Walker Bluetooth Voice Amp Noise Reduction Hearing Protection Ear Muffs

You get one set of ears. There's no spare.

The muffs they issue you are the size of a house brick. They don't fit in the crib bag, so they live in the ute, and by the time the grinder starts you've got nothing on your ears. Same story at the range — you either wear something that blocks the range officer as well as the shot, or you take them off to hear him and cop the next one bare-eared.

Hearing damage doesn't announce itself. It creeps. You notice it when the crew are talking across the smoko table and you're the one saying "what?" every second sentence — and by then it doesn't come back.

These are the slim Walker electronic muffs. Two microphones pick up voices and normal noise and feed them to the speakers, so you can hear the two-way and the bloke next to you while the muffs stay on your head. When something sharp goes off — a shot, a bang — the sound-activated compression circuit cuts the amplification. Plug the Bluetooth adapter into the ear cup and they take calls off your phone as well.

What It Does

• Hear the range officer: the microphones bring voices and normal noise through, so you're not lifting a cup off your ear every time somebody calls the line.
• Keep them on at the pre-start: stand on a noisy pad, still hear the supervisor and the two-way — the reason muffs come off is usually the conversation, not the comfort.
• Fits in the crib bag: low-profile cups and a wire headband that folds flat, so they actually travel with you instead of living in the door pocket.
• Take a call off the mower: the Bluetooth adapter clips onto the ear cup and plugs into the 3.5 mm jack — calls, music and voice assistant off your phone, one button.
• Stays out of the way of a stock: the cups are cut away at the back so the muff isn't fighting your cheek weld when you mount a rifle or shotgun.

Key Features

• Two omni-directional microphones: one on each cup, picking up sound from all round rather than only what's in front of you.
• Sound-activated compression: the circuit drops the amplification when an impulse noise hits, then brings it back.
• Recessed volume knob: sunk into the cup so it doesn't get knocked off setting in the bag or against a hard hat brim.
• Folding wire headband: metal-wire frame with a padded cover, folds down flat for storage.
• Composite housing: moulded shell rather than a thin pressed cup.
• 3.5 mm audio input: take a wired feed straight into the muffs if you'd rather not run Bluetooth at all.
• Bluetooth 5.1 adapter included: supplied with every colour option — pairs to a phone, tablet or laptop, charges over USB-C, weighs 35 g.
• Runs on AAA batteries: two AAA cells power the muffs, so you can carry spares instead of chasing a charger on a swing.
• Six colours: black, green, camo, grey, earth brown and desert.

Limits

This is the section that matters on a piece of hearing protection. Read it before you buy.

• We publish no protection rating: the supplier gives us no noise reduction rating we can verify, so we don't print one. If a number matters to you, treat this page as giving you none.
• Amplification is not protection: the microphones make quiet sound louder. That is a hearing aid job, not a protection job. The shell and the seal are what stand between your ears and the noise, and those are unrated here.
• Not a substitute for a site assessment: if your workplace has done a noise assessment and specified a class or a rating, buy muffs that arrive with the paperwork to match it.
• Flat batteries kill the electronics: with dead AAAs you still have a pair of passive muffs, but no amplification and no hearing the two-way. Carry spares.
• Two things to keep charged: the muffs run on AAA cells and the Bluetooth adapter recharges over USB-C. They are separate — a full adapter does not help you if the muffs are flat.
• Not a two-way radio: the Bluetooth adapter talks to a phone, tablet or laptop. It will not pair to a UHF handheld or a site radio network.
• No water or dust rating: the supplier specifies none. Treat them as gear to keep out of the rain and off the wash-down pad, not sealed equipment.
• Not a hearing aid: they amplify ambient sound, but they are not a medical device and they are not a fix for existing hearing loss.
• Headband muff, not helmet-mount: they sit on a headband. The supplier does not specify hard hat compatibility, and there are no helmet-slot arms.

Q & A

Does the Bluetooth adapter come with the muffs, or is it extra?
It comes with them. Every colour option — black, green, camo, grey, earth brown and desert — ships with the adapter. The seventh option in the dropdown, "Bluetooth Adapter", is the adapter on its own, for someone who already owns a set of these muffs and wants to add wireless to them.

What noise reduction rating do they have?
We don't publish one. The supplier's own material quotes a figure we can't stand behind, and a noise reduction rating is a safety number — printing an unverified one is worse than printing none.

What batteries do they take?
Two AAA cells in the muffs, and they aren't included — grab a pack when you order. The Bluetooth adapter is separate and recharges over USB-C with the cable supplied.

Will they take calls off my phone?
Yes. The adapter runs Bluetooth 5.1, makes and takes calls, and triggers the phone's voice assistant. One button does the lot: hold it to power on and off, one press for play and pause, two presses for the voice assistant. Range is up to about 15 m with clear line of sight — less through walls and machinery.

Will they work under a hard hat or with safety glasses?
The cups are low profile with cut-outs, which helps with glasses arms and with a rifle stock. But they are a headband muff — the supplier does not state hard hat compatibility and there is no helmet-slot mounting. If your site requires helmet-mounted hearing protection, these are not it.

Why is there an American flag on the headband?
Fair question. Every photo the supplier provides shows a black-and-white United States flag patch on a hook-and-loop panel on the headband cover, across all six colours. We're telling you because you'd notice it when the box turns up. Whether it lifts off cleanly is not specified by the supplier.

How long is delivery, and what does it cost?
Delivery is 10 to 14 days from the day you order — allow up to 3 weeks to be safe, and longer again if you're regional or remote. Shipping is free to both Australia and New Zealand.

Specs

Colours can look a little different on a screen to how they look in your hand, depending on the light the photos were shot in.