Recommendation for affordable Headset

[ParHunter]

Hi,

 

I am looking for a headset which offers

• comms using Baofeng radio 
• Noise protection (flash bangs in CQB or right next to you)
• protection of ears from BBs

 

Do you have any recommendation that aren’t too expensive? How cheap can you go. Would an alliexpress £20-30 headset do it, would a £40-50 Amazon no-name headset do it, or is an Earmore the lowest you should go with?

 

Thanks 

[Jacob Wright]

From the sounds of what you’re looking for, I’d say Earmors are the least of what you’d want. Depends how much you value your hearing but I don’t think I’d trust a £20-30 headset. 
 

 

[MrTea]

43 minutes ago, ParHunter said:

Do you have any recommendation that aren’t too expensive? How cheap can you go. Would an alliexpress £20-30 headset do it, would a £40-50 Amazon no-name headset do it, or is an Earmore the lowest you should go with?

 

A lot of the cheaper headsets do not have noise cancellation/reduction capability and are communication devices only and are powered through the PTT and radio so you need to be careful what you're buying. Almost got done by someone selling a cheap headset as a more expensive noise-cancelling version.

You only get one set of ears. Are you willing to risk damage to them for the sake of <£100? I keep an eye on used markets waiting for a "cheap" pair of comtacs to turn up that people miss and I can snipe.

Edited November 1, 2023 by MrTea

[Hotweeweejef]

I’ve got a pair of Walker Razors and they’re fantastic. Proper active hearing protection. 

They do have a line-in socket so you can pipe your incoming comms into your ears, but would need a PTT with a mic for sending. 

[ParHunter]

Thanks, I’ve already damaged by hearing during my army days. Have been living with a tinitus for the last 30 years. So I know how damaging loud bangs can be, that’s why I wanted to check at what price level you can get decent protection.  

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

I use Howard Leights.  They all that you want.  I have the dreaded tinnitus too.  

 

I plug comms into them, they cancel loud noise and amplify low noise if desired.  Very good for the money.  Batteries last ages too.

[Krisz]

Earmor/Walker Razor/Howard Leights are priced very similarly and those should be the bare minimum if you don't want to spend big boy money on it.

 

If it has active noise reducing you can't go wrong. I purchased an earmor because people love to shit on it (especially on reddit) so obiously I had to buy one to see if it has any merit or just the usual braindead parroting. So far so good if it breaks I buy something else. 🤯

Edited November 2, 2023 by Krisz

[TheFull9]

Of the 3, the Razors and Leights are probably what I'd steer people towards.  I've been on the range with the Razors, can say they work for sure, the Howard Leights have been the go-to budget electronic ear pro for a lot of people for absolutely donkeys, see them all the time in the states; definitely proven - simple but effective.  Neither are quite as fancily made as 3M or Sordin naturally but what you lose in electronics function and military application is made up for in price.  Earmor on the other hand tries to do a full on tactical comms headset but at the sport ear defence price, reality is there's no free lunch and my guesstimation is that's why their reviews are all over the place.  I get why that particular combo appeals to the airsoft market, 100%, but to me that's a product that'd only be for costume posing, not actually playing a game that involves pyrotechnics.

[concretesnail]

I use a couple of setups for ear pro and coms. Ear pro is very important to me so don't skimp on that part. I've a pair of sporttacs that I use for work and with the down lead connected to my phone for audio. Then for airsoft use I have 5ur with fist mic ptt and then the down lead connects to the ptt for the audio output. That way I get the ear pro I want and simple but effective radio setup. 

The second setup I have is a racal frontier. It'll functions well but did need a specific ptt to work with the 5ur radio. The racal setup I wear only for airsoft it's much more slimline on the head but a bit more complex to rig up initially.

[lokkers]

I'd personally avoid Earmors like the plague - as a group, we've had maybe 6 pairs between us over the last 2-3 years, and all but one pair (mine) have given up.

 

If you're looking for a cheapish setup, I recommended the following to a friend and he's really chuffed with how well they work:

 

Retevis first mic (Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N5A2NHH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00)

Howard Leight ear pro (Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Honeywell-Howard-Leight-Foldable-Defender/dp/B001T7QJ9O?th=1)

 

Then you just need a 3.5mm male-male cable to connect the two together.

 

The cost of the Howard Leights' have gone up a bit since he bought them - I guess the conflict in Ukraine -  but it's still a good setup for around £80.

[Speedbird_666]

The minimum I would use (and actually currently use) are Howard Leights like others have said. Having had (and eventually selling) 3 sets of Peltor XPs over the years, the HLs are about 90% as good for a fraction of the cost.

 

I have tried some cheap Aliexpress electronic Earpro (a Walker razor clone) and it was monoaural - so no situational awareness at all. Binned it off fairly sharpish.

[ParHunter]

Thanks again for the replies. I was trending towards the Earmore but will probably stay away from it now.

 

But now I’ve noticed another problem. Can you actually wear those (Razer or Howard) with a boonie? I prefer a boonie over a helmet. I am just using a bump cap under the boonie.

[ParHunter]

I’ve watched and interesting video on YT comparing the Howard leight and Walker Razors. The main thing seems to be that the Walker Razors are better for using as coms but you can’t really hear where ambient noise is coming from while the Howard leights give you good spacial awareness of the surrounding noise but if you want to increase the volume of the coms you have to increase the volume of the surrounding noise as well which somehow defeats the object.

 

 

[TheFull9]

3 hours ago, ParHunter said:

But now I’ve noticed another problem. Can you actually wear those (Razer or Howard) with a boonie? I prefer a boonie over a helmet. I am just using a bump cap under the boonie.

 

Either the sides get folded up a bit by the headband or you make cuts/do some sewing work.. or buy a really oversized hat to wear over it I guess?  First 2 are what happens though, that's why folks wear either baseball caps under headsets or attach them to helmets.  They're 2 items that are from different areas/eras of military kit.

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

5 hours ago, ParHunter said:

Thanks again for the replies. I was trending towards the Earmore but will probably stay away from it now.

 

But now I’ve noticed another problem. Can you actually wear those (Razer or Howard) with a boonie? I prefer a boonie over a helmet. I am just using a bump cap under the boonie.

I fold the sides of the boonie up and secure them with the chin strap.  My flora boonie has studs to fold and hold the sides in place, but as The Full 9 says, you are mixing eras as ear-pro was not around in the boonie wearing past.

 

You could of course buy yourself a deerstalker; very stylish.

 

[ParHunter]

17 hours ago, Tactical Pith Helmet said:

… you are mixing eras as ear-pro was not around in the boonie wearing past.

 

Oi! Are you saying I am dressing old fashioned 😄

[djben9]

So reading through, no to earmors then?…. Or is it personal choice?

 

just hijacking as son is wanting some to use but don’t want to spend loads on peltor/comtac…. To risky on eBay as well as seem to be from

china 🤦‍♂️

[Duff Beer]

I’ve had a pair of Earmor’s now for about two years and they’re superb.  I particularly enjoy that when they knock out the bangs it doesn’t cut all the sound so you can still hear what’s going on

 

Sound quality-wise they’re a smidge ‘tinny’, and I’d definitely recommend switching to the silicone ear cups

 

They are very good for directional sound so you can hear where you’re being snuck up from, and battery life is very good too with a new set of AAA’s being needed ever fifteen game days or so