Wingshooters Product Review

Walker's Quad Power Muffs

For years, I've been seeing the advertisements for Walker's Game Ear products in the various hunting magazines and on the shows on the Outdoor Channel.  I haven't been real interested in any of the hearing aid style products that they offer, but when these new Quad Power Muffs came out, I decided to give them a try.  Besides spending a lot of time hunting, I like to do quite a bit of shooting, so I thought I could get a dual-use out of these.

I bought a pair of the camouflage Quad Power Muffs from Cabela's just before the 2005 turkey season opened.  I took them with me every time I went turkey hunting, and, as promised, they did provide a great bit of hearing enhancement in the woods.  I could hear turkeys flying down from their roosts, gobbling, yelping, and clucking like never before.  After a half dozen hunts or so, I took them to the shooting range with me as I went to sight in my deer rifle.

From the first shot with my deer rifle, I began to get a good bit of static in one ear.  I tried putting in a new pair of batteries, but the static continued.  Soon the static became evident in both ears.  It quickly got to a point where the muffs were becoming useless, so I contacted Walker's about the problem.  I was quite displeased with the response I got from the company.  They were not willing to discuss the problem, and kept directing me back to Cabela's.  I contacted Cabela's, and they were very quick to do an exchange, even to the point that they paid my return postage on the faulty muffs.

My new pair arrived shortly before deer season, and I subsequently wore them in the woods on over thirty deer hunts.  This turned out to have a good many benefits.  Besides being able to hear game moving better, they protected my ears from the wind and cold, even in the heart of winter.  They also gave me protection from the sound of my rifle blasts as I shot four deer and a fox that year. 

I have also been pleasantly surprised at how long the batteries lasted.  Prior to deer season, I bought two extra packs of size "N" batteries to carry with me, expecting to get about four 5 hour hunts out of the batteries that came with the muffs.  Incredibly, I hunted the entire deer season without ever having to replace the batteries.  I tend to hunt for long stretches of time, and I am quite impressed with the battery life.

I've given the muffs a four star rating.  The loss of the fifth star is due to two factors.  First, the fact that the first pair of muffs only lasted a month or so before having problems.  The second pair has had no problems, but I am still concerned about the life of the product.  Second, I was extremely disappointed with the company not even being willing to hear about my problems when I called them about the first set.  Beyond those issues, I am quite happy with my muffs, and am the envy of my companions when I am with them in the woods or at the range.