3M Peltor Sport Tactical 500 Review – 2024

Our Comprehensive Review of the Peltor Sport Tactical 500

The Peltor Sport Tactical 500s are pretty expensive. They’re a pretty big upgrade cost-wise from a set of Howard Leight Impact Pros or even Peltor’s own Tactical 100s.

Even on sale, they’re going to take a big bite out of your wallet. Are they worth it? The answer is “it depends.”

When it comes to dampening loud sounds while allowing quiet ones to get through, the Tactical 500s do a pretty good job, but not an exceptional one. They’re comfortable enough for most people, although short-haired users will want to pair them with a hat.

Features & Benefits At A Glance

*26 dB Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)

*Bluetooth wireless technology Syncs with mobile devices

*3M Smart technologies

*Dynamic suppression time adapts to firearm and environment for optimized shooting experience

*Clear Voice tracking seeks Voice within noise for improved speech intelligibility

* Adjustable, vented headband improves comfort when worn with hats

*Recessed microphones – Durable, designed to reduce wind and fan noise

*Auto shut-off

*All-day comfort – Soft, conformable cushions

*Easy setup and use – Intuitive buttons and voice guidance let you operate without removing headset

*Runs on 2 AA batteries (not included)

Detailed Operation & Features

Operating and maintaining these earmuffs is similarly unremarkable. The real breakout feature that the Tactical 500s offer is the ability to connect to your phone via Bluetooth. Not only can you listen to music or podcasts, you can also use the built-in microphones to transmit your voice.

A set of easy-to-access external buttons rounds out this feature and makes the Tactical 500s a sensible option for anyone who needs to take calls in an environment that necessitate hearing protection.

Before we discuss the Bluetooth further, let’s briefly review the other features. First, let’s talk hearing protection. The Peltor Sport Tactical 500s offer 26 dBs of noise reduction.

This is on the higher end of what electronic earmuffs offer these days, but it’s still quite a bit lower than what you can get out of a set of passive earmuffs. If you intend to use these at an indoor range, you’ll probably want to think about wearing ear plugs underneath, especially if you’re shooting a high caliber gun.

Again, this is pretty normal for electronic earmuffs, and these are actually on the higher end. Many other sets of electronic earmuffs have trouble giving you 22 dB of noise reduction, let alone 26.

This matters a lot. I’ve got plenty of friends who tell me that they can’t tell the difference between -24 and -26 dB muffs. To tell you the truth, I can’t either, while I’m wearing them.

At the end of the day, however, when I take off my hearing protector, my ears feel MUCH better with a -26 pair than a -24. Even though we can’t hear it, there’s something like a six-fold increase in the power carried by sound waves in those two decibels alone.

Comfortability

I mentioned earlier that the Sport Tactical 500s are fairly comfortable but not perfect. They’re noticeably heavier than the Sport 300s or 100s, if you have a set to compare. Still, the band does a good job of distributing weight and keeping the ear cups snug without squeezing your skull.

The 500s are less adjustable than some competing models, so if you have an unusually shaped head you might want to stay away.

In terms of comfort, the big downside is the lack of a cushioned band. This wouldn’t be so bad if there weren’t ridges in the band that seem to dig directly into your scalp. If you have hair or wear a hat, you might not notice these, but if you’ve got a short haircut and you wear the Tactical 500s directly on top of your head, you’ll probably notice the band dig in after an hour or two.

To be fair to Peltor, it does take an hour, and you can adjust the band periodically in order to lessen the discomfort. Still, these wouldn’t be my first choice for extended wear unless you have hair or a hat.

One final comfort issue: users with large ears have reported that the ear cups on these muffs are a bit small. If you know you’re going to be wearing these for long periods of time and you think you have large ears, try to visit a local gun shop and see if you can try a pair.

Make sure you don’t have to fold your earlobe in order to get them to fit snugly. If you do, you probably want a set with bigger cups.

Overall

Despite all of these downsides, the Tactical 500s are one of the nicest Bluetooth earmuff sets on the market. The built-in microphones offer excellent sound quality to anyone you happen to be talking to, while the speakers do a pretty good job of playing both speech and music back inside of the ear cups.

The external controls take a little bit of getting used to, but they’re extremely easy to use to perform basic tasks like pausing music, skipping tracks, taking phone calls, and hanging up. Best of all, it takes an extraordinarily short time to sync these up with your phone.

Final Thoughts

So are they worth it? If you wear a hat and Bluetooth is important to you, absolutely. If not, they’re a bit more of a fuzzy choice. You’ll have to balance any potential comfort issues against the convenience afforded by the ability to easily integrate your phone into your hearing protection.

For some people, the Bluetooth is going to be more important. I know of at least one range instructor who’s simply wrapped a towel around the top band to keep his head comfortable. For others, however, the cost difference between these and a pair without Bluetooth is going to be far too much for one or two hands-free calls a month.

 

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