It's time for me to get both a new aviation headset and muffs for shooting. Thought I might try and get something that fills both roles as I value my hearing and sucks dropping cash on two items if one will fit the bill. I've worn all kinds of aviation headsets and prefer fitted earmolds that connect to the boom for lightweight comfort, but clarity takes a hit and I usually end up breaking something on them because the noise canceling ones are pretty expensive and not very durable.
I used ear molds in conjunction with various cheap muffs for shooting until I tried out some electronic ones and no going back after that. Now I'm stuck buying two sets of expensive headsets for two different needs but thought I would seek some advise here before I decide what to buy.
I'm open to all suggestions (There are most likely many options out there that I'm not aware of because they don't market them as aviation). Here is a short list of what I'm looking for not in specific order:
1) Comfort is high on the list as they are used a lot.
2) Same note as comfort, low profile preferred to take up less space and be lighter. 3) Something that does well in the heat. Ear gells are great, but I remember an old set of David Clark's I had with ear gels that were huge and the real memory was the sweat pouring down my face on those AZ summer flights in a POS AC heading into the sun. (That's why I prefer earmolds for comfort, but will sacrifice for a muff type again if they compensate in other areas).
4) Two way communication is obviously required (Doubt I'll ever have the need to use them with portable radios, but having the capability is always nice) so they would need to have standard aviation plugs or at least an adaptor.
5) Good boom is a must and noise canceling a plus.
6) Not planning on wearing a helmet (Unless the FAA comes out with another genius rule) with them so even though I prefer a lightweight or low profile, it has nothing to do with helmet compatibility.
7) More options the better. If I can hook up a phone or music player to them, it would be an added bonus.
That's about it. I fly a relatively quiet jet, so hearing protection would be mostly a concern when shooting. I'll end up buying an expensive set of Peltors or similar with no comm ability and a separate set for aviation again unless anyone has any suggestions. I don't need anything tactical (I have tons of camo wrap, so everything I own can be converted to tacticool in seconds
). I actually like camo stuff, but mine must all be faulty because people still see it somehow
.
Appreciate any info if such a creature even exists.
Thanks,
Mike