SurfEars 3.0 2020
Reviews / Ear Plugs
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At A Glance
Protecting your hearing for kitesurfers is critical, while surfers are subject to cold water in the winter, we are subject to cold winds and water. Riders have been looking at hearing protection for some time, and there are several options out there. SurfEars launched a few years back with a killer product designed to solve this problem.
Previous earplugs did just that; they plugged your ears, suddenly the sound was lost and consequently some balance too, not ideal when you are practising water sports. By letting sound in and keeping water out, SurfEars are aimed at allowing you to hear, stay balanced and protect your ears too!
These are the latest version on the market, and there have been some updates to the design over the years. What you get is a neat pouch, a set of plugs with multiple sizing attachment and a handy chord to stop them from disappearing should they fall out. One size fits all here, and there should be a silicone set up in the pouch that works for you.
On The Water
Do they work? Yes, in short, they do a fantastic job, the new design is incredible at letting sound in, you barely notice you are wearing them, they make hardly any noticeable difference to your hearing. Equally, they don’t affect your balance either and guess what, they keep wind and water out and should stop the bone growth known as “surfers ear”.
What they are excellent at is staying in your ear; the handy silicone tether works well, but in all our testing, we never lost a plug in the first place. From hard kite slams to getting rinsed in the waves surfing they stayed in place, and we never had to adjust them, top marks there! Just make sure you set them up, so they fit correctly.
Yes, they are pricey, but a custom set of plugs will set you back at least twice as much. Cheaper versions will affect your hearing on the water, which isn’t ideal. In our opinion, for the price and performance, they can’t be beaten. If you are planning on cold water kiting this winter, then get a pair if you don’t have some already.
Overall
They let sound in, keep water out and don’t affect your balance, with enough extra parts to ensure everyone can have a snug fit we have been hugely impressed with the SurfEars 3.0 earplugs.
Videos
For more information visit SurfEars
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By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
