Shooting activities require special personal protective equipment. When selecting PPE, it’s important to go with quality gear that’s rated. Eyewear and hearing protection are the two most important pieces of PPE to have when hitting the range or shooting a firearm. WarBird Protection put out a line of hearing and eye protection in early 2024, and they deliver. We had a chance to get our hands on the Intrepid BT electronic hearing protection muffs.
Who’s WarBird?
WarBird Protection is a company that produces lines of protective equipment. WarBird currently offers products in the hearing, eye, and body protection arena.
Founder/CEO Matt Davis notes in a statement on the “About Us” page that, “While WarBird is a new company, our roots run deep.” Davis continued, “For over 50 years the Davis name has pioneered the armor industry, having built a legacy of trust and expertise along the way.”
Body Armor was a principal focus based on former experiences, then in February and March of 2024, WarBird released the Intrepid line of hearing protection and eight different eyewear options. Also in February of 2024, WarBird launched their direct to consumer website.
We’ve previously reviewed Enfilade Safety Glasses and invite you to check out our write-up on them.
A press release further expanded on this dynamic:
WarBird Protection Group is a forward-thinking company backed by decades of experience in the use and design of protective equipment. First to market from WarBird is a line of soft, concealable body armor intended for use by the law enforcement, first responder, private security, and civilian markets. This soft armor line is just the beginning of top-notch, comfortable protection gear coming from WarBird.
Intrepid line of hearing protection
Intrepid muffs have a protective rating of 23 NRR. This is a fairly standard level of protection coming from over-the-ear muffs.
There are three different models of Intrepid hearing protection muffs:
- The Intrepid – which just act by amplifying ambient sound and blocking out loud noises which runs on AAA batteries
- The Intrepid RC – acts in the same manner as the Intrepid, however they are rechargeable via a micro USB charging port
- The Intrepid BT – is the top shelf model and has all the previous models’ features plus Bluetooth connectivity
Enhance the good, block out the bad
The Intrepid line of electronic hearing protection utilizes unique technology to enhance the wearer’s experience. These electronic muffs allow for wearers to hear ambient sound while cutting out damaging and loud gunfire. The benefit of course is that you can hear the people you are with at the range as well as what’s going on around you.
Having electronically enhanced hearing protection is not only great for conversing with your shooting buddies, but also would prove to be useful in hunting settings. With the ability to have some enhanced amplification of surrounding low level sounds, you might be able to pick up on sounds potential game might be making in the area.
Sound Active Compression technology at work
When the system detects gunfire, it does not act like some of the budget designs. You’ll actually hardly realize if they’re working or not because of the way they operate. Rather than shutting off the in-muff speaker, the Intrepid line uses “Sound Active Compression- 0.01 Second Reaction Time.” This technique is also known as “dynamic range compression,” and works by lowering the volume of loud noises. You still will “hear” the sound of gunshots, however they won’t be nearly as loud as they are while unprotected.
The Intrepid BT muffs in action
We got our ears on the Intrepid BT muffs. Hitting the range, we noticed that they are more comfortable than many of the muffs on the market. They’re outfitted with “gel ear seals,” which don’t dig into the face and conform around a user’s ears.
The amplification on the Intrepid BT’s can go up quite a bit. Want to hear what’s beyond the berm and beyond what’s there? You can probably hear that if you crank up the volume on these muffs.
The BT model muffs are rechargeable and have a pretty good battery life. Headed to the range and don’t know if they’re topped off? Just charge them in your car, they’re powered by a USB cable. The one thing I can say is a ding on the company is they use a micro USB port rather than a USB C port. In the future I’d like to see a USB C port, which is now industry – and European – standard.
What about the Bluetooth capability?
I don’t advocate being distracted while at the rage. So, going all out by playing music or anything to take your attention away from the task at hand is not advisable. I will say though that the Bluetooth capabilities on the Intrepid BT muffs are really good.
When I was at the range getting ready to do some live fire exercises, I did make a call on the headset. The audio was very clear and the recipient of my call said he could hear me well too.
What you decide to utilize the Bluetooth function on this set for is going to be entirely up to you.
Controls and buttons
The controls and buttons are fairly easy to access and initiate. It’ll take a little getting used to, but once you learn the orientation of everything, you should be good to go. Accessing the volume up and volume down buttons are probably the more important ones.
Modes
The Intrepid BT muffs have three different modes.
- Bluetooth and Hearing Protection (Amplification/Compression)
- Bluetooth Only
- Hearing Protection Only (Amplification/Compression
The quick and dirty
Pluses: Quality and dependable electronic hearing protection. Enhances the sounds you want to hear while blocking out the harmful stuff. Bluetooth connectivity is a feature that you might enjoy. Rechargeable.
Minuses: Micro USB charging port is a bit last generation.
These muffs are not some gimmick but actually a really great set of hearing protection. When first using them, it was hard to tell that they were working, but due to the type of compression technology used, you just won’t notice them doing their job. There’s nothing wrong with the less expensive models out there where the speaker is cut off during a gunshot, however these are next level when it comes to quality. I’d recommend these to someone in the market for higher end electronic muffs.
If you use the code THESQUAREREVIEWS at checkout, you’ll receive 10% off your order of glasses or hearing protection, and we’ll get a commission! (Discount code can be applied in the cart on all products except the HOSS armor).
