Auto darkening helmets

[rScotty]

I'm wondering what to look for in a replacement for the old auto darkening helmet. It's been awhile since I bought the last one. The old one was a top of the line Speedglas - like their modern 9100xx series but ten years old. It was the best available when new - but things have probably gotten better.

That old Speedglas was a real decent helmet - lightweight with a wide range of adjustable darkening - and it looked like it was going warp speed just sitting on the bench. About the only downside was it was kind of greedy on batteries....but compared to eyes, who cares about battery costs? Anyway, I expected to keep it forever but it didn't survive being left out in the rain last fall. So it's time to shop for another.

Which ones are favorites now?
Thanks, rScotty

 

[wareagle50]

I really cant tell you which ones are good or best but i have an Auto Arc by Hobart and it has served me very well. However its my first and only auto helmet. Im sure there are better ones out there cause mine was only like $100.

 

[TnAndy]

I had a Northern Tool $59 buck model I liked. Neighbor's dog got in my shop, grabbed it and took it back to his house where it was chewed to pieces. Confronted the neighbor, who says "Oh.....I wondered whose that was" ( not like he actually bothered to ask around whose helmet his dog stole )(got my favorite hat and one welding glove as well).

So, he gives a Super Duper Deluxe one still in the package he bought for himself.....he said it was couple hundred bucks. Weld setting, grind setting, another one or two. I said I just want what I had. "No, this is a MUCH better one. Take it".

Never could get the crappy thing to work right. I'd get it set for weld, stop using it for a minute, then it would lose the setting, and no darkening at all.....I'd have to take it off, punch the fool buttons again, maybe get it to work, maybe not.

Finally threw it in the trash, went to Northern and bought another $59 model with NO buttons....you put it on, it auto darkens on the first strike, and works fine.....just like they are supposed to work. Sometimes more expensive doesn't mean better.

 

[CNC Dan]

I've used the northern tool ones as well as the Harbor Frieght ones. Both worked just fine. Solar powered, but the internal battery dies and the response time isn't too good. Takes about 5 years.
Don't worry about how fast they darken, the filter plate gives full protection against UV, weather it goes dark or not.

 

[juddspaintballs]

I've used the HF auto darkener for a couple of years. It works great. When not in use, I leave it in the shop window to catch the sun. It still works fine, goes dark plenty fast enough, and the battery hasn't died yet. For the $20 I paid for it, I'd buy another one.

 

[robs660]

We all use the Optrel 680 helmets. Have them in service for 12 Welders, myself and a welding super. Everyone loves them and they perform great. They are going on 2 years being used 8 hours a day and are still perfect.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I have a Miller Digital Elite which works great, but is in the $200 to 300 price range.

 

[rScotty]

I have a Miller Digital Elite which works great, but is in the $200 to 300 price range.

It's sounding like there might not be much agreement between price and how welders feel about their lenses. That makes sense....nobody is going to risk their eyes for a few hundred bucks. My buddy just had to go to the eye doc for some lingering flash-burn and believe me it cost him more than the most expensive helmet out there.

He does stick arc while I mostly do TIG so his problem is part of what is making me ask.

I'm old enough to remember when auto-darkening first came out & how we were all a little suspicious. The first ones were expensive and the good ones were said to mostly come from Europe. My Speedglas was from some European company. We all figured the Europeans to have higher safety standards so that was OK. A few years later A-D hoods started to be made in the US.

I know what TNAndy is talking about with all the adjustments. A guy just about needed a college degree to do the settings in the Speedglas. And then if you turned it off they all had to be done again. It's downfall wasn't that though. The downfall was it turned out to not be waterproof. Well...the circuit might have been waterproof; I don't know. But the helmet itself wasn't. In the rain it turned to mush.

All that said, my helmet preference is to care more about how it works more than saving money. If one costs three times as much and just works a little better that's the one I'll buy. It's not like its an everyday expense.
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

We all use the Optrel 680 helmets. Have them in service for 12 Welders, myself and a welding super. Everyone loves them and they perform great. They are going on 2 years being used 8 hours a day and are still perfect.

[/QUOTE]I have a Miller Digital Elite which works great, but is in the $200 to 300 price range.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I think my supplier carries Optrel and Miller both...probably some others, too. Seems odd that there are so many kinds on the market; it's not like they are consumable.
I wonder who makes the largest size lens? And if there is any advantage there. For the old glass type the larger view area was always a plus.
thanks, rScotty

 

[weldermike]

I recently treated myself for tig work at home. I have multiple a/d hoods that i never use, always loved a fixed shade with a glass gold. This is hands down the best hood i have ever used. Speedglas 9100xx. Head gear is genious, giant viewing lens and shade 5 side plates. Try one at your lws it will speak for itself. Costly tho, so it stays home, and i use fixed shade still at work. Stuff at work gets destroyed and sometimes dissapears unfortunately.