auto darkening welding helmets. which one?

[Boostwerks.com]

My 2cents based on 9 years of professional welding:

Miller Elite, hands down. Comfortable, light, balanced, adjustable, durable, easy to change lenses...ect. selectable "grind" mode is handy when your constantly welding/grinding. Fits common NIOSH resperators. also fantastic for low amp TIG welding and brazing.

Miller Pro Hobby a fantastic hood at a low price. It offers the same advantages of the elite only with a smaller viewing area.

Speedglas (AKA 3M) are over priced peices of crap. They work great, and are fairly comfortable, but are simply over priced for what you get. Very little resperator room (surprising since 3M also makes resperators).

Jackson Nexgen: Thick heavy plastic and cheap headband make it very uncomfortable.

Those are the hood's I've had experience with, and HIGHLY reccomend Miller.

 

[sunburned]

I have a 35$ (on sale) Harbor Freight auto darkening helmet that is exactly like the one in the vid (except my flames are blue) and compared to the fancy hoods, it works the same. I agree it doesnt have all the bells and whistles, or as light as a big money hood but for my few hours of welding, It works fantastic. No flashes or hiccups, it still holds itself up alright.

Im so far from being a real welder its not funny, but for an average Joe Hack Im happy.

plus, if it melts, falls, breaks, whatever. its cheap to replace.

Same here. Got my a good deal on my HH140 at Northern Tool, so I picked up their auto helmet for $50 as well. Works great for the little welding I do. Haven't felt any negative effects so far. If I was welding a lot, I would definitely pony up for a much nicer helmet. I have like 5 pairs of Oakleys, so I don't have a problem shelling out dough to protect my eyes

 

[BangoSkank]

A tip for anyone that hates how the rachet headgear digs into the back of your head. I cut the head band on both sides of the knob,then poked a 1/4" hole in each side with a hot screwdriver and pulled a short length (6-8") of surgical tubing between the two holes.No more using two hands to put it on my head..slips on like a ball cap.

 

[2stix]

got to finally try out the lincoln 2450 viking. i like it alot. i also hear lincoln is coming out with a newer version the 3350. even larger viewing area. but also almost $100 more. the 2450 has a big enough viewing area for me. especially since i went from the tiny 1"x3.25". i did check out the miller digital elite too. nice helmet. hard to remove lens. replacement lens only by miller kinda sucks, but not a huge deal. price???? alot more. i felt the lincoln was a better DEAL. the miller have some better looking graphics, but i bought the black version anyhow, so the graphics weren't a big deal to me. thanks for all the input guys.

 

[eflores]

I run this one
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=24366&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

The peripheral vision is amazing. I wish it was adjustable shade tho. I got it when I needed a hood ASAP but didn't have the 300 bones to drop on a new one. Snap on let's ya pay it out. I ran a cheap HF one for a year and when instated welding a lot I noticed the changentime was too slow and it started burning my eyes....it had to go

 

[cracker]

I have this miller:

Works well but my welds still look like crap :doh:

 

[iwannadie]

Just ordered a miller pro hobby helmet to go with my new welder. I want something that will not skimp on my eye protection but not break the bank for the garage welding I will be doing. I hope this will do me right and keep my eyes well protected.

I plan to step up to a miller elite digital what-ever later on though they look pretty sweet and around $300 which isn't bad.

Thanks for the info in this thread. Between the helmet, gloves and jacket I am already into the safety gear for more than my welder cost. I am ok with that as the gear will hopefully last me a long time and keep my happy-ass safe.

 

[montanaman]

I bought a $50 auto-darkening helmet. I've used it for about maybe 10 hours of total trigger time, and haven't ever been flashed once.

I've noticed that it is extremely quick on getting dark, and a little slow on getting light again ... I assume that's built-in safety.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

I bought a $50 auto-darkening helmet. I've used it for about maybe 10 hours of total trigger time, and haven't ever been flashed once.

I've noticed that it is extremely quick on getting dark, and a little slow on getting light again ... I assume that's built-in safety.

X2

 

[stumpXJ]

got to finally try out the lincoln 2450 viking. i like it alot. i also hear lincoln is coming out with a newer version the 3350. even larger viewing area. but also almost $100 more. the 2450 has a big enough viewing area for me. especially since i went from the tiny 1"x3.25". i did check out the miller digital elite too. nice helmet. hard to remove lens. replacement lens only by miller kinda sucks, but not a huge deal. price???? alot more. i felt the lincoln was a better DEAL. the miller have some better looking graphics, but i bought the black version anyhow, so the graphics weren't a big deal to me. thanks for all the input guys.

I have a Lincoln 2450 for work, and a Miller Elite at home. I prefer the Lincoln, but they are both extremely nice helmets. You wont be dissapointed with the 2450!

 

[iwannadie]

I got my miller pro hobby from cyberweld the other day and it is awesome. First of all cyberweld had the best prices, I got some other basic stuff like gloves and jacket and they shipped the stuff really fast. I plan to order from them again no question.

The helmet is just really impressive for me, granted I have zero experience with high dollar helmets. For what I paid I think it is well worth it over the HF stuff everyone around me raves about. The over all quality of the helmet really stands out, I can see this lasting me a long time for sure.

 

[old_man]

Is there a wider field of view helmet that is less than $100?

 

[JDobrich]

I bought one from Harbor Freight for 40 bucks. It has an adjustable darkness dial and a grind mode that wont darken when the sparks start flying. I'm sure its not as comfortable as the more expensive ones. But I've never felt like "I hate this damn thing"! All in all I'm very happy with it!

 

[$700later]

I bought one from Harbor Freight for 40 bucks. It has an adjustable darkness dial and a grind mode that wont darken when the sparks start flying. I'm sure its not as comfortable as the more expensive ones. But I've never felt like "I hate this damn thing"! All in all I'm very happy with it!

I use this same helmet 40 hours a week. It's not the best but it functions fine. I weld on construction sites so any hood i use has a good chance of getting dropped/scratched/stolen, so no pricey welding hoods for me!

 

[WebDog]

I use the Miller Digital Elite and love it! I had a cheap one before and it is no comparison to the Miller, at first i though I was crazy spending 300 on a helmet. But I am sold on them.