Protecting your ears from loud noises, like you know gunfire, is pretty dang critical. I say this as a person with tinnitus because the younger version of me was headstrong and thought an M240 would never bother my ears. These days I’m older and wiser and armed with gear like the new Safariland Liberator 2.0 hearing protection. The Liberator headset goes beyond your normal hearing protection, though.
It’s 2021, and if you ain’t rocking electronic hearing protection, you are missing out. The Liberator 2.0s are fully electronic and provide you three modes for various amplification and noise-canceling modes. Let’s break down those modes real quick, so we are all on the same page.
Liberator Modes And Audio Quality
Mode 1 – Used for most tactical operations requiring the ability to hear speech and audio, recognize threats, and maintain situational awareness while gunfire or explosions may occur without warning.
It blocks impulse noise, allows speech and environmental audio to be heard. Allows all radio communications.
Mode 2 – When high-level steady-state noise is occurring, such as operating in a helicopter, aircraft, boat, or ground vehicle for extended periods.
Blocks external noise. Allows all radio communications.
Mode 3 – When operating in high steady-state noise environments and face to face communication is desired.
Blocks external noise, except speech. Allows all radio communications.
To Swap between modes, you hold both the + and – buttons. A soothing voice tells you what mode you are in.
In terms of audio quality, the Safariland Liberator delivers crystal clear, easily understood audio. Having conversations between people both near and far, even with gunfire present. At a recent media event at a firing range, my future wife and I had no issues talking around machine guns, AKs, bolt action precision rifles, and more.
Speaking of, she immediately stole the Liberator from me and regulated me to an older pair of muffs. As a new shooter, she received plenty of instruction when firing rifles, SMGs, and even a medium machine gun. The Liberator muffs blocked the noise but allowed her to hear the instructions various range officers issued her.
Inside the Liberator 2.0
The microphones on the Liberator muffs provide you 360 degrees of sound amplification. Unlike other headphones, this allows you to pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Some range-friendly hearing protection has a simple mic that amplifies noise but makes it sound like it all comes from the same direction. The Liberator muffs are true tactical ear muffs and allow you to have maximum situational awareness.
These muffs aren’t just great for the range but for tactical environments police and military deal with daily. The Liberator design is modular and does allow you to use the muffs with a helmet. This requires an additional behind-the-hand band, but the change over is relatively simple.
My girlfriend loved them because they were super lightweight and insanely comfortable while remaining slim. Gel cups not only provide an excellent seal to prevent noise entrance but also incredible comfort. She wore them for hours at a time without complaint. I feel the same. I’ve used them for about a month now, almost daily at various range trips and for testing purposes. They’ve been nothing but comfortable.
Safariland designed these for professional users, and the little things show. For example, you can wear it under a helmet. Second, they are tough as hell! Thirdly, they have a dual fuel design. By dual fuel, I mean they can use either 2 AAA batteries or a single CR123A battery.
Oh, and don’t forget they have an auto turn-off mode that will auto shut them off after 5 minutes of no movement. You’ll get five warnings before they shut off. A low battery indicator goes off when there are only 20 hours of battery power left. Battery life ranges from 200 to 300 hours, depending on the mode selected.
Over and Out
The Safariland Liberator 2.0 provides users a true tactical set of hearing protection at a great price point. Everything about these headphones seemingly rocks. They’re durable, extremely comfortable, provide crystal clear audio, and they’re even lightweight. Add in the modularity factor for batteries, and wearing a helmet and bam, you have a professional-grade option that keeps the ringing away.
