3M PELTOR X5A Earmuffs vs Moldex Pura-Fit 6800 Uncorded Disposable Foam Earplugs

The X5A pairs the highest labeled NRR in 3M's X Series with a full published attenuation table, so you can see the protection frequency by frequency rather than trusting one number. Moldex Pura-Fit plugs beat it on the label and cost far less per use, but they hand all of the responsibility for that number back to you every single time you fit them.

3M PELTOR X5A Earmuffs

Buy it

The highest rated muff in 3M's X Series, and one of the few protectors where the maker publishes the full attenuation table behind the headline number.

• Labeled NRR of 31 dB, the highest in 3M's X Series headband range, with mean attenuation and standard deviation published at nine test frequencies.
• 3M publishes 41.1 dB mean attenuation at 500 Hz, which is where a lot of shop and yard noise sits and where thinner muffs give up ground.
• Cushions and foam inserts are replaceable through 3M's HYX5 hygiene kit, and 3M recommends replacing them at least twice a year to keep the seal working.

• 3M lists it at 12.38 ounces, the heaviest headband model in the X Series and noticeably more than the 6.49 ounce X1A.
• The deep cups do not clear a long gun stock the way a slim shooting muff does.
• No electronics, so you take them off to hear anything, and a muff you keep lifting is a muff that is not protecting you.

Check price

Moldex Pura-Fit 6800 Uncorded Disposable Foam Earplugs

Buy it

The highest labeled NRR in this comparison, from a plug that costs almost nothing per pair, provided you actually roll it down and seat it.

• Labeled NRR of 33 dB, higher than any muff here, and Moldex states the product meets ANSI S3.19-1974, the test method the EPA label rule requires.
• Tapered, longer body designed to slide into the canal and expand slowly, which gives you time to hold it in place while it recovers.
• Sold 200 pairs to a box with a five year shelf life, so a fresh pair is always within reach instead of a grubby pair being reused.

• Single use, so the cost per pair is low but the waste is constant.
• The whole 33 dB depends on roll-down technique, and a plug that is barely inserted can give you a fraction of the label.
• Nothing lets you hear speech, so you will pull them out to talk and then have to fit them again correctly.

Check price

Side by side

The bottom line

Our overall pick is the 3M PELTOR X5A Earmuffs - The highest rated muff in 3M's X Series, and one of the few protectors where the maker publishes the full attenuation table behind the headline number. Choose the Moldex Pura-Fit 6800 Uncorded Disposable Foam Earplugs instead if anyone who wants maximum labeled attenuation for the least money, and who is willing to learn a proper roll-down insertion.

Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Hearing Protection: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).