The Lmic has a detachable tripod foot for listening in contact with the ground, while for penetrating soft ground or sounding underground pipe fittings, the foot is swapped for a probe. The entire kit, complete with headphones and cables, fits into a small soft bag for convenient transport. The Lmic has an ergonomic pistol-grip controller to operate the microphone unit, which contains a high-sensitivity piezoelectric sensor. The user attaches either a probe rod or the tripod foot to the microphone unit and then activates the sensor by squeezing a trigger on the controller. All adjustments are carried out with a rotary volume/sensitivity control. A green LED indicates correct operation, while a red one warns of low battery power. The unit is claimed to offer excellent acoustic performance. Lightweight headphones are connected to the control unit using a military specification 4-pin plug and socket for signal integrity. The housing of the control unit is moulded from durable polycarbonate to withstand rugged use in the field, and the microphone sensor itself is encased in impact-resistant nitrile rubber.