I never followed-up with a range report; my bad. This was because trials around the house and the one I did at the range left me deciding that I probably wouldn't be able to use them as-is. No fault of the device; it's due solely to my particular situation, one that was the reason for me buying them in the first place, and one that will affect very, very few people. I've had significant surgical work on one side of my face, including reattachment of the ear. I can't use over-the-ear hearing protection any longer because it's impossible to get a reasonable seal around that ear...so there went a couple of nice electronic earmuffs that I had. The ear didn't go back on straight, at the same angle, or even quite the same size.
So there went some custom molded in-ear protection I already had.
Before I bought the new Walker's I was 60/40 optimistic that one of the five included pairs of foam inserts would fit, but no real luck. I can get a decent, though somewhat uncomfortable (not one I'd want to leave in for stretches of longer than 15 minutes or so) seal in the problem ear after a bit of compressing, wiggling, and shoving, but after a modest amount of head movement it quickly becomes loosened. No problem in the unaltered ear so, again, this is an almost unique situation; but at least you know why I didn't give a more detailed review earlier. Out of sight, out of mind.
BTW, I've had a set of custom molded plugs made that work perfectly to block sounds, but they're simply that: plugs. Custom molded in-ear electronic protection is
very pricey, but may be my only option going forward. An aside is that the Razor uses a plain-Jane attachment point for its earbuds. I don't know if there would ever be an aftermarket audience for it, but if someone were to offer a custom molded piece that could attach to the Razor in place of Walker's generic buds--much like several companies do for Bluetooth cellphone headsets--I'd be all over it.
Because otherwise, these little things perform quite adequately. Again, I didn't buy the Bluetooth version, so can't speak to that functionality. And as someone mentioned, the electronics are clamping, not noise-cancelling; but that's also fine with me. I'm after basic electronics that will clamp high dB sounds quickly and effectively, and still let me hear what's going on around me at normal conversational levels. Almost an absolute necessity for training classes or during competition, and highly desirable for hunters. And when a good in-ear seal is achieved, these little guys clamp down on sound well (and have two modes of operation: "outdoor" with a shorter compression (or dwell) time, and "indoor" with a longer compression time); they are extremely lightweight; the wires to the earpieces extend far enough for most any purpose I can imagine; they allow a quick cheek-weld for rifles or shotguns without disturbing the hearing protection; they hold a charge well; and if powered down still serve as a passive earplug.
There are a couple of minor design/production issues that I think Walker's could address, though, to improve the product.
First, the neckpiece. While I haven't run it through any real-world stress tests, it still strikes me as a bit flimsy. I wouldn't be surprised if that were the first thing to break on the Razor in normal use. It's about 1/3 flexible rubber arms and 2/3 rigid plastic. The flexible rubber arms are nicely flexible, but the plastic at the rear of the neckpiece is one-size-fits-all because it doesn't bend or flex, and based on the radius is sized to fit a 17" neck. On some smaller individuals, the neckband will be loose and you risk it flopping around unnecessarily while moving. On some larger individuals, the rear plastic section will stick out from the back of their necks and position the front control arms not at the front of their necks, but pressed against the sides. If you're a 6'4" 250-pound hunter needing to fit the Razor over or under long-johns, a flannel shirt, and a jacket, you may be in for a lot of fiddling to try to make it work. Seems to me that Walker's should consider making the razor--if not with a replaceable plastic insert at the rear--in at in two differently-sized models.
Speaking of the controls. The ambient volume can't be controlled for each ear individually, but only for the device as a whole. For the vast majority of people, this won't be a big deal; isn't for me. But I can see some who have significantly greater hearing loss in one ear for whom this may be an annoyance or, depending upon personal preferences, a deal-breaker. Unlike many over-the-ear electronic muffs, of course, you can't wear a hearing aid in conjunction with the Razor. The ambient sound volume has 10 settings, from 0 (the same as having the device turned off) to 9, which represents +14dB; seems adequate to me for most purposes; some hunters might prefer a little more volume on the high side.
The control buttons are tiny. And I mean tiny. The ambient volume buttons are on the outside of the neckband, and that's also how you switch operating modes from outdoor to indoor. Presumably, you won't have to tinker with those settings once you put the Razor on...because you really can't. To switch operating modes, for example, you press both the ambient volume "up" and "down" buttons simultaneously; one audible beep will then indicate outdoor mode, and two beeps indoor mode. I'm not the largest guy on the block, but even with the Razor off my neck and in my hands, I can't press both those buttons simultaneously with my index and middle fingers; won't fit. I have to use both thumbs...which makes listening for the confirming beeps a bit awkward. If you're a deer hunter in the Hill Country in December and wearing gloves, you absolutely will not be able to manipulate any of the controls until you take your gloves off.
The on/off switch is on the inside of the neckband, as are the buttons on either side that retract the wires leading to the earbuds. I'll have to trust that Walker's engineers thought that through long and hard. The on/off switch is a small slider that extends only slightly above the surface of the neckband. I think that's fairly secure from accidental operation. But the press-in buttons that retract the earbud wires are raised farther above the band's surface, and take
very little pressure to activate. I think this could be a problem for larger individuals. In one experiment, I simulated having the controls farther back, against the side of my neck, and in trying some snap-shot-type rapid cheek welds with a rifle, the retraction button on the rifle side activated one in six times. Not a big deal for a hunter or benchrest shooter, but it could be very aggravating if you shoot 3-gun competitions.
As a follow-on, the earbuds are very lightweight and if you press the retraction button without supporting the earbud, it will absolutely snap back into its fully retracted position...probably faster than you'd like. I don't know if this could cause damage over time, but I'd recommend controlling the earbud with one hand while you press the retraction button with the other hand.
Now the really nitpicky stuff. Documentation. Well, there sort of is. I haven't gone back to check the Walker's website since shortly after I purchased the Razor, but there was almost nothing about the device on their website at that time, and what you get in the package is a 5.5"x8" piece of paper with small print on one side. I suppose it's enough, but it left me wanting.
The Razor comes with a small, flimsy little nylon bag as a "carrying case." You have to compress the neckband and overlap the two arms to even get the device in there, much less fit the charging adapter and cord and spare earbuds in as well. Don't know about you, but there's really no place in my range bag that doesn't see rough use. If I used the little nylon bag to carry the Razor in my range bag, I doubt the device would last more than a few trips to the range. Maybe I'm wrong. I had an old pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones, though, that had given up the ghost; they stopped working and the padding on the earpieces was falling off. They came in a fairly compact, zippered hard case. I was getting ready to toss the headphones just when the Walker's Razor arrived. Ta da! The Razor fit into the Bose case almost like it was made for it.
Overall, I give the Razor 3.5 stars out of 5. I have to take a half-star off simply because I bought it but can't use it; that, however, is only my own personal situation. Otherwise, four stars. I think it does what it says it does, and has some nice features. There are a few design elements that lead me to believe it could be better than it is.
