3M Peltor Optime 95 Behind-the-Head Earmuff

Professional wood crafter with tinnitus, I protect whatever hearing still works religiously. I have the over-the-head version of these, perfect for most wood shop operations. With the exception of needing a face shield for lathe work; the two aren't compatible together. These solve the problem. I don't need them that often and still get momentarily confused (and amused) by the orientation but fitting them first followed by the face shield I'm a safe and happy craftsman. Good price, highly recommend.

I wanted a low profile ear muff. Sometimes I have to wear a helmet. Any ear muff that goes over the head can't work with a helmet. These work great behind the head. I wish they were a little bit thinner from the ear foam to the outside plastic round. Some helmets don't allow too much space. To hell with wearing those foam orange/green ear pills. These do a much better job.

These are great when you want to wear a hat or other headgear. The spring wire is very tight and they grip your head well. I use mine for airboating and when I cut the yard with a big straw hat.

Bought this to be compatible with a full brim hat (think straw hat with brim that surrounds your head as opposed to baseball cap with only forward facing brim). Works for that purpose but not quite as perfectly as I had hoped. This behind the neck ear muff has two drawbacks compared to traditional over the head ear muffs. One is stability—it doesn’t stay put solidly. It is not as snug and secure fitting as compared to conventional over the head muffs. That could be improved if there was an additional fabric strap that went over the head to lend stability without affecting hat type. Two is background noises you hear stemming from the metal structure of the muff rubbing against your shirt collar behind your neck. Solve for these two traits and you’ll have a better mouse trap.

I like them. I can wear them with face shield, dust mask etc. very comfortable over the long term.

Very functional for rimfire shooting. I use these with my Benji nitro piston air rifle also. Not enough protection for centerfire yet that's ok. I just use earplugs & these when someone at the range uses high caliber. Excellent for cold weather shooting when you need a hat.

I chose these earmuffs because I have a large round head and wanted something that would fit me. These muffs fit great, the sliders make adjust-ability easy, and they aren't heavy. I use them in my garage when I'm using my angle grinder, drill, or rotary tool, and it cuts down the sound to a reasonable level, while eliminating the sharp impulse noises of the tools starting up. An other added benefit of these earmuffs is that I don't have to stock any ear plugs, I just have these hanging on a nail ready to go.

the 95 is noticeably less effective than the (over the head) 98, but at under $10 good value. it does a decent job...and i can wear my hat! i have a large head, found it a little tight; on the other hand, it easily covered my large individual ears. make sure you get the colour you want.