RadiansCustom Molded Earplugs

They are great

If you look at standard plastic ear plugs they are round and have sealing flanges. So if you are one of those folk whose ear canals are oval shaped or curved or anything but perfectly round standard plugs don't work. In fact they are worse than not working because they produce hotspots.Hotspots are where you put your earplugs in and then after a half hour or so you feel a burning pain like someone is drilling a hole in your ear with a red hot poker. Sometimes you can take the plugs out and sometimes you can't. Anything involving standard ear plugs plus a standard military aviation helmet/visor/oxygen mask produces a situation where not only do you have hot spots but you can't get the plugs out. There is a bone right under the skin of the ear canal where hotspots are the worst. Those little flanges tend to attack that bone first.I nearly forgot to mention foam rubber plugs. They produce fewer hotspots but you have to jam them in to keep them from popping out and then at a crucial time they break their seal and you get an earful of noise. And they itch when you get sweaty.These babies are better!I really wish they'd had these custom molded plugs back when I was in military aviation. If they are this comfortable out in the woods with a chain saw or out in the field on the tractor they'd be great wearing that skin tight aviator's helmet. Sweat doesn't bother them, there are no hotspots and they seem to attenuate ear-damaging high tones more than low pitched sounds.Some words of experience:1) Instructions say to mix half, do one ear and then do the other. Next time I mold a set I'm going to mix both halves, then split in halves and do both ears at the same time.2) Forget the mirror. An ear mirror reflected off the bathroom mirror through the distortion of your bifocals just doesn't work. Plus, unless you have two left hands you can't hold the mirror and shape the left plug. Then you need a spare right hand to do the same on the right. I got a second person with clean hands to help tidy up the outer surface.3) I've bought several pairs of these through Amazon. Beware of one of Amazon's associates "123CloseOut". The one pair I bought from them still hasn't arrived and Amazon tacked on an extra un-advertised shipping charge for these pirates to ship to a PO box.Edited on 11/16/13 to add: All ear plugs of all varieties become uncomfortable if you leave them in long enough, but these less than any others, and less than most headsets. I've had time to wear this set for a couple of extended exposures since I wrote the review. They do start to itch a bit after four hours or so, about as much as foamies do after a half hour. Sweat seems to make them work a bit better, a definite plus. Wearing a radio headset over them is entirely do-able, though I have to turn up the volume to the top to be heard. But that's what they are for, to reduce sound. They work just fine alone, at least as good as any other single set of plugs or headphones I've ever used.

ContextI purchased a used pair of Audeze LCDi3 a few months ago, from a seller who repeated a common complaint about these headphones - they just didn't seem to fit his ears. I bought these in particular because I wanted high-quality, open-back IEMs. I wanted the open-back ones because I use these around the house and while working out, but wanted full situational awareness when doing so, I really don't like losing one of my primary senses. However, when I received them, I found that no matter what I did, or what ear cushions I used, they just didn't feel quite right. I needed both ear cushions and ear-hooks to make them work, and that was finicky, they still tended to fall out. So I decided - rather than spend hundreds of dollars on custom IEM cushions, I'd just make my own.ProcessThe process is very simple. You have two containers, each with one half of the putty. You divide each into two parts, and use one part of each to make one ear cushion, making one cushion first, letting it cure, then making the second. You knead it together for about 90 seconds, then begin forming. It is very pliable at first, and it may even help to let it cure for a minute or two to make it easier to work with, but I was able to form it right after mixing. It sticks in the ear on its own, and I had a little extra left over from each ear, a ball about 4mm across. I allowed for a cure time, in the ear, of 20 minutes, and you can tell its about ready because the extra ball sets up nice and firm, and you can sort of feel the ear cushion "pull away" from the skin of the ear when it is setting up. When it stops doing so, you know its ready.I purchased a total of four sets of Radians, in the peach/flesh tone, to ensure I had plenty of extras to experiment with. The first set I just molded to my ears to make sure I liked the feel of them. They are comfortable, a bit harder when cured than most custom earplugs. Not a big issue, but don't pack it into your ear ridges -too- much or it will be uncomfortable when cured. The second pair I perfected the fit - I filled not only the ear canal, but also the ridge above it, and some of the ridge "forward" of it (closer to the front of the body). I then tried to cut a cylindrical hole for the IEM stem using a 1/4" drill bit (same diameter as the stem), and this worked, but the resulting earbud wasn't very tight and the ear cushion looked pretty rough around the hole. For the third set, I filled some 1/4" heat shrink tubing with epoxy, then formed the earplug around that, ensuring I had a nice, clear shot to the ear canal and the hole was level and aligned. This worked very well, and I am still using the third set today.ReviewThey are quite comfortable. I was worried they'd be hot, or awkward, or unpleasant due to their hardness, but they stay in place very well. They are easy to put in and remove, with a little technique. I can wear them for hours without their bothering me. I can exercise, even doing lifts, sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups - without them giving me trouble. Even though they are supporting both the LCDi3 and their bluetooth cable, and thus not an insignificant weight of materials, they are as comfortable as when I was just using them as earplugs.That said, I cannot comment on their ability to block noise, as I do not use them for that purpose. Also, my first two attempts produced ear cushions that were uncomfortable because I didn't include enough of the forward ear ridge to help support them, and I packed it in a bit too tight. So if they do ache or put pressure on your ear for more than an initial couple hour acclimation period, you might want to try again.My only real complaint is that they aren't offered in black.All in all, would recommend for use as custom ear cushions.

Just received a set of these earplugs. And sitting down, reviewed the instructions twice - and got to molding up my custom plugs. Very easy to do, simple. The quantity supplied would have actually made me two sets, I have small ears. So anyone with larger ears will not be disappointed. Allowed the full set time after the initial setting for removal. They are comfortable, and of course fit perfectly. Noise reduction seems to be at the level advertised. I am pleased with the results. And I definitely recommend as a option for others looking for reusable earplugs.

They are selling old expired product!! The first set I ordered I tried to mold exactly per the instructions however the molding process did not yield good results. The manufacturer recommends to use within 1year of the manufacture date otherwise they are no good. I looked and saw that the ones I send were over 1 year old. So I requested a replacement and was shipped one with no questions asked. The replacement I received was also over 1 year old!! You can see from other reviews people are experiencing the same problem. They are selling old expired product which is a scam!! Don’t buy! Learn from my mistake and look elsewhere.

I made an earnest effort but trying to get the material to mold in a first try proved to be difficult despite the instructions and watching multiple videos in preparation. The material flaked quite a bit before it cured too. I think this might be a good solution for some, but it was a messy disappointment for me.

Easy to mold and they last.