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Photos and text by Kenn Stamp

Earplugs come in many different styles, colors, and materials but all are made to reduce the level of noise entering your ear canal. Unfortunately we can't wear earplugs every time our ears are subjected to loud noises which makes wearing them while riding all the more important.

Of equal importance is the effectiveness of the plug itself; no matter what the decibel rating is if the ear canal isn't sealed completely noise will creep in. My ear canals have an oval shape to them which makes the proper fitting of the ubiquitous foam "roll and insert" plugs a hit or miss affair. Usually it is my left ear that has the most problems which results in a lopsided wind noise effect while riding. This sucks and is quite tiring after a short time.

So what options are there other than the foam plugs?

Well there are the rubber style earplugs that have a hard plastic core with a tapering rubber top. Often these have a piece of string that goes between the two earplugs to allow them to dangle around your neck when not in use.

While these work semi-well in my ears they do produce a pressure effect that causes my whole ear to ache after about 30 minutes. Obviously a better solution needs to be found if I am going to protect my hearing on rides longer than a half hour.

Enter the clay style earplugs. I have seen these in a few different colors but the ones I got are blue. Blue and squishy. These work by rolling them in your hands for about 30 seconds until they soften up and then inserting them into the ear and spreading the remaining parts around the exterior parts of your ear. It is much easier to do than to explain, so look at the pictures or watch the video for a visual.

Good things about them? Well they have the highest decibel rating at 34 of any of the earplugs I've tried and they are guaranteed to fit your ear as you basically are molding them in. On the downside, they do cause a pressure build-up when you are molding them around the outside of the ear which gets painful on the eardrum. Also they are gooey and after a time get even more gooey as....well lets just leave it at that shall we?

So we have a product that seals out the most noise, fits your ear guaranteed, and is reusable. Sounds perfect right? Well that depends on what you want out of an earplug doesn't it.

Me? I want performance, comfort, longevity, and sound baby, sound.

I present to you the Challenger earplugs from Earplugstore.com. Calling these works of auditory art "earplugs" is like saying Dali is "some painter dude". Alas Dali was indeed a "painter dude" and the Challengers are in fact earplugs. However, they are earplugs with a few differences.

First when you order a set you don't get them. What you do get is a mold making kit that you can either do yourself or have an audiologist do for you. Earplugstore.com is very helpful during the fitting stage and if you email them a picture they'll tell you if the molds are viable before you even send them back. After you've made your molds you ship them off, wait about 2 weeks, and then receive the earplugs you have been waiting patiently for.

The Challengers not only block out 25 decibels of unwanted noise but the allow you to blast your eardrums with wanted noise; namely music. That's right, the Challengers have speakers in them with a standard sized plug that fits into every music device known to man.

Listening to music through speakers inserted in your ear is illegal in most, if not all, states and we at 2WF would never condone breaking the law. That being said this is a clear case of "do as I say not as I do" 'cause these things rock (literally!) and I can't imagine riding long distance without them.

I have worn them on a few 500+ mile days (all interstate riding too) and it isn't until after 8 hours of wearing them that my ears get a little sore. I have sensitive ears and even the foam plugs bother me after a few hours. Having the ability to listen to tunes while droning along the interstate is priceless (insert your own credit card commercial here). One of the nicest things is that since the speakers sit embedded into the polymer and the sound is fed directly into your ear, I tend to keep the volume lower than with regular earphones. This saves my ears from too many decibels while still allowing me to listen to something other than my own thoughts (which can get pretty scary after 8 hours in the saddle).

Around town you can unplug the iPod and just use the Challengers as normal earplugs. They allow enough sound to enter your ear that you can hear everything going on with traffic while cutting down on the wind noise. On the highway or longer trips, plug the music in and enjoy the tunes. Quite possibly the best of both worlds.

So is there a downside to all of this audio nirvana? Yes, yes there is. Price. The Challengers are not cheap. They are a well built, custom made piece of equipment designed to not only protect your ears from harmful sounds but allow you to listen to more enjoyable ones at the same time. Prices range from the $149.00 basic model up to $579.95 for the top of the line "pro" series (mostly for singers and such). The Challengers I have are the "M" model which run $198.00 and are designed specifically for use under a helmet. Are they worth $198? Absolutely; at least in my opinion.

Head on over to www.earplugstore.com to check out every type of hearing protector known to man. Even if you don't pop for the custom earplugs you may find another pair that suits your needs.

To get answers to questions about earplugs in general head to our earplug forum. If I don't know the answer I'll get one of my "people" to research it for you.