While not everyone considers ear protection essential safety equipment for motorcycle riding, it can be the difference between healthy hearing and eventual deafness. We have been fans of EarPeace earplugs for a while now—our first review was in 2011.
While they are relatively pricey, like so much safety gear, it’s about trust that the product will do what it says it will do, and we think that applies to EarPeace. An endorsement by The House Institute is a substantial one.
Ear Peace was the first company’s earplugs to win me over. I had generally avoided earplugs because they drove me crazy inside my helmet.
The latest EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition earplugs deliver the highest out-of-the-box level of sound attenuation the company has ever offered. The EarPeace Moto Pro earplugs come with Max (-24db) and High (-20db) filters, so you can tailor the sound volume accessing your ears.
The Ultra Max (-27db) filters that are a $30 option with the Moto Pro earplugs are standard issue in the EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition earplugs package.
The Ultra Max filter is designed for the noisiest conditions, and that can often mean riders wearing adventure helmets, which are typically louder for the user than pure street helmets.
I tested the EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition earplugs with the fairly quiet Arai XD-5 helmet on the KTM 890 SMT, which lacks a windshield. The Ultra Max filter did its job, and I was immediately impressed at the reduction of wind noise reaching my ears. I could still hear the parallel twin do its thing, and cars weren’t completely cut out, so I didn’t feel that the sound was attenuated to an unsafe level.
Associate Editor Kelly Callan tested them with the notoriously noisy Bell Bullitt retro-style helmet. That helmet is so loud that I was wearing a pair of Loop Experience Pro earplugs and didn’t even realize they were in.
Kelly’s testbed was the Husqvarna Svartpilen 401—a naked upright. She came back impressed. She has avoided wearing the Bell Bullitt anywhere but on urban rides and needs earplugs even at city speeds. Wearing the EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition earplugs cut the volume enough that she can now confidently wear the helmet at freeway speeds on unfaired motorcycles—a vast improvement.
The EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition box comes with three sets of three sizes of EarPeace Contour earplugs—the extra plug is in case you lose one. They are highly flexible and oval-shaped for easy insertion; one of the three sets should fit your ear canals.
I have a narrow ear canal, so the small Contour earplugs fit perfectly—the medium set was too big. The plugs have a tab to assist removal, though sometimes the tab adheres to my ear, making getting them out challenging. Installation is always easy, and I have no issues with the EarPeace earplugs getting knocked out when putting a helmet on or taking it off.
As everyone has different ear sensitivities, you may find the EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition earplugs too quiet for use with helmet intercoms—we did. In that case, you can buy a set of three Moto Pro High Protection earplugs for $30, sans the convenient and cool anodized aluminum carrying case.If you want to be able to hear long into your riding career and want the maximum sound attenuation without completely blocking out the traffic surrounding you, the EarPeace Moto Pro Adventure Edition will help you reach that goal.
