Optrel Crystal 2.0 opinions

[rvieceli]

Any one using the Optrel Crystal 2.0 Hood? Thinking about this one and would like some feed back.

Thanks

Ron

 

[Retroman]

Very well made hood, I don't really have any other top of the line hoods to compare it too.
Nice to see what your welding and nice to leave the hood down and be able to work.
I am just a home gamer so take my opinion for what its worth.

 

[corn chip]

deciding what helmet to buy can make you pull your hair out. the decent ones range from $250 to nearly $600 and theres no trial period to try it out then send it back if your not fully happy. recently i had four helmets at my house ( miller elite ,optrel e684 which is same shell and head gear as 2.0 crystal, and two speedglas models ,9002nc and 9100xxi ). i used them all at the same time back to back to determine if one was better than another. you can see well through the filter on all of them so there was no obvious winner in that regard. where i noticed big differences ( good and bad ) was in the little details like size and shape of the shell , head gear design and type of plastic used , pivot system design , placement and style of the adjustment method for the lens ( push button or dial ). but i wont bore you with subjective opinion on all that stuff. youll like the 2.0 filter , will you like all the little details about the rest of the helmet is the question. good luck what ever you decide

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I had an Optrel and loved it......right up until the internal battery died.

 

[sponfit]

I had an Optrel and loved it......right up until the internal battery died.

I believe the newer helmets have replaceable batteries. At least mine does and it’s a few years old at this point.

 

[slodat]

I have the Crystal 2.0 and I love it.

 

[Sweetcorn]

I just bought a new optrel crystal 2.0 a few weeks back to replace another Miller digital elite that died on me.

So far, it's pretty nice. No idea what the longevity of it will be, but the Miller that died was my backup hood and had very few hours on it, so it won't take much to beat it.

It's pretty clear and I like the adjustments on it. There is some minimal distortion across the lens when you look for it, but nothing problematic. The helmet has a rating of 1/1/1/2, so it can't be that bad.

 

[corn chip]

I just bought a new optrel crystal 2.0 a few weeks back to replace another Miller digital elite that died on me.

So far, it's pretty nice. No idea what the longevity of it will be, but the Miller that died was my backup hood and had very few hours on it, so it won't take much to beat it.

It's pretty clear and I like the adjustments on it. There is some minimal distortion across the lens when you look for it, but nothing problematic. The helmet has a rating of 1/1/1/2, so it can't be that bad.

what do you meen the miller died ?
e684 has distortion as well. not alot but its there. probly like the 2.0

 

[Sweetcorn]

what do you meen the miller died ?
e684 has distortion as well. not alot but its there. probly like the 2.0

I'm as big of a miller fanatic as you'll find, but this was the second miller digital elite where I've had the ADF die on me, outside of warranty, with very low usage/hours. I had one of miller's first digital helmets when they came out, long before the digital elite, which eventually quit working as well but no complaints there. That one had a lot of use and lasted a long time. Not so much on the other two.

The helmet still looks brand new, I only use the Panasonic batteries miller recommends, its stored in a climate controlled shop, etc., etc. I've also tried all the suggested fixes and it's not coming back to life.

I still have another digital elite that's been my primary use hood and it's going strong. No complaints and I bought it when they first released the digital elites. Just been unlucky with a couple of them.

It was enough to drive me to try something else this time. Hope the Optrel holds up well.

 

[rmack898]

I’m on my second Optrel. I had a Satellite and it was a great hood for years until the internal battery died.
I replaced it with a Speedglass and it’s a nice hood but I liked my old satellite better. I then bought an Optrel Crystal and it is my favorite. I love that you don’t have to turn it on, just pick it up and go. The only bad thing I have to say is that the Optrel uses a proprietary cheater lens that is not always easy to find and the only go up to 2.5 diopter.

 

[bigcreek]

I had an Optrel Satellite and it lasted a couple years and I loved it while I had it but then the internal battery died and it couldnt be fixed any cheaper than buying a new hood which I thought was absolutely stupid. It cost me around $400 or $500 so should have lasted me much longer than it did. I also have a speedglass which I like but the one I use most is a Miller digital elite which has been running strong now for over 5 years . It is a great hood and the batteries have died on me twice now I think but you just simply replace them with new batteries and it keeps going and that is as it should be. Not an internal battery like was in my Optrel that once it dies it cant be replaced. That is the dumbest thing ever. Going forward if the battery cannot be replaced I wont touch it. Maybe Optrel has changed the internal battery thing I dont know because it has been over 5 years since I had one.

 

[Sweetcorn]

I had an Optrel Satellite and it lasted a couple years and I loved it while I had it but then the internal battery died and it couldnt be fixed any cheaper than buying a new hood which I thought was absolutely stupid. It cost me around $400 or $500 so should have lasted me much longer than it did. I also have a speedglass which I like but the one I use most is a Miller digital elite which has been running strong now for over 5 years . It is a great hood and the batteries have died on me twice now I think but you just simply replace them with new batteries and it keeps going and that is as it should be. Not an internal battery like was in my Optrel that once it dies it cant be replaced. That is the dumbest thing ever. Going forward if the battery cannot be replaced I wont touch it. Maybe Optrel has changed the internal battery thing I dont know because it has been over 5 years since I had one.

The crystal 2.0 I just bought has replaceable batteries.

 

[rvieceli]

Thanks for all the comments. Was getting ready to pull the trigger on the Optrel and Lincoln dropped a $50 rebate on the Viking 3350 complicating the decision.

Ron

 

[Retroman]

That Lincoln has great reviews, I almost went that route but decided to go with the Optrel. I think you would be happy with either but I have never used the Lincoln.

 

[Sweetcorn]

Thanks for all the comments. Was getting ready to pull the trigger on the Optrel and Lincoln dropped a $50 rebate on the Viking 3350 complicating the decision.

Ron

Bakers gas had the best price on the Optrel when I bought mine a little while back, but I know the title of "cheapest place" can change by the day. It also came with their upgraded head gear that looks a little like a bike helmet in and of itself. I have yet to put it on the helmet because I'm good with the regular one that came on it.

What kind of prices are you seeing for the Optrel and the Lincoln?

 

[rvieceli]

The Optrel Crystal 2.0 in black has been running for $429 the silver $459

The Lincoln Viking 3350 is usually in the $300 range. A few places are $299 I think Bakers has it for 314. So with rebate it would be about 250

It’s not all that easy to make decision. In this price range, they all seem to be decent optics and shells. Difference is probably in the headgear and nit picky stuff that you won’t know about until you use it.

My son has a Speedglas that he likes a lot but he bought it from a coworker at the fab shop he worked at for $150.

Ron

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I will say the headgear on my old Satellite was awesome and that was over 10 years ago.

 

[corn chip]

anybody with a optrel tried to use it outside ? when i got my e684 four or five years ago it was only used inside a garage the first three and a half yaers or so. about a year ago i needed to use it outside one day and realized it wasnt switching correctly. even at the lowest sensitivity the sun would trigger the lens and made it near impossible to use.
honestly i was rather aggravated a $350 helmet was useless for outside work and thats what pushed me to get a miller, then eventually move on to speedglas because they just plain work in any envirnment no matter what.
but back to optrel. i eventually called and talked to their tech guy ( in hopes of possibly getting my e684 repaired ) and he said the sensitivity is very high by default for tig welding (even though it has a wide range sensitivity adjustment dial ) and the inadvertant sun triggering was some what normal. im at a loss for words how any $350 helmet wont work in all conditions. he did give me one bit of advice to try and reset the lens sensitivity but theres no gaurantee it will work..
if you have one of these helmets i would try it outside asap to be sure it works correctly before your warrantys gone. at this point i can do one of three things with my e684 ( assuming the sensitivity reset doesnt work ) . 1- get rid of it as i have two other helmets. 2- keep it strictly for inside work but again i have twother helmets. 3- put tape over the sensors to block the sun. the electro signal should still trigger the lens as we seen in my experiment earlier in this thread

 

[corn chip]

well i did the reset sequence that i was instructed but it did nothing. $350 for a helmet that cant even be used outside. optrel should be ashamed of their selfs

 

[rvieceli]

In case anyone was wondering. Decided to go with the Lincoln 3350 in boring black. The $50 rebate pushed me over the edge.

It came yesterday but I haven’t had time to try it out. Filing for the rebate was easy and all online.

Ron

 

[Retroman]

If I didn't get the 2.0 it would have been the Lincoln. Let me know how you like it after some use.

 

[VR6ix]

I have an older Speedglass 9002X that I got for a good deal off Kijiji years ago. The optics **** for up-close TIG work. I don't wear glasses but I put a cheater lens inside held there with painters tape lol and it's still marginal. The worst part is my current welding project I seem to always be placing my hands between the arc and the 2 sensors so I'm constantly getting flashed, it's beyond annoying.

Let us know how you like the Lincoln after some hood time I was also interested in the Optrel but everything is a lot of coin to buy new and them hope it's good. I can probably get a Miller Digital Elite from work at cost as a third option.

 

[corn chip]

Let us know how you like the Lincoln after some hood time I was also interested in the Optrel but everything is a lot of coin to buy new and them hope it's good. I can probably get a Miller Digital Elite from work at cost as a third option.

if you can get the miller for $200-$250 honestly i would make it my first choice. at that price its a good buy