depression on the front face that forms a horseshoe ring (SightLines) or oval (Peltor/Sordin) provides a significant, quite noticeable boost in softness and allows the cushion to better mold around the glasses and your face. Plus, the Valholl Gear pads don't have the recessed channel up top that I've introduced.

While I was typing this, I was notified by the Loadout Room (run by SOFREP) that Jens Hammer (former Ranger with 5 tours) had published this review of my SightLines:
Loadout Room review

"I replaced the foam cups with Sightlines about half an hour into my range day. Most of the day was spent testing optics on an unsuppressed AR with a Metallica live album blasting from my vehicle, so the noise was of adequate intensity and variation to gauge performance. The difference was impressive and immediately apparent. With the Sightlines cups installed and the electronics in the Leight ear muffs turned off, I could only hear the bass line on the music. OEM cups? Bass, treble, vocals… I could hear it all. Ambient noise was shut off with the Sightlines cups. It was only dampened with the OEM’s. Muzzle blast was far more comfortable with the Sightlines installed!

[...]

"I don’t have access to advanced decibel measuring equipment. I do have a lot of experience with ear protection. From passive muffs to electronic circuitry provided by Peltor and Bose used in my capacities as an Airborne Ranger turned civilian helicopter pilot I can say this: inexpensive Howard Leight Impact Sport muffs upgraded with Sightlines can hang with the heavyweights."

[0uTkAsT]

I agree, the Valholl Gear gel pads are a big upgrade from the stock pads.

However, I inspected their pads and they will be a bit harder and seal less well compared to my SightLines gel pads and the factory Peltor/Sordin gel pads, due to their chosen design. On SightLines and on the factory Peltor/Sordins gel pads, the depression on the front face that forms a horseshoe ring (SightLines) or oval (Peltor/Sordin) provides a significant, quite noticeable boost in softness and allows the cushion to better mold around the glasses and your face. Plus, the Valholl Gear pads don't have the recessed channel up top that I've introduced.

While I was typing this, I was notified by the Loadout Room (run by SOFREP) that Jens Hammer (former Ranger with 5 tours) had published this review of my SightLines:
Loadout Room review

"I replaced the foam cups with Sightlines about half an hour into my range day. Most of the day was spent testing optics on an unsuppressed AR with a Metallica live album blasting from my vehicle, so the noise was of adequate intensity and variation to gauge performance. The difference was impressive and immediately apparent. With the Sightlines cups installed and the electronics in the Leight ear muffs turned off, I could only hear the bass line on the music. OEM cups? Bass, treble, vocals… I could hear it all. Ambient noise was shut off with the Sightlines cups. It was only dampened with the OEM’s. Muzzle blast was far more comfortable with the Sightlines installed!

[...]

"I don’t have access to advanced decibel measuring equipment. I do have a lot of experience with ear protection. From passive muffs to electronic circuitry provided by Peltor and Bose used in my capacities as an Airborne Ranger turned civilian helicopter pilot I can say this: inexpensive Howard Leight Impact Sport muffs upgraded with Sightlines can hang with the heavyweights."

Awesome!!

[austinN4]

OK, I admit to being a bit thick somtimes (part of the time, most of time, all of the time - your pick) but, as a glasses wearer, I really want a set of these and keep going to the crowdfunding site and get confused by the various options there. Can I just buy a set for my Impact Sports? If so, where?

[NealSintercore]

OK, I admit to being a bit thick somtimes (part of the time, most of time, all of the time - your pick) but, as a glasses wearer, I really want a set of these and keep going to the crowdfunding site and get confused by the various options there. Can I just buy a set for my Impact Sports? If so, where?

Big green button -> Select "early bird" as it's still available -> enter pledge amount ($30 or more includes shipping to U.S.)

Thank you for the support.

[austinN4]

Big green button -> Select "early bird" as it's still available -> enter pledge amount ($30 or more includes shipping to U.S.)
Thank you for the support.

Thanks for the reply. Neil. Signed up and rec'd a confirmation but still find the kickstarter instructions confusing. When it asked me to confirm my password it told me the link had expired (less than 30 seconds) and would not let me get back to it. We'll see if it works out, I guess.

I am an old fart (boot '66) and wear hearing aids. I typically take them out and increase the gain on my ImpactSports to hear range commands. Once I get them, if I do, I will be happy to compare with and with out the HAs and do a review. With a better seal, I suspect i will be able to wear the aids and decrease the gain on my muffs.