I need a recommendation for a welding helmet

[dr_clyde]

I don’t use auto dark helmets much, tbh. I strongly prefer a fixed shade.

And don’t knock my sales guy, I asked him. He’s just doing his job. He’s not pushy and he’s not a slippery used car guy.

And I don’t do much welding outside, so that’s not really factor. If I do, I’d use a fixed shade or a pancake.

I don’t really care what others use, if you like your Speedglas more power to you. I just know it’s not my flavor. It’s mostly the headgear and the lens, has nothing to do with durability. I’ve broken one or two helmets over the last 10 years or so, and I can’t say the helmet was at fault.

OP asked my opinion. My opinion is that for $50 it’s hard to beat a fixed shade Jackson with a gold lens. I’m also of the opinion that Speedglas is a fine helmet but suffers from a fanboy problem and is very expensive for what you get. If you handed me a new one for free and said try it out I’d give it a go, sure. But what I have works very well for me and I see no reason to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy something I don’t need.

I’m not opposed to buying nice things. I’m not cheap. I have lots of nice tools but for me to justify it I have to actually want the thing first.

 

[corn chip]

lol i cant even interest you in a free optrel. maybe i could pawn it off on your salesman. does he even know how to weld or just recomends products he knows nothing about ? you want the truth about optrel ,ill tell ya the truth. theyre a one trick pony meant for being used inside a shop ,at a bench. go outside that narrow window and forget it ,theyre uselees. why do you think mines been collecting dust nearly 2yrs.
optrel koolaid is a dangerous thing. becareful my freind.

 

[dr_clyde]

lol i cant even interest you in a free optrel. maybe i could pawn it off on your salesman. does he even know how to weld or just recomends products he knows nothing about ? you want the truth about optrel ,ill tell ya the truth. theyre a one trick pony meant for being used inside a shop ,at a bench. go outside that narrow window and forget it ,theyre uselees. why do you think mines been collecting dust nearly 2yrs.
optrel koolaid is a dangerous thing. becareful my freind.

Wow. Insulting people you don’t know is a pretty telling thing. I’ve worked with my welding sales guys for well over a decade and they’re great guys. Knowledgeable and skilled.

And how is bench work a one trick pony? I would argue most welding work is done inside and a large part of it done at a bench. And it’s not like you’re only allowed to own one helmet. **** I think i have at least a half dozen. If I’m working at a bench, why would I care about the outside performance? I’ll use the best bench helmet I can find. If I’m welding outside I’ll use a different hood.

I run a fabrication and machine shop. We’re a job shop specializing in stainless and aluminum. We weld a lot of aircraft components and performance parts like fuel cells and landing gear parts. We also do a lot of structural steel and aluminum like staircases, handrails and general ironwork. We fabricate sanitary stainless pipework and vessels for brewery and food work. We use whatever tools we need to on our jobs to complete them to the satisfaction of the code and the customer. I’ve used a lot of helmets over the years and frankly I just don’t care about the **** associated with Uber expensive automatic helmets.

The best welders and fabricators I’ve known my whole career used fibremetal pipe liners outside and huntsman cardboard helmets inside. They’d weld me under the table with their eyes shut.

As far as your free offer? Helmets are like clothes. I don’t want used gear someone else has sweated in, sneezed in, coughed in etc… I’ll just buy a new one.

 

[dnschmidt]

Pretty typical, the guy says he looking for a good cheap helmet and we get to Speedglas faster than Husain Bolt can run the 100. For the money you cannot beat Antra. Yes, its Chinese but look at the specs and look at the price. Look at the review ratings (and there are thousands of reviews so not everybody can by lying) for any of their offerings. I have two and they work great. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=antra+we...ix=antra+welding+hel,aps,587&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

 

[corn chip]

bottom line. if you want a industrial level helmet that works faultless in any envirnment , ten feet of snow , at a bench in a shop, on the top of the highest mountain , youll buy speedglas if you have a clue. ive nothing more to say on this matter

 

[dr_clyde]

bottom line. if you want a industrial level helmet that works faultless in any envirnment , ten feet of snow , at a bench in a shop, on the top of the highest mountain , youll buy speedglas if you have a clue. ive nothing more to say on this matter

Lol.

So will a $50 fixed shade. Give me a break.

I’m glad your company will give you a $2500 welding helmet and for that kind of money it had better work anywhere.

I can’t see the OP buying one for his nephew in welding school however.

Good luck in your endeavors, hope it all works out for you.

 

[bp460]

As far as safety, you should be wearing safety glasses no matter what helmet you’re wearing. Any incidental flash or accidental arcing will be mitigated with the glasses.

This is the most important advice posted so far. Please remind your nephew to always wear safety glasses in conjunction with his welding helmet.

-Brad

 

[corn chip]

Lol.

So will a $50 fixed shade. Give me a break.

I’m glad your company will give you a $2500 welding helmet and for that kind of money it had better work anywhere.

I can’t see the OP buying one for his nephew in welding school however.

Good luck in your endeavors, hope it all works out for you.

i didnt tell the op to buy a $2500 papr. in fact i steered him away from speedglas complety and said i would get something basic such as miller classic for $109

 

[RAYJAY]

don't flame me for this. needed a helmet for new job, not using every day , price point was right on this helmet work great,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M5WKCYX/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[toplessHO]

lincoln has a $50 rebate until end of year.
Just picked up a Viking 3350 for $235 with rebate.
Not entry level but you only have one pair of eyes

 

[JimH74]

lincoln has a $50 rebate until end of year.
Just picked up a Viking 3350 for $235 with rebate.
Not entry level but you only have one pair of eyes

Can you share where? I had been looking a year or two ago and could buy for that price, but it seems I can't find them anywhere that price now. Thanks.

 

[MOS3522]

Can you share where? I had been looking a year or two ago and could buy for that price, but it seems I can't find them anywhere that price now. Thanks.

I can't find that but here it is for 314-50=264 with free welding sleeves?

Lincoln Viking 3350 4C Matte Black 4th Gen Welding Helmet - K3034-4Default Title

The Lincoln 3350 Welding Helmet is all about optics, comfort & versatility. This Lincoln Electric welding helmet features an extra large viewing area.

bakersgas.com

 

[toplessHO]

see what they will come to without the "free" sleeves

 

[GTO]

Wow...who would of thought this thread would become the SO vs HF of Welding Helmets.

 

[RAYJAY]

Wow...who would of thought this thread would become the SO vs HF of Welding Helmets.

would it be any other way on here ...... lol

 

[corn chip]

lincoln has a $50 rebate until end of year.
Just picked up a Viking 3350 for $235 with rebate.
Not entry level but you only have one pair of eyes

most people dont give any consideration to the helmets weight. you can see the larger filters add significantly. 9sqin viewing area is more than plenty for me so 9002nc would be my go to helmet every time but its lacking a couple key features so i primarily use the 9100xxi which is no light weight but it does beat out the infinity ,a60 and 3350.

miller infinity 652g
esab a60 644g
lincoln 3350 595g
speedglas 9100xxi 585g
miller elite 510g
speedglas 9002nc 485g

 

[brownbagg]

i love my pipeliner with gold lense, my first helment in 76 was a pipeliner. I use it more than I do the viking. I also have a jackson with a big window gold lense, I grab alot. Anybody tried the blue lense

 

[Sweetcorn]

I'm not here to claim the Optrel Crystal 2.0 is the greatest thing in the world, but I bought one a couple months back and I've used it both indoors and outdoors without any issues at all. Seems to work very well in either environment.

Maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[dr_clyde]

i love my pipeliner with gold lense, my first helment in 76 was a pipeliner. I use it more than I do the viking. I also have a jackson with a big window gold lense, I grab alot. Anybody tried the blue lense

I’ve always wanted to try an AO Safety WeldCool blue lens, but they haven’t been made in years and originals are several hundred dollars on eBay for a small one.

Phillips safety makes a modern one, but they’re still like $600 for a full size one.

According to a buddy who has used one in the past, the optics are amazing. “It’s like welding with the lights on” he says.

 

[GaryM909]

It’s my understanding that cobalt was used for making the blue lenses. That’s why they don’t make them any more. They were the best lenses I had ever used and I have been welding for over 45 years. I could be wrong though.

 

[rooster59]

I just got a Hobart for $100 on sale at Tractor Supply, my big gold lens Jackson wasn’t the best for lo amp TIG. Test drive was 2 thumbs up, seems like everything I need, price was right.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/hobart-helmet-inventor-ember-770874

 

[toplessHO]

i love my pipeliner with gold lense, my first helment in 76 was a pipeliner. I use it more than I do the viking. I also have a jackson with a big window gold lense, I grab alot. Anybody tried the blue lense

The new Lincoln 4c lens is blue arc and filter.At first it was different but I got over that quickly.
I love the light weight of this ole helmet which is 12.9 oz or 365 grams with new Lincoln 4c lens.

 

[dogdog]

There is a recent thread asking the same thing,

First welding helmet purchase advice.

Starting welding school in January. Will be doing on the job training work with company that does small-medium sized structural steel projects also, along with minor pipe work in the field. 95% of the training/work I'll be doing at this company will be MIG. I want to buy a helmet that is up to...

www.garagejournal.com

Personally I have the first gen of hf one and a Jackson safety. They are about the same. For school, any decent one should be fine, no need to be extra fancy as lost misplace, misuse of it is common among teens. There are few Amazon’s ones there, that is what I am going to get after the Jackson one dies. HF one already dead given it’s the first gen and over 10 years. Got the money worth. Jackson is dying but not dead. It’s ok but ….

 

[dr_clyde]

It’s my understanding that cobalt was used for making the blue lenses. That’s why they don’t make them any more. They were the best lenses I had ever used and I have been welding for over 45 years. I could be wrong though.

American Optics stopped making them due to the cost of making the glass and the rise of the affordable autodarkening helmet.

Cobalt safety glass is apparently fairly expensive to make. I've always wanted to try the Alloweld which is supposed to be an improvement on the original AO glass, but I just can't stomach the price. If I could try one before I have to commit to buying, I might be more willing to make the leap, but it's an awful gamble to find out your $650 piece of glass doesn't work like you intended.

Alloweld Lenses Quality Welding Flare Absorbing Filters - Phillips Safety

The Phillips Alloweld Lens is the result of intense research and development to duplicate the traits of the legendary American Optical Cool Weld lens

www.phillips-safety.com

 

[brownbagg]

I always wonder why they dont make one with filter camera and a monitor screen on inside

 

[corn chip]

The new Lincoln 4c lens is blue arc and filter.At first it was different but I got over that quickly.
I love the light weight of this ole helmet which is 12.9 oz or 365 grams with new Lincoln 4c lens.

365g ? im afraid your numbers are off by a mile. the very lightest lincoln with 4c lens is 1840, advertised at 553g. if you have the 3350 its nearly 600g (according to lincolns own website) , third heaviest helmet on the market today

 

[toplessHO]

365g ? im afraid your numbers are off by a mile. the very lightest lincoln with 4c lens is 1840, advertised at 553g. if you have the 3350 its nearly 600g (according to lincolns own website) , third heaviest helmet on the market today

may want to reread
yes I bought a 3350 and weighed it,but before that I bought a Lincoln 4C lens and put in my old Hawk Tradesman helment .
heres a link to weight comparison


heres link and quote

Lincoln Viking 3350 vs Miller Elite

I see quite a bit of *^%$** my Miller Elite quit etc. I dont see this with the Lincoln so leaning towards that So wheres the best place to buy? I see a $50 rebate on the Viking so wondering if theres any black Friday deals out there.

www.garagejournal.com

"Got the 3350 from Baker,very fast shipping.
So I did a comparison here.
A while back I replaced my autodark lens in my old helmet with the new 4C Lincoln lens....very nice.
I kept my old helmet because I havent found one as light as it.
So heres a side by side comparison.
Granted the 3350 is beefier and has larger picture window but its almost 2x the weight."

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[corn chip]

I'm not here to claim the Optrel Crystal 2.0 is the greatest thing in the world, but I bought one a couple months back and I've used it both indoors and outdoors without any issues at all. Seems to work very well in either environment.

Maybe I'm just lucky.

perhaps it was cloudy that day ? there was a couple other guys on the internet that were going to see if their optrel had the same problem mine did. one guy never responded back which i find very telling. the other said ya his also was triggere inadvertantly by the sun as well.
initially in the beginning i just thought mine was defective or malfunctioning so i called optrel usa and talked with a guy that claimed to be their tech. he said no ,my helmet wasnt malfunctioning but rather optrel made the sensors (or the entire adf assembly) much to finicky for outdoor use and suggested i partially cover the sensors with electrical tape. ya if you can believe that.
this was from yesterday with the sensitivity as low as it can go. still it goes dark. also ive included my speedglas with sensitivity in the middle of its adjustment. its not bothered at all by sunlight. also its worth mentioning that yesterday i also tried my speedglas tig welding at 3amp with the sensitivity at the same middle setting and it worked perfectly. it really is a do it all workhorse

 

[tester19]

For a low cost helmet I just got a YESWelder one. Full color screen and the ability to see is such a massive improvement over my old Jackson helmet!!

It's a Chinese unit and I love having the controls outside the helmet and the top notch optics at 1/1/1/1. Seeing full color is unbelievable when welding and I never thought I would be able to see so well. I can even wear my glasses under the helmet comfortably. It's so light I think it must be 1/2 the weight of the Jackson helmet. In fact I would call it a bit flimsy but it's tough and no problems so far.

Great features like top and bottom solar sensors to charge the battery. Separate replaceable batteries. 4 sensors to prevent flashes regardless of where you head is when striking an arc. 4" X 3.7" viewing area which is quite large. And most surprising to me a great comfortable headband/suspension system with multiple adjustments so it actually FITS your head!

Only about $80 too.
YESWELDER Full Color Helmet

.
.
.

 

[Sweetcorn]

perhaps it was cloudy that day ? there was a couple other guys on the internet that were going to see if their optrel had the same problem mine did. one guy never responded back which i find very telling. the other said ya his also was triggere inadvertantly by the sun as well.
initially in the beginning i just thought mine was defective or malfunctioning so i called optrel usa and talked with a guy that claimed to be their tech. he said no ,my helmet wasnt malfunctioning but rather optrel made the sensors (or the entire adf assembly) much to finicky for outdoor use and suggested i partially cover the sensors with electrical tape. ya if you can believe that.
this was from yesterday with the sensitivity as low as it can go. still it goes dark. also ive included my speedglas with sensitivity in the middle of its adjustment. its not bothered at all by sunlight. also its worth mentioning that yesterday i also tried my speedglas tig welding at 3amp with the sensitivity at the same middle setting and it worked perfectly. it really is a do it all workhorse

I believe I've used mine outside on a sunny day, but I can't say for sure. I don't pay too much attention to the weather.

Like I said before, mine is pretty new. Maybe they've made some adjustments.

I'll certainly go out and try it next time the sun shines. It's winter time in northern Ohio, so it might be a couple months, lol.

 

[corn chip]

used the 9100mp today in -5F for a couple 15min intervals (couldnt stand to be out of the truck any longer than that). worked perfect without a hiccup

 

[corn chip]

used this helmet in the rain more times than i can remember. no gimmicky exterior knobs, , buttons or batteries to get fouled with water like some brands. everything is contained internally and fully sealed

 

[joe_pinehill1]

I'm a hobby welder with a 120V MIG from Northern Tool. I use a auto dimming helmet from Harbor Freight. Auto dimming is a must for an armature.

 

[finn]

I’m a hobby welder who got his first fixed lens helmet in the early eighties. Moving to an inexpensive Hobart auto darkening helmet in the late nineties was a big improvement, and I still occasionally use that Hobart helmet. More recently I got a Speedglas, another step up. Don’t know the model number or the cost, as it was a retirement gift. The noticeable improvement, besides the more robust construction, is the wider field of vision with the Speedglas.

Still more recently I picked up another tig setup Christmastime for our winter hovel in the southwest, and needed a helmet. I am not going into business or anything, and have a small budget, so I spent a few evenings looking for a budget auto darkening helmet with a lens on the larger side. Found helmet on Amazon, a GoGonova, a brand I never heard of, that had good reviews and was maybe $70.00 Or $100.00. I actually like it. It’s no Speedglas, though, but the auto darkening seems ok, and the screen is bigger than the inexpensive Hobart I bought years ago. All in all, though, it’s still a cheap Amazon helmet. I doubt if the auto darkening circuitry is much different between any helmets clustered around any given price point.

I also ordered an auto darkening Forney helmet from Farm and Fleet the other day, as backup, in case the Amazon helmet didn’t work out. It was $22 on sale….we’ll see about that one when it arrives Friday.

I was actually somewhat overwhelmed by the variety out there, mostly brands I never heard of. I really wouldn’t be afraid of any number of those obscure brands. If they flash, it’s going to happen right away and you can always send it back.

There’s a big difference between what is needed by a professional and a student. As long as it’s reasonably comfortable, fairly large screen, and no flashback, figure a budget and make a choice. If you do end up with something that is borderline on safety, send it back or ditch it. Don’t take unnecessary risks.

 

[kcombs]

About auto darkening verses the old fashioned way. I was a fabrication welder for years, 1969 to 1981. I welded large food processing equipment, mostly stainless steel and then the last five years I built frames and tanks for commercial dishwashers. Lots of tacking and then run the welds. At first I did mostly tig and for the commercial food equipment. Then I welded with a mig the outside corners on 16 gauge stainless steel tanks and EMT to 3/8 x 2" mild steel frames, yes I welded EMT. I say all this to show I have a little experience in a shops welding. The thing I love about auto darkening is no nodding. I take Gabapentin everyday for the neck pain cause by the repeated nodding to drop the hood. I had it balanced so it came down easy, but it still took a nod each time, especial then tig welding stainless. Oh, and I have asthma, could it be from the fumes of the EMT??? Think about the long term impact of repetitive actions, much of it catches up to you when you are an old geezer like me.

 

[corn chip]

More recently I got a Speedglas, another step up. Don’t know the model number or the cost, as it was a retirement gift.

I doubt if the auto darkening circuitry is much different between any helmets clustered around any given price point.

speedglas makes around seven or eight different models of filters. ive used/owned four of them. the model is on the front as shown in the pics. likely youve got the 100v. that one ive not used but i know its a entry level model ,even though theyre around $250 in the current market.
about the construction and circuitry. if you were to cut open various brands , i gaurantee they arent built the same. miller ,lincoln and esabs filters which are all made by colts , might be close to being on par with speedglas but i wouldnt bet my life on it. optrel ,forget about it. theyre fragile as stained glass. ill post a screen shot from one of their brochures.

 

[corn chip]

About auto darkening verses the old fashioned way. I was a fabrication welder for years, 1969 to 1981. I welded large food processing equipment, mostly stainless steel and then the last five years I built frames and tanks for commercial dishwashers. Lots of tacking and then run the welds. At first I did mostly tig and for the commercial food equipment. Then I welded with a mig the outside corners on 16 gauge stainless steel tanks and EMT to 3/8 x 2" mild steel frames, yes I welded EMT. I say all this to show I have a little experience in a shops welding. The thing I love about auto darkening is no nodding. I take Gabapentin everyday for the neck pain cause by the repeated nodding to drop the hood. I had it balanced so it came down easy, but it still took a nod each time, especial then tig welding stainless. Oh, and I have asthma, could it be from the fumes of the EMT??? Think about the long term impact of repetitive actions, much of it catches up to you when you are an old geezer like me.

ive never used a fixed shade in my life and never will. theyre useless rubbish if you ask me. not to mention the years of neck pain like you say. but if you ask the members here , fixed shade makes you a better welder lol. i hope the newbies are following such foolish advice

 

[mogandave]

ive never used a fixed shade in my life...

Well, this should certainly make you an expert...(just kidding)

 

[corn chip]

lol simple third grade common sense says nodding time after time ,day after day with a 1.5lb object on your head is likely to result in some type of bodily injury. no offense to kcombs. im sure hes a sharp guy and would have used auto helmets if they had been available. but now days ,why subject your body to unnecessary torture. be smart about it

 

[mogandave]

lol simple third grade common sense says nodding time after time ,day after day with a 1.5lb object on your head is likely to result in some type of bodily injury. no offense to kcombs. im sure hes a sharp guy and would have used auto helmets if they had been available. but now days ,why subject your body to unnecessary torture. be smart about it

lol

I spent three months, six days a week welding tie-down tracks to flat-car back in the '80's and I don't remember ever having to nod the helmet down.

I agree an auto-darkening lens is better, particularly if you're doing a lot of fitting and tacking, but the idea that fixed-shade helmets are "useless rubbish" is just wrong.