It’s crazy how fast things can go from simple, easy, and functional to multipurpose, electronic, and functional.
For years, I was happy with shoving orange squishies in my ears, but these days if my ear pro doesn’t have amplified hearing, multi-directional mics, and Bluetooth capability, I can’t say I’m really happy. That’s why the Safariland Pro Impulse Bluetooth scratched my modern hearing protection itch.
This new set of earmuffs provides over-the-ear protection and all the extras to offer high-tech, high-powered options to keep you from hearing that consistent ring of tinnitus. Ear protection has evolved, and Safariland has evolved with it.
Today, we are going to break down the Pro Impulse Bluetooth, discuss its features, performance, and even comfort.
Features and Specifications
The Safariland Pro Impulse Bluetooth offers a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) of 23. This means it cuts 23 dB of sound when worn. These muffs have electronic hearing amplification for your normal noises. This set of muffs has instant sound-activated compression with a 0.02-second reaction time.
It’s cutting the noise off before you have time to react to it. The amplification allows you to amplify noise up to 5X. This makes it easy to have conversations on the range, listen to range commands, receive instruction, and more.
The Pro Impulse Bluetooth has four omnidirectional microphones, which solves a problem with electronic hearing protection in the past: you could hear things, but it was tough to say exactly where it was coming from.
The omnidirectional mics allow for superior situational awareness. It also keeps you from looking goofy trying to figure out who is talking to you.
Bluetooth 5.0 allows you to connect to your cell phone and receive calls, alerts, or, my favorite, listen to music. When you can introduce 90s rap to your range session, it becomes transcendental. If you don’t want to use Bluetooth, there is a 3.5mm audio jack that can connect your earmuffs to your phone or audio device.
The Safariland Pro Impulse Bluetooth uses two AAA batteries. Battery life is tough to nail down; it depends on volume, Bluetooth use, and the like. They’ve currently lasted a month of heavy use with a lot of Bluetooth audio without the batteries dying.
What I love is the auto shut-off. After three hours, they shut off, which is fantastic for me because I pop these off, toss them in my range bag, gather my gear, and forget I left them on.
Range Performance
The great part about reviewing ear protection is that I’m already at the range training or reviewing guns, optics, and the like. I can just toss the Safariland Pro Impulse Bluetooth headphones on and rock and roll.
Over a month of testing, I’ve used these headphones indoors, outdoors, with handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Most recently, I tested them side by side with a short-barrel Mossberg with a 7.5-inch barrel that is an absolute handcannon and an AR with a 10.3-inch barrel.
The Safariland Pro Impulse Bluetooth protected me from the relatively ultra-loud booms both guns produce. My bell wasn’t rung, and my ear didn’t ring. That doesn’t count the hundreds of rifle, shotgun, and handgun rounds I fired while wearing them.
Moving indoors, things can get uncomfortably loud, and the Pro Impulse Bluetooth won’t let you down. I didn’t feel the need to double up with earplugs at any time. Before summer ended, I also used the Pro Impulse when mowing my yard.
It seems silly, but the Pro Impulse can easily drown out the constant sound of machinery and keep it from driving me absolutely mad.
Sound Quality
We are going to break sound quality down into two different categories: external noises coming from the things around you, and the Bluetooth audio.
The external audio isn’t going to be mistaken for the IMAX-like sound you’d hear in a movie theater. It has a slight microphone sound; it’s a little hazy and has some static as you push it to 5X. However, you can easily hear people talking, beeps, bangs, and distinguish what’s what.
The omnidirectional mics do a fantastic job of allowing you to hear what direction the sound comes from. This makes it easy to locate who is talking to you, or the source of one noise or another. It’s much better than just hearing a loud noise and spinning your head around trying to find it.
When you hear that explosion of gunfire, the mics cut off smoothly, dampen the noise, and return to amplification between shots.
The Bluetooth audio delivers crisp and clear audio. It’s quite nice. My big problem, and my only real complaint with the Safariland Pro Impulse, is that the Bluetooth volume is tied to the external volume.
I’d love to see a mode that can cut off the audio amplification and play Bluetooth only, or a method to adjust one volume without adjusting the other.
Call quality for the user is fantastic; for the person calling, well, it varies on your environment. If it’s at a gun range, expect it to be a bit loud on their end.
All Day Wear
The Safariland Pro Impulse is very stretchy. The band fits my larger-than-average head. It’s comfortable for all-day wear and doesn’t squeeze or pinch after several hours of use. They sit firmly on the head and won’t slip off, either.
The muffs are cuffed with a soft, malleable material that doesn’t dig into the side of the head and forms a good seal around the ear. The headband is molded and padded and quite comfortable.
There are two controls. One turns the system on and off and is a simple dial. The second is the mode button, which allows you to turn the Bluetooth on and off. The controls are large, easy to access, and well-suited for use with gloves.
Protecting the Ears
The Safariland Pro Impulse Bluetooth is a solid, dependable set of earmuffs that are extremely comfortable and easy to use. They provide adequate protection and work indoors and out
Best yet, they are affordable and won’t break the bank.
