3M Peltor Sport Tactical 100 Review – 100

Our Comprehensive Review of the Peltor Sport Tactical 100

I’ve tried many types of electronic hearing protection over the years. When it comes to comfort, reliability, and effectiveness, I think the Peltor Sport Tactical 100s are one of the best choices you can make.

While they don’t have the highest noise reduction rating on the market, they offer a unique blend of features that make them an excellent choice for most real-world situations.

Features & Benefits At A Glance

* 22 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)

* Re-engineered headband for comfort and fit

* Low-profile cups for rifle/shotgun use

* Durable, recessed microphones to reduce wind noise

* 2-hour auto shut-off and low battery indicator

* Easy-access battery door with tether (Runs on 2 AAA batteries)

* 3.5 mm audio input jack compatible with most MP3 and 2-way radios

Detailed Operation & Features

I’m a big proponent of noise reduction rating being super important. The Peltor Sport Tactical 100s weigh in at just 22 dB of NRR, which is on the lower end of what you’d want for shooting.

Despite this, I still recommend them to people all the time. Why? Because these Peltor’s fit better than most other earmuffs on the market. This means you’ll actually get all 22 dB of noise reduction.

Comfortability

The Tactical 100s have generous ear cups that will comfortably seal off even the largest ears. The cushions on each cup allow you to wear glasses without interfering with your hearing protection.

The cups themselves are light and low profile, making it easy to forget that you’ve got anything on your head. Finally, the band is well cushioned and easy to adjust.

These factors don’t just help the Tactical 100s form a tight seal to block out sound. They also help ensure that you don’t mind wearing them when it’s important.

The Electronic Components & Features

The primary advantage that electronic earmuffs offer over traditional models is the ability to hear things around you. Because of this, it’s especially important to have a high-fidelity sound system built into the earmuffs.

If your electronic earmuffs don’t have high-quality microphones and internal speakers, you probably would have been better off with a cheaper passive set.
Peltor did a great job with this in the Tactical 100s. The speaker quality in these is among the best you’ll find in any set of electronic hearing protection.

Notably, however, the electronics seem to respond to changes in noise very quickly. One of the most noticeable differences between these Peltor’s and a set of comparable Howard Leights is how quickly these Peltors react to sound.

Howard Leights use a very basic sound circuit that entirely cuts off all sound in response to a loud noise. Peltor has found a much better solution, which is to simply reduce the volume for a little bit. Because of this, you’re able to hear outside noise and conversations almost immediately after a shot is fired.

Sound Features & Sound Quality

Additionally, with these Peltor’s, you’re able to adjust exactly how long the volume stays down. This means you can set things up to immediately hear your buddies when you’re shooting outside, but you can also choose to keep loud echoes blocked out for a while at an indoor range.

There’s not a lot of nuance to the suppression time knob (it only has 3 settings), but it still affords you quite a lot of control over how your earmuffs respond to noise.

There’s also a feature called “variable frequency response” that seems to help these earmuffs pick out voices better without filling your ears with background noise. This seems to work quite well in practice. While you’re wearing these, it’s very easy to pick out and understand speech.

Like most other pairs of electronic earmuffs, the Tactical 100s come with a line-in jack so you can plug in your mp3 player or phone. The speaker quality is more than good enough to listen to music or your favorite podcasts while you mow the lawn. There’s no Bluetooth integration, however, so you will have to use an actual cord.

The earmuffs themselves are powered by 2 AAA batteries. Changing them is pretty easy, although you’ll need a tool (or a coin) to get the compartment open. The battery life seems pretty long, especially with a 2-hour auto-shutoff feature.

 

Overall & Final Thoughts

Should you use these as your only hearing protection while you shoot big guns at an indoor range? No. You should put on some earplugs underneath. You’d have to do that with almost any set of electronic hearing protection, however.

While they might not be the strongest in terms of noise reduction, the Peltor Sport Tactical 100s are light and comfortable, so you’ll actually wear them, and they offer some of the best audio features on the market. If you want to be able to hear background noises or talk to your friends while you shoot, they’re an excellent choice to keep your ears safe.

 

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