Ear Plugs / Headphones

Why would one want ear plugs in the wilderness? Or earphones?

"Why would one want ear plugs in the wilderness?"

Just about every other morning a bird decides to fly onto a tree above my campsite and chirp away.

Also when camping with other people.

I am very noise sensitive when sleeping.

"Just about every other morning a bird decides to fly onto a tree above my campsite and chirp away."
The best alarm clock.

"Also when camping with other people."
Why would you want to do that?

;)

Some birds, Turkeys immediately come to mind, make terribly unpleasant alarm clocks. I do not use alarm clocks hiking, but then I generally wake up at the time I plan/hope to, always have. And, I do agree with Nick. I generally prefer the company and safety of the sounds of nature – or at least being aware of them. In fact, I have never carried ear plugs, but I do carry ear phones. If I am having trouble sleeping, it seems to help. Also, when I am alone, sometimes any change of pace is a welcome activity. I usually hike alone. I posted this because so many people have ear phones and ear plugs in their gear lists, and I realized that I have used ear buds as plugs in noisy home environs.

I always bring and use big over the ear headphones…

on airplanes.

Otherwise, I leave them and the attached device at home.

Westone UM-1 earphones are very comfortable. Clean sound, good noise isolation, but little bass. But very comfortable. .61oz. These are a far lighter and more compact alternative to noise-cancelling headphones for travel.

Or, if you have $500 that you don't know what to do with, go for the W4Rs.

Ear plugs are a godsend for loud roosters in Kauai at 3 AM, a loud cuben tent in a storm / neoair + sleeping bag noise and everything in between. Good tunes are a great way to crank out miles as well, on a nice sunny day and / or if you're going sick or going through some altitude sickness or similar and feel like you're gonna die … good music can help you put one foot in front of the other when shtf.

I love being in my tent and listening to the roar of a storm outside on a mountain that sounds like death from above beating against the walls of my tent … being one with nature …. for about 2 minutes, then I put my headphones on and fall asleep to a movie on my iphone and pass out like a baby. Nature + electronics equals awesome. :)

…

A: I wear ear plugs 12 hours a day at work, A tornado wouldn't wake me up.
B: Quality headphones VS cheesy micro-speakers for listening pleasure is a no brainer.
C: Weight of either of these items is a non-issue. If you need silence, you NEED silence… If you want listening enjoyment, then 8 grams will be the lightest ecstasy you'll ever encounter in the wilderness.

Besides, sleeping with headphone cords around your neck just sounds, well, less than ideal.

Roger, try picking up a used ipod nano 6th gen on craigslist/ebay. Same iTunes interface, small, weighs 0.75oz, relatively cheap, 8 or 16gb versions, and lasts for nearly 24 hours of play.

I bring my ipod and skullcandy buds when my kids have scout campouts and they are awful. I'm a side sleeper, so having them jamming against the cartilage in my ears after only a few minutes causes terrible pain. I hear there is a new flat headband/headphone setup that is designed for this exact purpose. Sounds good to me!

Assuming that you want to take buds and ear plugs… I most often don't take either when backpacking but sometimes do take ear buds on bicycle tours and find that I want buds that don't block the ambient sounds. I like my Yurbuds specifically because they don't act as earplugs, They stay in well and allow you to hear the bird song, the hiker approaching behind you, and to generally help maintain the situational awareness that so many folks seem to totally lack these days. As a result they would be just about worthless as ear plugs. Thankfully I have never needed earplugs to sleep in the woods.

Earbuds are different than canalphones. Canalphones can make decent earplugs.

It should be noted that the point of earplugs isn't to make it so you can't hear anything. Earplugs muffle sound so that no sounds are loud enough to damage you hearing.

To this end, I've never really seen the point. Hikers wear earplugs when hike with other snoring hikers at shelters, or around annoying wildlife. The truth is, if you're a light sleeper, those same sounds will probably still wake you up. You're much better off taking those Benedryl gelcaps than trying to stuff them in your ears. :D

I take plugs for snoring companions. Nice for getting to bed early as well.

del