No regrets with 3m peltor products - 3M Peltor 6S Tactical Hearing Protection Ear Muffs

Just received my new set of 3M Peltor Tactical 6S behind the head electronic ear pro yesterday. Like everything 'Peltor' I've ever owned, these are SUPER comfortable, and seal around my ears really well. Even with eye pro on and while doubling up with ear plugs in as well. The technology is tried & true but is also a little dated. The impulse sound (i.e. report of a gunshot etc) attenuation is only rated at 19 which is only moderate, hence my doubling up by also wearing ear plugs. I've spent a career in vehicles with a siren & air horn right above my head, so I try to manage and maintain what hearing I have left by always doubling. And while the mics pic up conversational voices & commands/instruction on the firing line, when a sound is attenuated the unit blanks for a split second. Like we were all likely used to in the 80s and early 90s. Long story short... they are rugged like every other Peltor ear pro, as evidenced by their use in our military. But the electronics really ought to be updated.

My main reason for getting these was that it's a behind-the-head set. Others reading this who are sporting large heads will understand this. Over-the-head models like the Howard Leight can sometimes not 'quite' obtain a decent seal on my ears, so this I was excited to try. I've quickly fallen for the 6S but miss being able to fold up my ear pro and take up less space.

Not folding up & the tech being a little dated is why I only rated these at four stars. But if 4.5 were an option that would be more accurate.

One odd thing worth a mention is that the microphones are aft when wearing these rather than directed forward. I've never owned or seen electronic ear protection like that. Ever. So I'm not sure if this is a mistake or if I've just never come across this. They work really well picking up sounds forward of me so they seem almost omni-directional, but it seems possible that they could miss sounds this way also.