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Welding Helmet advice

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My son is 17 and has been doing taking welding classes for 2 years now. He recently started an apprenticeship with a local company to get his journeyman card before he graduates. Also, his welding teacher got him a job welding a few nights after school. I would like to get him a nice welding helmet but know dick about them other than the more expensive the better. I am just happy not to burn my eyeballs out when I weld. He does MIG, TIG and Stick if that matters and I would like to stay under 300 dollars. So what do you recommend?
 
basic Jackson

no battery's, no flip up whiz bang shit

keep it basic, and it will work every time

no batteries

basic

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big lens Jackson
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I have a Lincoln Viking 3350. It's a heavy hood but it's tough, the headgear is incredibly comfy, and the blue lens is really clear while darkened. Haven't done much TIG under it myself but other reviews online really like it for that because of the adjustable delay and sensitivity and such.

I got mine for like $255 on amazon but I think covid pricing has driven them up a bit since then. Shop around, you might find a good deal on one.
 
and if you get lost between dropping your hood and striking , you aren't ready to go after your Journeyman card

not trying to be mean, but have been doing it since 95 and have seen what works
 
Huntsman or Jackson fixed shade big window gold #10 lens. Well under $300

I'm assuming you are looking for auto darkening which I am not much help with. I have a Viking 1840 I use at work for stick welding in the plant when I am hanging off man lifts and whatnot, it has been good for a $200 hood that I beat the crap out of. Cant give you an honest review though since anytime i put it on I am generally pissed off in some sort of sketchy situation welding through paint/rust/oil.
 
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I gave up on cheap auto darkening hoods a few years ago after some nasty flash burn from an Amazon hood. Bought an Esab Sentinel and never looked back. Absolutely love it. Great helmet with some really nice features.
 
Well ask your son if he has a preference? He has probably had a chance to use different types. I taught welding for 33 years. We started out using the big fixed shade helmets. Then the auto darkening ones came along and they sucked bad at first. Slow to darken etc. The new modern helmets are nice. You can change the darkness setting, time delay. All the modern welding companies make good ones. I personally use a Miller, my son that is a welder uses a Lincoln. Ask your son first before you go buy one if he has a preference.
 
I like my Hobart auto darkening. There are many places you can get into that flipping the helmet up and down...just ain't happening.

Now, I'm no expert and I don't weld for a living so my opinion is from a mere hobbyest.
 
I like an auto for mig, but always reach for my large fixed gold for tig. The reflection of the gold lens really helps to see what's going on during low amp.
 
Miller digital infinity and never look back.
3m speedglas is nice too.
Make sure you buy a pack of replacement lenses.
 
Another vote for asking him, depending on the type of welding he is doing auto darkening might be fine or all of the guys might be running lighter weight fixed shades.

Or just get him a hot pink one with ponies on it so the crusty old welders around him will laugh at him.

Edit: guys in the trade might know better but I figure he is going to be doing more gofor and grinder duties his first few years.
 
I'm a big fan of my Miller Digital Elite.

I spent a day with my dad's, I assume harbor freight auto darkening helmet, then went back to mine the next day, man what a difference. The Miller is exponentially better.

I like the Viking too, but Miller's X-mode isn't a gimmick, it makes welding outside and in weird obstructed view positions so much easier. Auto darkens due to electromagnetic pulse of the arc not just the light.

I initially scoffed at the idea of spending so much on a welding helmet, but as Jewels pointed out to me, I only have the two eyes, genetics has already screwed me with glaucoma, I need to protect what I have left as best as I can.
 
ask him. i've had them most all of them. for me its anything 3M or a pipeliner with an auto dark lens.

fixed shade is for those trying to prove they are 'old school'. they either are or they are wannabees. i keep fixed shade back-up hoods, but auto dark is the only hood i would grab day to day.

as far as i'm concerned i'll weld with damn near any newer auto lens, the rest comes to comfort. they way it fits, the weight, works with respirator, how well it stays up/ comes down as i want. 3M nails that for me but, what fits me best may not another. if i'm just burning wire, give me any hood at the right shade and i'm good, for fitting i want the best hood i can get.



i wouldn't buy a bra for my wife, unless i knew exactly what she wanted. wouldn't buy anything other than an entry level weld hood for anyone, unless i knew exactly what they wanted. especially if its something they plan to use daily for years to come.

i help lots of people learn to weld at my shop and have a pile of hoods for them to use. they can try out all that i have and when the time comes they at least have tried out different ones and have an idea of what they will like or not when they go to buy their own.


my wife once bought me the nicest miller hood out with the coolband stuff cuz it was hot and summer.... i liked the coolband idea, but couldn't stand the ergonomics of the hood. i ended up giving it to my helper, who sold it on ebay, because his hood of choice is esab or opetral. i couldn't stand using his esab sentinel? hood, haven't tried the opetral.
 
We buy everyone at the plant Miller digital elites and everyone seems to like them. For us headgear is a wash because you wear them with a hard hat but that does play a part if you don't need to wear a hard hat with your hood.

I have an optrel OSE at home and while it's a great hood for being 10 years old I'm not in love with the headgear.
 
IMHO: A gift card to a welding supply house makes more sense. Let him decide which hood is suitable for the job. :stirthepot:
 
I’ve got a Lincoln. I like it but two things I dislike are the headgear just isn’t comfortable and if I’m out side the thing will darken if I’m in the sun just right. Not deal breakers, but little things that I think they could have designed better.
 
I've been rocking a Speedglas 9002x for 15 years. It's what I'm comfortable using, but it's not perfect. Miller digital elites are pretty solid, my foreman rocks one several hours a day. Seems like the welders in the shop that rotate through are either Miller Digital Elites/Speedglas 9100/Lincoln Viking or they are old school pipliner fixed shade dudes.

Hobby level, but impressive for the $$$, the YESWelder hoods on Amazon. It's honestly a little hard to use because of the true color, but it's impressive seeing everything and the arc. I have trouble identifying puddle vs substrate as I'm used to the old everything is a shade of green. It's got a huge window, cut/grind/weld settings and adjustable sensitivity, delay and shade. I bought it for my kid, so she can be in the garage when I'm welding, but honestly I find myself using it for plasma cutting often. I still go back to me old as dirt Speedglas for tig welding. Oh, the head gear is junky on the YESWelder but the Lincoln KP-3908 is a direct swap and works well.
 
samy crawler said:
Miller digital infinity and never look back.
3m speedglas is nice too.
Make sure you buy a pack of replacement lenses.
Click to expand...

I have the digital infinity as well, it's really nice but a bit on the heavy side and flipped up although it stays, takes two hands to do unless you massively overtighten it. The headgear is super comfy though and the lens itself is great....I have one of the original ones and I believe the newer ones have even better optics. They're also bloody expensive these days.

The digital elite is cheaper and lighter, so probably a better choice and pretty well a "standard" out there. Otherwise I'd be looking at the Lincoln 3350 or Esab A50 or really any decent large viewing area auto darkening.
 
Just ask him what he wants and why. Tell him it is a Christmas/big boy job gift from a proud father. He might not know yet. Maybe in two months what he has is perfect, or he finds one he likes better but doesn’t have $400 for.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Ignore the stupid old men and get an auto-dark. It's the 21st fucking century. No reason to weld like it's the 19th.

Just give him $100 to buy whatever one he wants and buy him a HF as a backup for when that one gets destroyed.
Click to expand...
says the guy that his ass is so tight that it sparks when he walks
you just win the Lotto sir?:laughing:
 
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