Last year I was looking to upgrade a standard pair of passive hearing protection muffs, to an electronic design that would protect against the sharp crack of gunfire while magnifying sound to allow normal conversations. My hope was to avoid spending over $100, but still get a decent set of ear protection. I happened to be at a large box store when I came across a pair of Walker’s Alpha Muffs SSL.
The Walker’s Alpha ear protection muffs had a lot of what I was looking for, and were very reasonably priced. The Walker’s website shows the Alpha ear muffs having (2) wind resistant, high frequency, stereo microphones that provide the shooter precise directional sound. As you will see from my photographs, the Alpha muffs that I have actually have (4) microphones.
In addition, the microphones will magnify and enhance hearing up to 5x, with independent volume controls on each ear muff. Though likely designed to enhance hunter’s ability to hear game approaching, this feature could have a significant benefit to law enforcement when conducting stealth missions.
When a loud noise is confronted, micro-processing circuitry uses what Walker’s calls sound activated compression (SAC) to stop dangerous decibel levels from reaching the shooter’s ears. The Alpha hearing protection is rated at NRR 24dB or noise reduction, which finds the Alpha muffs towards the middle of hearing protection offered by various hearing protection options.
The Alpha muffs SSL (Super Slim Lite) are specifically designed for slimmer heads. However, both of the muff arms are adjustable in length to fit most head sizes, and I have had no problems wearing them comfortably with my 7.75″ diameter head.
Walker’s Alpha SSL Features
- Electronic Noise Reduction
- Power – 50dB
- Dual volume knobs – one per each muff
- (2) or (4) microphones
- Anti-microbial ear pads
- Adjustable length muffs
- Noise reducing rating, NRR 24dB
- Available in Gray and Pink Carbon Finish
- Power source (2) Energizer AAA batteries (included)
- MSRP – $69.99.
Personal Experiences and Review – Comfort and Fit
I’ve used my Walker’s Alpha SSL on several occasions, including the range event at the 2015 SHOT Show. I really appreciate that these electronic muffs do not have external wiring like the Caldwell E-Max muffs and some other popular brands do. This makes the Alpha design sleek and mostly snag-free.
The retention band has a thickly padded cover making the Alphas comfortable on the shooter’s head. The anti-microbial ear pads are also thick for comfort. The muffs themselves are tapered down to keep the Alphas relatively small, reducing the chance of the muffs becoming dislodged by bumping into something. As mentioned already, even though the Alpha’s are designed for smaller heads, I have not had a problem with fit or comfort.
The adjustment bands are easily manipulated with enough serrations to allow a very particular fit. The Alphas are designed to fold-up into the head band providing a nicely compact carrying package.
Power Controls
The dual power switches are easily manipulated to adjust for the desired volume. In more quiet situations, the higher magnification power provides a very good ability to hear softer sounds from even longer distances. The noises being received are very clear with no perceived static.
However, I would have to say, in my experience, a shooter would not want to keep the settings on the higher volume magnifications during shooting situations, or situations where a large number of noise sources are present. All noises are magnified, so at the higher settings, and with multiple noise sources, the sound coming through can seem to be compounded with a slight sense of echo.
Though not specified, I would wager that the higher volume magnifications above normal hearing settings, are better designed and intended for hearing in static and quieter situations.
Noise Reduction
When the volume magnification was set to lower settings, the muffs were very good at reducing overall noise along with providing the shut-down protection with the sharp crack of shots. The trade-off was that conversations outside of close proximity distances quickly became unintelligible. This was still the most preferred setting method for me when I was communicating on the range or shooting.
However, there were several times at the Industry Day at the Range where I was close to a lot of simultaneous shooting, along with numerous conversations. In those situations, if I had the Alphas set to the higher volume settings the sound reaching my ears was just too loud. Not that the dangerous noise levels were getting through, just that the magnification and noise reduction did not work well together and compensate as successfully as I would have preferred. The sound getting through wasn’t painful, just too noisy.
I have used other electronic muffs that magnified ambient noise like conversations just fine, even on higher volume settings, but performed a much greater noise reduction during shooting or other combined loud noises. In essence, the other brand muffs provided a more sensitive noise reduction when needed, but still allowed louder conversational settings as well.
Overall Impression of the Walker’s Alpha SSL Hearing Protection Muffs
Overall I have been very impressed with the Walker’s Alpha SSL hearing protection muffs and they will become a frequent selection when I go to the shooting range, or I am around loud power tools. For a reasonably priced electronic pair of ear muffs I would have no problem in recommending the Walker’s Alphas.
Walker’s hearing protection is just one brand under GSM Outdoors corporation, that includes Stealth Cam, Wildview, Epic Cameras, American Hunter, and Cyclops brands.
