Reviews & Ratings for Walkers XCEL 500BT Digital Electronic Bluetooth Ear Muffs — 19 reviews — Page 1

I originally picked these up for the shooting range, for, you know, shooting.

When I first picked them up I was amazed how well the worked.
I've previously used standard ear muffs. I wanted to be able to talk trash to my buddy at the range and hear him complain that it was the gun's fault. I swear he is a Storm Trooper his aim is so bad!

Well, then I worm them mowing grass. Then when working in the garage. Then while walking walking my dog at night.
Bluetooth is a game changer for me. Being able to hear background noise better than with my ears alone.
What really blew my mind was picking up noise from my motor that other noises drowned out. I could hear the engine knock over everything else. Scared the p00p outta me. Pulled the headset off, I heard nothing.
Being able to work in the garage, listen to tunes AND hear when someone or something was walking up on me is still amazing.
If I had one wish for these, I would pay for a plug in hand held directional microphone.
Do yourself a favor, purchase these if you're on the fence. They are worth it.

As you can tell, I originally loved these!
Less than a month into owning my second set. They would just shut off. Then they would no longer power up. Replaced the batteries. Nothing. I reached out to Optics Planet to warranty these and I was advised to go direct to Walkers.
I filled out the online warranty and never heard back. I filled out a 2nd online warranty with Walkers and again Never heard back.
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Ear muffs work great. When people talk it is easy to hear and very clear. It has excellent damping the shot sound.

These are the best ear protection I’ve ever used. They are super comfortable and provide great sound quality/protection. The different setting are easily changeable.

Item was great and as described, shipping carrier was another story. Upon arriving home I found the package in a massive brier patch behind my mailbox,after having to climb thru briers to collect my order the only way I will order anything else from Optics planet to to be assured that this same carrier is not utilized in any shipping of my order

these are great. especially on sale for $85 from optics planet . i just use power boost mode and can hear stuff i couldn't hear without them while hunting and at the range

Bluetooth ear muffs should do the double duty of doing real work, using them for shop and construction work, as well as the decadent leisure of firing off ammo. There's no setting to turn off the microphones, so they amplify ambient sounds like motors, etc. instead of suppressing that sound. They also create a great deal of background static, giving the illusion of attenuation when a loud percussion shuts down the speakers. The headset is uncomfortable to wear- spring tension is so tight that the cheesy cushion presses all the way down to flat. There's just three mode levels of annoyance, all creating some degree of white noise. Sending them back, should OpticsPlanet ever acknowledge and respond to my request for an RMA.

Started shooting steel challenge this year and did some heavy research on ear protection there were ones rated better than these of course but read a lot of reviews and people spoke highly of these. Have to say they were right. Some spoke of Bluetooth problems but haven’t experienced it at all. They have worked flawlessly would highly recommend these to anyone looking for a great and comfortable ear muff.

overall, the hearing protection is good and most functions seem to work. I've been using them for about four months now, at least once a week. Range sessions average 2 - 3 hours.
Two disappointing aspects....one is small, the other I think is large.
the small...the BT does not auto reconnect upon starting the unit after a successful pair has been previously made. you can manually reconnect it no problem.
My main issue is that Walkers did not respond at all to my email. So I have a problem with companies that don't provide good customer service.
So I recommend these barely. but please keep in mind, if you have a problem...there's nowhere to go.

I had the razor slim first and you could turn off the muffs and leave the Bluetooth on, not the case with these. The connectivity does not work consistently with your phone in your pocket. I spend all day on a mower and these just don’t cut it. They are great for shooting but in a constant noise situation not so great. The buttons are excessive I much preferred the roller switches that my last pair had.

Great set of shooting earmuffs. Very easy set up. With the addition of Bluetooth, you have the ability to receive phon calls as well as listen to music. I’ve recommended to friends and they made the purchase as well.
OpticsPlanet had the lowest pricing on these. Overall great purchase.