Hi John,

I recently did a test of different ear defenders in Shooting Times (albeit not custom-made in-ear plugs) and the ones that impressed me most were the electronic Peltor Sport-tac models which I found very comfortable and which had very good sound quality and the ability to plug in a two-way radio which is handy if you're the shoot captain or are running a clay line. The only problem is, they were ear muffs not plugs (and the most expensive tested at about Ł150).

I'm afraid I've never used a pair of custom-moulded in-ear plugs so am not qualified to comment but there are a whole heap of different options out there, from the cheap custom-made silicone plugs used in the building industry, for example, up to the very expensive digital ones that have more in common with in-ear hearing aids. One supplier that I would recommend you look at (and who attends the Game Fair and other shows) is Doyle Sports (www.doylesports.net). They're based in Cheshire.

Personally I think if I was going to spend a lot of money on electronic ear-plugs I might spend substantially less on a pair of cheaper passive moulded ones first to see if I was happy with the idea of having them in my ear all day.

There's also the argument that a pair of ear defenders keeps your ears warm and your cap on when the weather's foul.

Alastair.