Wind noise can really shatter the illusion of a field recording, so windscreens are a boring but essential part of every kit. I’ve been testing windscreen options for a few years, so I’ll park that knowledge here.
Goals
I’m primarily testing windscreens that are small, practical, and relatively inexpensive or DIY. I’m not interested in on-camera dialog, so concealment doesn’t matter. I just want something I can take out of my bag in a reasonable wind and get a great recording. Most of the items below are furry covers that fit over the foam that usually comes with a mic. They are known as windjammers, dead cats, dead kittens, etc.
A blimp is a larger cage that completely surrounds the microphone. They are much more expensive (and effective) than the options I list in this table. I don’t intend to test blimps here, but I’ll add them if I come across them.
Summary
- Best Lav Windjammer
Movo WS10m. A sleeper. It’s cheap and more effective than the expensive options from Rycote and Bubblebee. - Best Stereo Windjammer
The Rycote windjammers in a variety of sizes are well-made and they perform great. - Best Budget Stereo Windjammer
The Zoom WSU-1 works very well on a variety of recorders and stereo mics, and is cheaper than similar Rycote options.
DIY Note: If you are inclined, you can make windscreens that are more effective than the options above. All you need is fake fur, a sewing machine, and some time. See the table below for more info..
Mic Windscreen Comparison Table
(Click the header row to sort. Shift-click for secondary sort.)
| Name | Size/Type | Cost (each) | HF Cut @ 10kHz + | Wind Effectiveness (Scale: 1-5) |
Notes |
| Window Air Conditioner foam | Raw Material | 0.5 dB | Very open foam, might be useful for interior of blimps? | ||
| Spandex | Raw Material | 0.7 dB | Intended as outer layer for DIY blimps | ||
| Sports Mesh | Raw Material | 1 dB | Intended as outer layer for DIY blimps | ||
| Foam Windscreen | Raw Material | 0.5 dB | 1 | A catch-all entry for the foam covers available for all microphones. Makes a good base layer for fur, but otherwise useless outdoors. | |
| Rycote Windjammers (various) | Stereo | $40 – $100 | 3 dB | 5 | The practical “gold standard” for effectiveness and minimum attenuation. I’ve used several models and they are all good. |
| Auray WRW-H4N | Stereo | $35 | 7 dB + | 4 | B&H “house brand” windjammer intended for small Zoom recorders. Effective, but major HF cut. Avoid. |
| Zoom WSU-1 | Stereo | $30 | 2 dB | 4 | Long fur with inner lining. Great balance of effectiveness and HF response. Zoom h1n: fits over foam. |
| Chromlives Wind Muff for Zoom H1 | Stereo | $13 | 8 dB + | 2 | Avoid! Insane HF roll-off and minimally effective. |
| Movo WS9 | Stereo | $15 | 3 | Zoom h1n: fits over foam. | |
| Bestshoot Deadcat Wind Shield for H1n | Stereo | $10 | 3 | Zoom h1n: fits without foam. | |
| Rycote Lavalier Windjammer | Lav | $23 | 3 dB | 2 | HF cut similar to larger Rycote windjammers, but effectiveness is worse than cheaper options. |
| Movo WS-RD10 | Lav | $5 | 5 dB | Rubber insert to fit nicely on 10mm capsule, but weird midrange resonance and steep HF cut disqualifies it. | |
| Movo WS-G10 | Lav | $5 | 5 dB (and steep cut above 10kHz) | 2 | 2-piece set designed for specific mic, but sizes are useful for many others. HF cut disqualifies it, though. |
| Movo WS10m | Lav | $2 | 1 dB | 4 | (Sometimes listed as WS10n) Best commercial lav windmuff I’ve heard. Cheap, very effective and minimal HF cut. |
| Comica CVM-MF1 | Lav | $3.30 | 2 dB (but steep cut at 15 kHz) | 2 | (Comes in black or grey) Nice draw-string closure, but not very effective. |
| Bubblebee Windbubble (size 4) | Lav | $27 | 2 | Under-performed relative to price, didn’t bother to test HF cut. | |
| Zramo 6-10 mm Muff | Lav | $1 | 2 | Ineffective, Didn’t bother to test HF cut. | |
| DIY Lav (Alaskan Husky) | Lav | $ 1 (varies) | 3 dB | 5 | Made with “Alaskan Husky” fur from Big Z Fabrics, which I found to be the best of several fake fur options. Larger, but more effective windjammer than any commercial options I tested. |
Test Methodology
HF Cut
- I used REW software to plot a sine sweep with a speaker and a 10mm omni mic capsule to determine how each windscreen alters the frequency response of the mic. The table shows the amount of high-frequency reduction around 10kHz, along with any notes about other frequency anomalies.
Effectiveness
- For lavalier windjammers and raw materials, I set up a 10mm omni capsule at 0.5m from a fan running at a constant speed to produce 5-6 mph wind speed at the microphone. I made test recordings of each sample with matched gains, then compared the recordings subjectively to assess effectiveness. A rating of 5 means that I would happily record with that setup, and any wind noise would be minimal or nonexistent.
- For stereo windjammers, I did a similar test with a Zoom H1n recorder. Note that the directional mics on the Zoom are naturally more wind-sensitive, so I haven’t found a windjammer that I would rate as a “5”. It really requires a larger “dead air” space like a blimp would provide.
