Radians CEP001-R Custom Molded Earplugs (Red)

This kit works really well. I take hearing protection very seriously. My parents were both audiophiles, so I was the only kid who regularly wore ear plugs in the mosh pits, and I have maintained my full frequency range despite years of loud activities. I was very surprised by how easy they were to make and how great they fit. This dB reduction is significant (26) but it's less than the disposable 3m ones that I've used in the past, which I believe have a noise reduction of 32dB. I put one of each in alternating ears and then compared the noise reduction while wearing over the ear headphones. Both reduced the noise very well, but the 6dB difference is noticable. The disposable ones were slightly better at reducing the noise, but I do like that these fit so well in my ears without any effort and they don't end up in a landfill. I bought these for two uses: motorcycle wind noise and sleeping. They are plenty effective for blocking out noise for a light sleeper, 100%. For wind noise, they are very effective, and I will continue to use them, but I'm not an audiologist, so I can't say how important that 6db difference will be, long term. My only complaint is with how well these seal. If I had realized before I made them, I probably would have pinched the south side before they set, or stuck a tiny handle into the epoxy, or something. They feel very robust, and when you seat them in your ear canals you can feel them seal all the way from the inside out, but then it's like trying to peel up a sticker when you can't find an edge. If I had longet nails it might be easier. I've gotten better at it, but that's my one recommendation with these, once you get them all pushed into your ears, pinch them at the top before they set so you have a little place to pull when you want to take them out. Other than that, they're great. Excellent instructions and I like how bright and hard to lose the rest ones are.

My husband races old cars and needed to replace his race receiver. The ear buds do not stay in his ears so I ordered this to mold around his ear buds and hold them in place. They compound was very easy to mix in about thirty seconds. After sitting in his ears for ten minutes he had new molds. Not only does this allow him to hear the flag man while racing to keep him safe, it protects his hear from the loud cars. It is not as hard as the compound that came with his old ear buds and receiver but it is working well and is holding up. He only races about a dozen times a year so the wear and tear is far less than anyone using these for sleep.

So I understand that these were sold as ear plugs for the purpose of noise cancelation. I, however, bought them in hopes of making my own custom mold for my in-ears. So I'll review both purposes seperatly. The product was compact and simple, and was actually pretty satisfying to use. You mix 2 different puddies together and it heats up and then you just stick it in your ears. Its warm and fizzles a bit and honestly, pretty enjoyable experience. Smelled a bit on my hands, but soap took the smell away. They were a bit prone to picking up any grease, be it finger or ear. This made them easy to slip out of its suction seal, all but removing the noise cancelation. I think a more rubbery material would have gripped onto the skin a bit better than this, well, foam-like material? Anyways, for plugs, it's simple, satisfying, and gets the job done. They don't hit the ball out of the park, but they are worth the money you pay. For my musician friends... No go. Like I said above, they work as plugs. But they absolutely do not grip to the drivers. On top of that, the thin lip that hopefully grips the front of the driver forming almost like a socket? Yeah, that ripped almost immediately... So the drivers just popped right out and I was left with foam in my ears. Was really hopeful for a cheap "custom" alternative... Maybe it exists... These aren't it.

The instructional insert that came with my order indicated "Nov 09 2016." I followed those instructions and got fantastic results. Like some other reviewers I was able to get two pair of earplugs out of the amount of material that I received. A custom fit earplug appeals to me, as I seem to have small ears and canals, and as a result, I tend to end up fighting with the soft, cheapie, foam plugs. It usually takes a lot of effort to get other earplugs to seat properly. Also, headphone/over-the-ear type ear protection is fine for some applications, but not so cool if you're looking for a good cheek weld. So, these Radians Custom Molded Earplugs solve both issues for me. As the material was curing, I too, like others here, got to hear the snap, crackle and pop of the earplugs - sort of like Rice Krispies with milk just poured on them. It's odd, but not unpleasant or painful. I read a lot of reviews on Amazon, and buy and evaluate a lot of products. It's one of the things I value most about making purchases here - we get to benefit from the vast experiences of others. Some of the reviewers end up with products and results unlike my own, and I don't always understand where they're coming from. There were several negative reviews of these particular earplugs, for example, and my experience has been fantastic. While I'm sure it's possible that a bad manufacturing batch or two has shipped to customers, I often wonder if something else is afoot. I generally get well-made and reputable products on Amazon, whether I'm making top-dollar purchases, or like in this case, very inexpensive ones. Usually, it's clear by the lack of detail, description and pictures if an item and manufacturer are shady, and bottom-feeding - but those are pretty easy to steer clear of, with a little common sense - it seems. While I haven't used this product at the range yet, which is the principle reason I bought it, I have with a lawn mower and leaf blower, and am happy with the hearing protection provided in this case. I will update if my experience with .223 cal, 7.62mm x 54R, or 9mm is any different.

Based on a bunch of online reviews, I figured I'd give these guys a shot. Wow, nope. They arrived in a nice little envelope, two nifty lil plastic packs, and an instruction card. I went online, watched the Radians video, and started the process. I cleaned my ears REALLY (like, operating room really) well, split the stuff in half, and started kneading the two parts together - they felt like loose, greasy Play-Doh. REALLY oily, kinda weird. Whatever, it's epoxy, it's gonna be weird until it cures. I stuck the goop in my ear, and started pushing it into my ear canal, folding it over. The trapped air in my ear canal kept pushing it back out, so I pulled my ear up to release it. So far so good. More folding and molding. It's starting to harden up a bit, which is good. Put 12 minutes on the clock, and sat on the chair with my jaw open and still (and drooling) like I did when I got my "shoot the goop in your ears at a motorcycle show" plugs. During the entire cure, they felt like they were pushing themselves out, like they were expanding and oushing outta my ear canals. After 12 minutes, they were decently hard - like a super ball - and I twisted them out. They popped out a little too easy. They were all oily, which I figure is some kind of a release agent. I molded the second one, and finished up. Like the instructions said, I set them aside for 3 hours to cure up. After the 3 hours, they were pretty hard - like a rubbery hard, not unpleasant - and they had decidedly sharp edges on them. I went to pop them in my ears, and it was a struggle. They didn't want to go back in at all. Twist, tug, pull, you name it, nope. I finally cajoled them in and they weren't sealing. They were sitting about 1/16" out of the ear - like they'd grown somehow during the cure. I "encouraged" them back in to my ears and held them in for a few minutes since the instructions say they'll "snug up" when warm. I let them warm. The left one "snugged" a little, nothing on the right, and the insides of my ear canals were in excruciating pain. While they did expand slightly, and I eventually got a decent seal on the left, the only thing the right side did was hurt. I left them in a good 20-25 minutes, and I put on my helmet, hoping maybe it was a time to warm thing. They popped out literally when I turned my head. Three or four times I try this, only to have the plugs pop out the second I get my lid on. I wear ear plugs every ride - silicones, foamies, etc... - so I'm not new to the whole "spread the lid around your ears" thing. They just won't stay in. After nearly an hour of messing with these things, back in the box to Amazon they went. Save yourself the trouble, save the effort, and don't bother. These stink for bikers.

I bought this product after having custom hearing protection made by a professional and being thrilled with them (Insta-Mold). I have severe noise-induced hearing loss and use plugs whenever I am in an environment where excess noise exists (power tools, riding a motorcycle, etc.) I have been using foam plugs for 35 years and while the noise protection is good the comfort level is less than ideal. I often need to remove the foam plugs after a few hours to take a rest. The custom plugs are basically forgotten once inserted, going completely unnoticed except for the blissful quiet when worn. Like others I also wanted to give this home product a shot (at a sixth or less of the cost of customs) and wanted to make custom molds for my in-ear headphones (Etymotics). Being able to block outside noise so I can turn the headphone volume as low as possible is critical with my hearing problem. I gave the product 3 stars because while I think there is potential, the buyer is going to have difficulty reproducing the results they would get by going to a professional. There are several reasons for this. First a professional will use a small foam piece on a tether to block the mold material from reaching the eardrum. This, combined with using a large syringe to push the material into the ear gives a much better fit to the inner contours of the ear canal. Comparing the professional version side-by-side to this product it is obvious that the inner ear part of the mold is much different - the professional version being much "thicker", better matching my inner ear and providing a better seal. Since the fit is what it's all about, that makes a huge difference in how much noise will be blocked. If you are making custom headphones the seal also dictates how good the bass response etc. will be. I have now made two pair with this product and while the second attempt is better than the first they cannot even come close to the fit, comfort, and noise attenuation of the professional product. I am still working on it though, I hope to buy some syringes and make some foam inserts in an attempt to duplicate as closely as possible the professional effort. In the end it will be worth it if I know I can make custom headphones whenever necessary. I will keep using professionally made plugs for noise attenuation and hopefully use these for custom in-ear headphones. The extra hearing protection of the professional versions is worth every penny when the best hearing protection is the most important consideration.

I bought these several weeks ago for sleeping. For years I've been using the cone-shaped foam style that you roll and insert in your ears. I used them because that's all I knew and they have the highest decibel protection. They are excellent really but argh! so frustrating! I can get them seated in one ear 9/10 with no problems. In the other ear it can take 15-20 frustrating minutes to get the thing seated so that sound doesn't "leak" in. Fast forward to two months back when I heard of custom molded ear plugs. Eh? What's that you say? I edged a little closer to that conversation. I hesitated because they seemed geared for shooters and the decibel protection is lower AND with this brand, I heard one YT reviewer talk about them being "hardened plastic" when finished. I couldn't imagine that would feel comfortable in the ear. Well, I bought, I molded, and I slept...delicious, undisturbed sleep! Yay!! And the legend of the gum-shew was born. One side of these things looks like a wad of bright pink bubble gum and the other side looks like a cashew. And so, gum-shew! Some things I like about these ear plugs: when the product arrived, I saw the manufacture date was just a few weeks before I received them; that seemed a plus as freshly produced putty should mix better and reduce any problems, I decided. I also liked that the product came together easily. I was worried that it would be very stiff and difficult to work with. But it was very soft, softer than gum even. I really like that the finished product is easy to insert and remove. You'd think this hard plastic would be hard to work with, but no, they are simple to use. It was easy to process the putty although I wish I had rolled it a bit before inserting, to give it a better shape inside the ear canal. One of the plugs has a nice symmetrical shape and the other looks more blob like. But both work! It's simple to pop them in before sleep. It takes maybe 5 minutes for them to 'heat' up and then they feel even more conformed to the ear. My major dislike is that they are uncomfortable when I'm sleeping on my side. Because they are hard plastic, that's just not pleasant to me. It's a minor thing and some folks may not mind it at all. Fortunately I mostly sleep on my back and once I'm deeply asleep, if I roll onto my side, I often don't notice that discomfort and unconsciously adjust around it. All in all, I really like these buds and I'd recommend them to others. I use earplugs because I have difficulty staying asleep. I can be easily awakened with ambient noises like the neighbor's dog barking or loud vehicles. Also my husband snores sometimes; it's not terribly loud but it's difficult to go back to sleep if I'm awakened by it. But with these gum-shews, I stay asleep and it's so so good to have a night of uninterrupted sleep! When wearing these gum-shews I can still hear most things and even converse with my husband next to me, but all the sounds are muffled, creating a lovely 'cone of silence' that makes it easy to fall asleep and stay asleep. I really value that these are sturdy, comfortable, easy to use and they work! Plus they are not so dense that I'm deaf to all sound--because I do want to hear if there are emergencies. These custom plugs are wonderful and worth it if you like sleeping in silence like I do!

I ordered a "set" of these earplugs and followed the instructions. They seemed to work well, until I put on my motorcycle helmet. There was so much material in the outside portion of my ear that the helmet kept pulling on them. The first time I used them they pulled out when I took my helmet off. After rereading some of the reviews here I decided to get another kit and try using less material. So I split the stuff so I could make two sets, but started by only making one earplug. The plug was so small that I almost couldn't get it out of my ear because there wasn't enough material to grab ahold of outside of my ear canal. I then tried using the remaining 3/4 material to make a pair of plugs. This seemed to be a good amount of material to get into the ear canal and leave enough out to easily remove. I let the plugs set in my ears for about 20 minutes, the instructions say to leave in at least 10 minutes. I then removed them and let them sit for about 4 hours. When I tried to insert them again I couldn't put them back into my ears. There was so much material going into the canal it actually hurt, like it was bottoming out. This was a great idea, but just didn't work. And for the price of 2 kits I was able to order 200 pairs of form earplugs here on amazon. Seems like a better use of the money to me.