Welding helmet advice needed

[Justin1776]

Hello,
I just bought a Hobart Mig 190 and I am in the market for a good welding helmet. My budget is $150. The only welding helmet experience I have is a cheap Lincoln mask that sucked and a speedglas that I used once but it out of my price range. I have done some research and the Miller Pro-hobby seems nice but I have not used one. Thank you for the help.

 

[jmscollinsiii]

I have a miller elite and I love it the pro hobby I believe is the same thing with a smaller viewing area. What kind of application will this be used in.

 

[CoSnipe]

Miller performance or elite...you'll be happy with it

 

[Justin1776]

thank you this will be mainly for MIG welding, and for stick welding down the road

 

[rkevins]

I'll probley get slamed for this but.. dad and I both have a auto-dark form HF and they work great for the price, I dont use it every day but for home use it works good for me and you will find them on sale a lot.

 

[crewchief888]

i've had a miller pro hobby for a couple years now.

(probably) got it from cyberweld under $150 incl shipping.

i shopped around at all the LWS in the area, tried many hoods on, decided on the prohobby as the best fit for me.

i woulda have bought from a local supplier, only one place would offer me a "deal" and it was still $35 over what i paid, everybody else was "thats the price, take it or leave it"

only downside is the prohobby doesnt use std cover plates, but it comes with extras.

 

[andywander]

I have a Radnor Cobra and a HF. both auto-darkening.

I like them both.

 

[jmscollinsiii]

I'd say go for the pro hobby. If your work uses any bottle gases check which supplier they use . Normally you can use your company discount towards the helmet. Probably not a whole lot but when I bought mine it was over $50 to $60 if I remember right.

 

[PCO6]

I'll probley get slamed for this but.. dad and I both have a auto-dark form HF and they work great for the price, I dont use it every day but for home use it works good for me and you will find them on sale a lot.

Not by me you won't. I have a AD helmet from Princess Auto and a Lincoln one as well. I can't say that one is any better than the other.

 

[Monte]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Speedgla...145?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d00cb9a79

 

[Quick01GT]

Miller elite, one of the best and a plain black one is not that much on ebay

 

[plinker]

On ebay Indiana oxygen company (I forget the user name) sell's a Speedglas 100v for about 150-160$, free shipping. I bought one to replace a fixed 10 Selstrom and the 100v miles beyond it.

It is a "budget" model, but you will not regret it if you get one. I dont.

 

[bgott]

I'll probley get slamed for this but.. dad and I both have a auto-dark form HF and they work great for the price, I dont use it every day but for home use it works good for me and you will find them on sale a lot.

I use one, too. If I haven't used it in a while I have to lay it in the sunlight for a while to get it to work.

 

[srmofo]

Look for the lincoln "viking" helmets

Its got a ton of features for the price

I used a HF helmet for years when all I had was a craftsman 110v fluxcore. It gets the job done but they are not on the same level as a better helmet. Dont get me wrong its better than nothing but if he wants to buy a nicer helmet, I would look somewhere else besides HF

 

[royesses]

I 2nd on the Lincoln Viking. The 3350 series has a very large view - approx. 3 3/4" by 3 1/2". The plain black model is about $185-195 online. Worth saving up for. Good headgear, grinding mode, low amp trigger, etc. Replaceable battery - CR2450 Lithium. 4 arc sensors.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

i got the wel-built auto darkening helmet from northern tool and its awsome i think. i read a bunch of reviews on it and people love it and they use it over ther more expensive helmets. is regular $50 but its on sale for $43. its worth a gander anyways. heres a link

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200485271_200485271

 

[BD1]

I like the Miller elite or the Lincoln. Keep checking craigs list. People buy the big buck ones and then need money.

 

[Bar Ditch]

Miller Elite and Jackson is what I use for work. As far as Harbor freight I think that a digital helmet that you can see out of as good or better than a pro helmet might not be good for your eyes, as its probably not filtering as good as it should. You only get one set of eyes. Helmets are like welders, you get what you pay for. Just my .02

 

[RCL]

Lincoln Viking 3350.

 

[sberry]

I might give that Northern one a spin, I need a couple more for in trucks.

 

[skyking]

Harbor freight auto dark. $39.95. I'm under it several hours a day , 6.5 hours today. Works great and if you lose or abuse it ,just get another one.

 

[1967lemans]

I have three that I love.
speedglas, Fibre Metal tiger hood, and a pyramex ledhead

 

[1320stang]

I have the HF autodark, stopped working recently, no way to change batteries.

 

[texasprd]

Look at the response/darkening times on the helmets - faster is better. I have a Hobart auto-darkening I bought on eBay a few years back - I think the response time is 1/16000 sec. Not the fastest, but MUCH better than the HF. Consider that the difference in times means the difference in how long your eyes are exposed - it may not seem like much, but as someone else said "you only get 1 pair of eyes". Get the best response time and name that you can afford.

 

[andywander]

I have teh HF 46092. The specs say it darkens 1/20000 of a second, and that it "Meets CE and ANSI Z87.1-1989 standards"

 

[Justin1776]

Thank you everyone for your advice. As fate would have it, I had some steel guys out to my jobsite last week. I talked to them about welding helmets and they both had Miller Performance helmets on the truck in use. I struck a few welds with it and enjoyed it. One of the guys has a pro-hobby but only uses it as a back up. Long story short, I ordered a Miller Performance! Thanks again

 

[Skyline]

I have a Miller Elite in plain black, I think it cost me about $225 unused on eBay. It's really a great helmet, and the extra large viewing area is a big plus.

 

[Beaumont67]

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...lding Helmets&cm_cat=Nextag&cm_ven=Aggregates
^^^^ Excellent reviews, even a good Tig helmet....Customer Product Rating = 4.8/5

Key Specs Item# 1644910 Was $139.99 Sale $124.99
Auto Darkening Yes
View Area W x H (in.) 3.82 x 2.44
Switch time (sec.) 1/25,000
Adjustable Sensitivity Yes
Variable Shades 9 - 13
UV/IR Coated Lens Yes
Adjustable Fit 4-point adjustable headgear, replaceable sweat band
Power Supply Solar w/ Battery Back-Up
Low Battery Indicator Yes
Battery Included Yes, requires charge
ANSI Approved Yes
Manufacturer Warranty 12 months parts / 12 months labor // Ship Weight 2.0 lbs

Overview
This solar-powered high-impact nylon helmet features a large 3.82in. x 2.44in. viewing area — making it ideal for seeing more of the workplace when wearing glasses.
Features + Benefits
• Four independent arc sensors
• Delay and sensitivity internal adjustable
• 2 x CR2450 lithium battery replaceable with low battery indicator