Product Review : NoNoise Earplugs Motorsport Edition

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What is it?

Motorcyclists tend to spend a lot on helmets, jacket, boots and a pair of gloves. These are must-haves while riding. Doesn’t matter if it’s a short 10km spin or a multi-day adventure, we need to wear them all the time. It’s about our safety and we should NEVER take things lightly. In this story, we’re going to talk about another bit of safety gear which we hardly use – earplugs.

Riding a motorcycle at high speeds can generate wind noise that could lead to permanent hearing loss. In fact, riding a motorcycle generates close to 105db and permanent hearing damage can start from 85db. This doesn’t happen instantly. It takes place over a period of time if proper ear plugs aren’t used. To make things clear, earplugs don’t cut any noise. Its job is to reduce the noise that helps decrease your overall stress level.

NoNoise have been manufacturing a range of earplugs. In fact, they’ve plugs for sleep, music, water sports and even for travel. We decided to acquire the motorsport edition for obvious reasons. So what’s so special about the NoNoise earplugs? To start with, it uses ceramic sound filters to ensure maximum protection. These earplugs filter the sound depending on its decibel levels. The motorsport edition is designed to filter higher sound levels at the same time allow lower sound to be heard. These plugs are re-usable too, so don’t think of getting more than one pair.

How does it perform?

These earplugs have made my life very easy. Firstly, they fit perfectly into my ear canal. The sense of something being inside my ears didn’t come up anytime, thanks to the mushroom-like design. Even during long rides, it was very comfortable.  Secondly, the small handle on the plug makes it very easy to push the plugs into my ear canal and pull it off.

I used these earplugs for almost 99 per cent of my riding which includes off-roading, cruising and city riding. The performance of these earplugs are pretty impressive in these situations. It cuts the wind noise by a great margin, making you feel less stressed out. This is true for speeds anything between 0 to 130kmph. Post that, I could sense the intensity of the wind noise increasing. But having these plugs plugged in is way better than not having one, right? What impressed me the most is the ability to hear low sounds. I could hear horns, engine sound and regular human speech. I also use a Sena Bluetooth system (you can read about it here) and with these earplugs on, I could hear my callers very clearly. So essentially, these earplugs cuts off the harshness and bass around the ears that reduces the overall fatigue level. Also, when you’re not using the earplugs, you can keep it inside a small aluminium canister. I like the way this canister looks and feels.  I would definitely recommend these earplugs to everyone who is into motorcycling. For tourers, the NoNoise Motorsport earplugs is a must-have.

What’s against it?

Price! The NoNoise MotoSport earplugs don’t come cheap. It’s priced at Rs 2,250 and it’s not just expensive in India. It’s expensive worldwide. Why? Because it’s positioned as premium earplugs due to the amount of R&D that has gone into it. Plus they claim that their ceramic sound filtration system is the best in the segment.

As these are re-usable ones, you need to wash them quite often as they get dirty. I have washed it twice with a soap solution but both the same I had to be very careful with the process. Make sure to wash in a small container filled with soap water.

Test Duration

1 month – 1500kms

Can be bought at motousher.com 

Photography by Kapil Angane