I was very much looking forward to trying out some hi tech ear plugs for motorcycle use. Like most bikers I find wind noise inside the helmet very tiring and a bit of a nuisance. Like most people, in the past I have used the foam plugs to fairly good effect, they are cheap, reasonably comfortable and easily replaceable in case of loss. So what then was the story with this Alpine product?

The music safe product tested (which by the way is virtually identical to the moto safe version aimed at drivers/riders) is a silicon plug with a choice of three hard plastic inserts with various noise attenuation levels. Originally designed for musicians and the like, the brief is to block out some volume while still allowing voices and the like to be heard. This should have translated fairly well to a motorcycle application but to be completely honest it really doesn’t. I had Hollywood test them first as he is a delicate flower and is a professional at complaining about noises... he didn’t think they did much of anything other than falling out of his ears (he may just be a big earhole...).

I didn’t have any problem with them seating and found the unit to be relatively comfortable once in place. I found the noise reduction similar to a foam unit. Unfortunately, in my case at least I just could not use them as the hard plastic insert (I assume) transmitted every bump, shake and rattle of the bike through my helmet, through the ear plug and directly to my brain. This was much louder, and much more irritating than the original wind noise it was meant to combat.

Final evaluation... for their intended purpose i.e. concerts and musicians and probably race events and other noisy places where you might still want to hear people talking but want to limit the damaging volumes these would no doubt be fantastic... for riding motorcycles and scooters... not so much...