Westone Custom Motorcycle earplug review.

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jeffie7

Wrong Whole!
VIP
I've been riding motorcycles on the street for a little over 10 years and have been using ear plugs for about the last 8 of those years.

I was searching for the best ear plugs for reducing wind noise while riding and figured I would give the Westone 4RT plugs a try. These are custom plugs that require getting molds done for your ears, the molds are sent out and then custom plugs are made and sent back.

I couldn't find any reviews or information on the plugs online outside of the information listed on Westones site.
That's it.....

So I figured, what the heck, I'll give it a go, worst case, it's $120.00 down the drain.

The plugs are very soft and very comfortable, however I noticed as soon as I put them in, they reduced sound levels very little. Most foam ear plugs I buy OTC reduce sounds by 33db These seemed like maybe half of that...

I called up Westone and the technician explained that they are not for reducing sounds, however, they are designed to reduce wind noise while allowing you to still hear everything else. Ok fair enough.

Next step. Trial ride.

I put them in and without a doubt it does reduce wind noise, however, not by that much. It sounds to be about half as good as riding with foam plugs.

So in the end. I have zero doubt that I will never ride with these plugs as they do not offer enough wind noise protection. I'll keep them around for when I go to noisy places where I need to take the edge off, as in a bar or busy restaurant type place.

Next step is to try the Westone 40 series plugs, its a full solid plug, the tech said it is rated at 39DB reducing but fills your whole ear. If it keeps the wind noise out, I'm game. Yet another $120.00 risk.

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Motorcyclists Style 4RT Ear plug review. - Hands on Kitchen
 
Westone is pretty popular on headphone forums. Too bad it doesn't work that great for you though.
 
I have other westone custom ear plug products, these just suck. They're designed so that you hear normal noise but reduce wind noise.

They do reduce wind noise, just not by much.
 
I'll keep them around for when I go to noisy places where I need to take the edge off, as in a bar or busy restaurant type place.
i guess i'm not the only one that rocks ear plugs when out in a loud environment
i always just use the foam jobbers
good review, i'd like to see how the next set test out
 
Musicians - Style 49 | Westone

Those are what I wear out normally, but mine are clear so you can't really notice them unless you're looking into my ear, you can change out the filters depending on how much protection you want I have 9DB filters and 15DB filters.
 
Here we go. The new style 40 plugs are done. These are pretty much the most extreme they offer. I had to sign a waver due to using them for motorcycles.

What do I think?

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Much better then their motorcycle plugs, however that's not saying much =(

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/713312/2/istockphoto_713312-foam-ear-plugs.jpg

Using those as a base, if 0 out of 10 the foam one time use plugs are a 10. I'd rate the style 40 plugs a 7. They fit great as expected but as for wind protection.... anything after 40mph becomes an issue.

So in the end, without a doubt the orange throw away plugs are the winner. I also picked up a case of 200 pair for around $25 shipped from Amazon.com

Thankfully in the end I'm only out $135 and I still have 2 sets of worth while plugs to wear when at a club/bar Although I have clear custom plugs with filters in them for that... I guess I'll leave a set in each car.
 
Do you wear a helmet when you ride? I didn't think there'd be much wind noise inside a helmet haha.
 
:shrug2: I don't really care about noise when I ride, so I couldn't tell you.

Come back to this post when you find out you have hearing damage. What I'd give to have someone explain to me how damaging riding a motorcycle can be to your ears when I first started riding....

When I was younger I always had a loud car, I always drove with the windows down, I always enjoyed hearing my open dump tube open up....

My main issue is my ears will ring nonstop I havent laid in bed for about 8 years without hearing a high pitch ringing while trying to sleep.

Was it worth it?
 
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