I really, really wanted to like these. I have used sets of banded ear plugs for many years and love the convenience of removing but leaving around neck for accessibility. I just don't like the foam plugs on the ones I've used. Those have worked, but not as well as silicone/gel/rubber type on a string. Maybe, I thought, this would be the best of both worlds! Nope. This model failed in too many ways :( First, I have about an "average" sized head for a guy based on helmets, etc. I've used v. other guys sizes. I never had this problem with other similar products, but on this product the band seemed too small. They would not go over top of my head and still reach ears. Okay, I thought, I'll wear behind the head. Tried that but since it's small, it kept rubbing and snagging on jacket, shirt, etc. Even when I'd turn my head hard to one side or other, they would bump up against my neck and pull out. I tried under chin - similar problem - being smaller they banged into me and clothing, just being a nuisance. I tried as many different positions as I could think of between these - over top of back of head ... I won't list them all here, but really, I tried hard to like these. The fit is just bad. Second, the angle of the plugs seems wrong. I can't get them to seal and stay sealed. The angle on the band seems not to be right to aim them correctly down the ear canal. I tried it in dozens of different positions and never could get them to seal consistently. Third, the plugs don't seal well. So, given all the above problems, I thought maybe I could take these plugs off and put them on a band from one of my old sets, a band that did fit. The plugs are removable (to replace, I assume) so I swapped them out, thinking at least I'd get some use out of them. They did fit on the band and did a little bit better, but still did not seal well. I even tried them with NO band, just shoved them in my ears. They sealed better that way, but didn't want to stay in, and frankly, without a post or something to pull them out, I didn't want to go jamming them down in my ears too far. Occasionally I could get a good seal with one ear, but it usually would break at some point as I moved around. When just sitting on outside of the ear, partially sealing but not completely sealed as they seem always to end up, they don't reduce sound much at all. Unfortunately, I never could get them to consistently seal to get appropriate level of sound reduction with ANY of the things I tried. In that respect, they are not just uncomfortable and frustrating, they fail as a safety device. That's not cool. I kept trying them out when I wasn't using powertools just to try to figure them out, but after about 15min ended up switching them out for others that did work when I needed to use a tool. Then I'd try again later that day. Trusty me, I tried them out many, many times, hoping to finally figure out how to make them work for me. After a bit over a week, I finally gave up. I really, really, REALLY did want to like these. But basically my opinion of these is a grossly failed attempt to implement a great idea. Amazon said they would process a return/refund, so kudos to Amazon. I don't like returning things if I can make them work - it's not like these were broken in shipping or anything. They are just a product designed so poorly I can't make them work for me. If I'd bought these from Wally-world, I'd have taken them back in a day or two.
