The Greek tale “Odyssey” may be the first recorded mention of hearing protection—although it has nothing to do with firearms. Siren’s songs from a mythical island along the ship’s planned route had already drawn other sailors to certain death, and, as the story goes, the best way for the crew to avoid a similar fate was to fashion earplugs from beeswax. 

Most of us could have used that advice when we were dating in college, although campus beehives are hard to find and painful to raid. The first earplug patent was granted in 1864, according to the Acoustical Society of America, and a version connected by a headband followed in 1884. Military research started before World War I and progressed through World War II, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that a company dabbling in compounds to seal joints discovered the effectiveness of one of its “memory” foams.

Today, jars of foamies grace firing range counters across the globe. That closed-cell construction that conforms to ear canals is extremely effective at dampening potentially damaging noise, and the same is true of the modern polymer take with a valve that opens to allow sound’s entry. However, they make things coffin quiet and can generate pressure inside the ear.

Early Earmuffs

Early experiments in over the ear muffs affixed by a band across the head produced mixed results. Limited in material options, the only reliable mechanism available to seal out potentially damaging sound was for the band to squeeze the ear cups so tightly that faces puckered. The introduction of jet engines hastened research by the military, and water in the padding provided one of the first solutions.

The face cramps ended with modern polymers and foam, and sometime in the early 1980s, companies realized they could stuff electronics into the earpieces that literally shut off when they detected a loud noise. It was cutting-edge analog technology as mysterious as the 8-track and newfangled cassette. Unfortunately, even accomplished contortionists found it impossible to get a solid cheek weld on a rifle, and they acted like tiny little EZ Bake Ovens during hot and humid range sessions.

Modern Hearing Protection for Shooters

Then Walker’s Game Ear came up with an unusual hybrid. A pliable plug goes into the ear to provide protection, but it connects to a piece behind the ear that handled sound processing. The game changer was an instant success and some assumed there was little room for improvement.

They were wrong. In 2000 SportEAR introduced, “…the first in the [ear] canal, full 100-percent digital line,” according to Weston Harris, president of SportEAR and ProSounds. “Digital will process sounds far more accurately at 1 million sounds per second, and beyond,” he explained.

The company’s current digital lineup is frighteningly advanced. “We can fine tune the sound reproduction to give them exactly what they need,” he said. “And it can be reprogrammed along the way the match their personal audiogram.”

There’s another big difference between analog and digital sound processing. Rick Carlson, Customer Service and Product Training Manager for Etymotic, explained, “Protection from steady-state noise is provided by the use of wide-range compression. What this means to the end user is that when a blast occurs, it is still heard, only at a lower level. There is no sense of going off the air.”

Dynamic, tactical training is where that advantage shines. “Spatial orientation is a big deal,” said Harris. “It’s the ability to remain connected to your environment.” Carlson adds, “While it’s important to make sure your ears are adequately protected, you also want to make sure you maintain awareness of your environment.”

What’s next? Harris’ laundry list includes downloadable apps that allow shooters to fine tune and program their hearing protection from their smartphone and even Bluetooth compatibility. We’re not sure someone answering their phone—or that former college flame being able to punch a call through—on the firing line is really such a good idea, but you have to admit streaming heavy metal tunes while you shred silhouettes does have a certain ring.

A lot has changed since this was written. Here’s what the experts told me about the current technology in 2021.

The creation of today’s nail-tough, high-performance tactical lights can really trace its roots back to the invention of the light bulb, or the ability to harness and conduct electrical current, but for modern shooters the journey best begins back in 1927, when Oleg Losev—a soviet inventor—produced the first LED. The concept remained largely ignored for decades, though, with scientists viewing it as an interesting anomaly with no practical use. Some dabbled with the phenomena, although it wasn’t until the early ’60s that an infrared version received a U.S. patent. Red, visible light versions followed, although even by 1968 the purchase price for a single LED was several hundred dollars.

Kel-Lite First in Tactical Lighting Evolution

The same year, far away from those squeaky sterile research labs, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Donald Keller grew so tired of cheap, stamped-metal flashlights prone to breakage, that he introduced the Kel-Lite. It used the then-traditional incandescent bulb prone to burning out and breaking (problem partly solved later with the addition of halogen gas), but with a body built from 6061-T6 aluminum, in models long enough to hold up to seven D-cell batteries and a wide metal bulb housing, it worked double duty as a baton. The weather- and shock-resistant housing quickly made it the choice of first responders.

Keller left the company in 1972 and continued his design work for Maglite and Brinkmann, among others. About the time of his departure, though, a fledgling firm named Streamlight was hard at work creating a 25 million candlepower “torch” at NASA’s request, one capable of simulating the intensity of the sun in outer space, where there is no atmosphere to diminish intensity. The technology developed in the project soon found its way into the company’s 1 million-candlepower handheld units designed for military and law enforcement professionals.

Then Came Maglite

Significant competition for the two tactical light giants was scarce, until Maglite launched in 1979. Its first offerings were C- and D-celled, aluminum-bodied flashlights designed for first responders, with a twist. Turning the light housing on select models broadened or narrowed its beam.

The same year, Dr. John Matthews, a Cal Tech Phd., filed several patents for laser-aiming devices for firearms, and formed the company Laser Products. More than likely, he never envisioned how the company’s original mission would lead it to become the industry’s leader in lighting. The firm’s name officially changed to the more familiar SureFire in 2001.

Streamlight and Kel-Lite merged in 1983, and Maglite rolled out its first small, personal-sized flashlight the next year. “Terminator” hit movie theaters in 1984, and audience reaction to the handgun-mounted laser on the silver screen (produced by Laser Products) forever cemented the marriage of futuristic, high-end electronics and firearms into popular culture. The same year, LAPD used the company’s lasers on shotguns for security during the Olympics. Riding a wave of positive publicity, the firm developed the first fully integrated weaponlight for a shotgun in 1986, rolled out the Model 310 for 1911s the same year and by 1988 was offering the same tough technology in handheld units, with a tailcap switch.

Then the White LED

Battery sources continued to evolve, as well as the bulbs and their construction, but in 1994, the first blue LED was invented. With the right coatings it could produce white light and in 2003 CREE developed a “high output” blue LED. The cost was down significantly, and the tiny little diodes don’t seem to care about recoil.

The race was on, but the frontrunners were soon accompanied by others in the market. Many have come and gone, but ExtremeBeam, which was founded in 2009 with handheld, LED-driven tactical lights, has a thriving product line today. “We offer a full line of long-range, weapon-mountable flashlights,” said Eric Doi, the company’s director of marketing. “Our line focuses on extreme durability, as all parts are machined from solid bar-stock aluminum and are backed by a limited-lifetime warranty that includes destruction.”

Are there any standards for tactical flashlights today? I asked an expert in the field and his answers were surprising.

Doi has some advice whether you’re considering his company’s product line or another’s, even years from now. “The most important factors buyers should look for are durability, reliability, battery life, brightness and if it is weapon mountable,” he said. “Many tactical lights on the market right now are not made to take the recoil of a firearm.”

Today the power sources, like the CR123, last longer than ever before. Bear in mind, though, improper disposal or using counterfeits can have disastrous consequences. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a story with aircraft incidents as cited by the FAA.

The tactical lighting evolution, no doubt, will continue. It’s natural selection at its finest when new materials are harnessed to ensure the survival of tactical lights in conditions in which they fail or underperform. We’re pretty certain that’s not what Charles Darwin had in mind, but the firearm enthusiast in him would certainly approve.

Buffalo and its suburbs escaped with few power outages after the area received more than 5 feet of snow in November of 2014, but Mother Nature’s wrath usually ends differently. In February of 2013, 650,000 homes and  businesses lost power after a nor’easter, and millions of homes went dark—some for weeks—after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.

Losing power to your gun safe’s heating unit for an extended period can drench the contents in rust-causing moisture, regardless of perceived airtightness. Aside from opening the door and microscopic leaks, most high-quality units have a small, removable plug at the back to run an electric heating unit (or wire a light bulb) in which humidity invades. The bulb or element creates a slightly higher temperature, which in turn increases the interior air’s ability to hold water molecules in suspension, and maintains mild gunmetal warmth to prevent condensation.

The approach is effective—until the power goes out. An understanding of the dynamic begins with dew point, the temperature at which water vapor begins to condense. Its value increases with relative humidity and once the temperature of the safe’s contents reach that point in their cooling, “dew” collects on their surfaces. But, metals are efficient thermal conductors, so when a receiver at the bottom of the safe cools faster than the muzzle end atop (heat rises), it drains that warmth from its entire length.

Desiccants to avoid gun safe moisture

A different (or better yet for safe owners, concurrent) method of management is to remove humidity from the air by employing a desiccant. The options available to gun owners today are convenient, inexpensive and I put several to the test.

The exam began with an industrial version called Drierite. According to gun-owning company spokesman Joseph Hammond, “Much of it is used for keeping large liquid storage tanks free of moisture…Bio-diesel and ethanol storage are a growing market for us.” It sounds dangerous, but it is manufactured from gypsum—a naturally occurring mineral.

One ounce of No. 4 mesh (a measure of the material’s pebble size) went into a small, airtight container for 72 hours. Relative humidity dropped consistently to 10 percent—a reduction of roughly 40 points—through five cycles of the test. Water vapor locks into the material, so there is no watery mess. It recharges by baking two hours at 450 degrees. Hammond uses 2 pounds of No. 6 mesh in his gun safe, but warns, “I would not recommend sealing up your ’03 Springfield with 10 pounds of Drierite. The metal would never rust, but I’d say the stock would shrink and probably split pretty quickly.”

The Liberty Safe Mini-Canister has 40-grams of silica gel that turns pink when the moisture needs to be baked out. Cobalt chloride locked in the pebbles does that work and the small unit comes in an oven-safe metal canister. Its results were also extremely consistent, although not industrial grade. It dropped relative humidity into the 20s, even after five recharges (300 degrees for 3 hours).

Eva-Dry makes indicating desiccant canisters that are wireless, but simply plug into a wall outlet for renewing (12 to 15 hours). In identical testing, it was every bit as effective as the Mini-Canister, although the results were more methodical. It took nearly two weeks for the humidity to drop to the same level. An indicator window turns pink when it’s time to recharge and cost. The company co-owner regularly tosses a disposable version in his carry gun’s case when traveling to avoid rust.

The final word in our tests comes from Internet-recommended silica gel kitty litter. Despite an airtight package, it was ineffective (saturated) at first. After baking, humidity dropped with 40 grams of the stinky stuff, but it never reached that of other desiccant levels and effectiveness diminished with each recharging. So if you really want to protect your guns, buy a quality product—unless you have an incontinent cat.