Extremely comfortable, fairly low-pressure, and best of all- they absolutely will NOT fall out while you sleep. As a nurse, I have been working 12 hour night shifts for the last 7 years, and sleeping during the day with a 2 little kids and a wife who likes to vacuum is a bit a challenge. Noises like gardeners and lawnmowers, trash trucks and loud (apartment) neighbors have been constant problems that I have mostly learned to ignore. Over the years I have tried many different solutions including other brands of disposable earplugs, fans, and static brown noise. Frankly, usually a combination of several things helps me sleep. However, I always seem to wake up from either noise or uncomfortable changes when one or both of the ear plugs fall out. I stumbled upon this cost-effective solution and overall, I am pretty pleased with these earplugs. Pros: light, soft and comfortable. They don't move around once they're in and I can't think of any activities where they might accidentally fall out. Since they are custom-molded they of course fit like a dream and work well. Bottom line: these earplugs are better than anything I've used and they are 10 times cheaper than custom earplugs made at the audiologist office. I am not ready to invest $150 bucks or more on something that I am likely to misplace, and these custom earplugs are fantastic. Get some, and if you get a good fit you won't be disappointed. Now for the cons. These are somewhat minor, and here is how I overcame these issues. Once these ear plugs dry they are stiff and not pliable or spongy. So, if you don't get a good fit with the initial mold, they probably won't work very well, and I imagine they won't be very comfortable either. The comfort of these ear plugs result from an accurate custom fit, but if you want something soft and squishy these might not be a good product for you. When molding them for the first time just note that it takes a little bit of work to get a deep fit when working them into your ear. I used almost all the material and found that it was a bit too much once it had set. It made the outside surface of the earplug stick out over some more of the sensitive parts of my outer-ear, and when I was side sleeping on my pillow it became sore after a few hours, and I had to roll over. This by no means is a deal breaker though, because for me this is WAY less irritating then regular earplugs, which extend much further past the outer ear, which eventually causes them to loosen and dislodge. I would suggest that you either use less of the included putty material for each ear (especially if you have smallish ears), or you could do use more material, but clean up to extra material after it hardens. My goal was to have as much of my ear covered as possible for better sound blocking. I really filled nearly half of my outer ear- just like the photos on the packaging show. However, the finished surface was not as flat as the advertised picture and so after letting it cure for another day or two I pulled out an exacto knife and sliced off some of the outer surface for a more flat, uniform look. This was an immediate improvement in comfort and it looks a lot more even and gives the plug a more finished and professional appearance. I had some 150 grit sand paper laying around and so I ran them back a forth on the paper to even out the surface and they look and feel perfect now. You can see my results in the pics I uploaded. Before you try and mold these to your ears for the first time I also recommend watching a video (you can Google how-to videos on YouTube and you'll get a great idea of how to do it, or a trip to the official website will work too). You will probably get a better, more comfortable, and more effective fit if you know what you're doing first. In fact, after making several pairs over the last couple of years, I might suggest that you buy 2 kits and makes several pairs, because some attempts might turn out significantly better than others. Also, a little research shows that the putty has a shelf-life of a year after packaging and the product comes with a card with a date of production. I ordered mine on Amazon and it had a packaging date three weeks old. Basically, brand new. Final thoughts: If you take your time and watch an instructional video before proceeding you will probably end up with a better result. Also, do yourself a favor and really clean your ear well before starting this process. If you're like me that means you might want to use an ear hair trimmer get rid of anything that might impede a good fit. This review might be a bit overkill for a product as simple as earplugs, but as a day-time sleeper, I felt like I might be able to help fellow night-shift workers get better rest.
