Wanted an earmuff that didn't have to keep flipping up to hear others at the range. I normally shoot with others and in tactical exercises you can put them on, adjust the sound, and keep them on the entire time and forget about them. They are lightweight and have a thin profile so they fold up into a ball to drop in your gear bag. It came with a adapter to plug into an ipod or radio which seems to be an interesting feature and might use it if target practicing by myself. I would recommend these as they temper the blasts pretty well.