Initial Impressions: Walker’s Razor Slim Passive Earmuffs Make My Can-Am a Quieter Place
I’m now daily driving a Can-Am X3.
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I’ve made a lot of big and subtle modifications to my Can-Am Maverick X3 Max DS Turbo R. From adding a fifth seat, to a roof rack and rooftop tent, to adjusting the seat height and slant, a windshield, and more. I’ve even changed out the exhaust to a dope-sounding Yoshimura unit.
However, even though the Yoshi pipe lowered the tone and raspiness of the stock exhaust making it far more tolerable for longer rides, it’s still loud and I’m trying not to go completely deaf just yet. And using it as often as I have with the kids and through my hunting activities, I’ve been on the search for something to help reduce the impact on my ears. Luckily, I remembered my friend Jared Keller—formerly of Task & Purpose—telling me about Walker’s Razor Slim earmuffs last year. And that they were always on sale.
So I forked over my own cash and grabbed a pair a month or so ago. It’s one of the best mods I’ve done yet.
By George, Everything’s Quieter!
My quest for hearing protection started after the second week of elk hunting season. I’d been out every morning before the sunrise with the Can-Am, and my ears hadn’t really woken up before I’d hopped into the Maverick. Everything was nine-times the decibel that it normally is during the day. At least it felt that way.
I did a quick decibel test using my iPhone and an app and I registered a max 97.5 decibels during one ride, with the average being about 83 decibels.
So after one particular morning, I went to Amazon, searched Walker’s Razor Slim, and snagged a pair for $10 off—they’re currently $18 at the time of writing on Amazon. I figured that my savings were worth the spend even if they didn’t work as well as I wanted. They showed up a few days later and I threw them on as I took the kids to a preschool social event at my middle child’s school.
As a reminder, we live in Utah, so I wasn’t the only weirdo showing up in a side-by-side to a preschool social function.
And from the jump, they worked spectacularly. Though they’re passive units, and not the active set that Walker’s has in its lineup, they reduced the overall NVH of the Can-Am by a lot. I can still hear the mechanical whirring of the CVT, the grunt of the Yoshi, and some odd squeaks and groans from the brakes and suspension, but everything is so much milder and I feel like I’m not losing my hearing at the rate I was before.
Maybe this will help me hear elk bugles easier now that I’m not blowing out my eardrums? Wishful thinking, I know.
Will They Suffer After Miles of Offroad Trails?
One of my biggest concerns about the Walker’s is longevity. These earmuffs aren’t designed for offroad use, but rather shooting sports and hunting. They’re designed for the range and for short use in the backcountry when you’re on some big game or in a boat after some fowl.
Are they going to degrade thanks to all the dust kicked up by the Can-Am’s BFGs? Will the constant stream of noise find its way in after that dust maybe dries out the Walker’s padding? Honestly, I’m not sure.
I’m also still on the lookout for some type of communication setup for my wife and I—sorry, but I don’t need to hear my kids yell-singing The Wheels of the Bus. While these passive Razor Slims don’t have that capability, the active Razor Slims have an accessory walkie-talkie that could be the perfect solution. I kinda want to see how these go before investing in an active set AND the two walkie-talkies. So we’ll see.
But what would you like to know about the Walker Razor Slim passive earmuffs while I test them out? Sound off—GET IT—in the comments below.
