Welding Helmet Recommendations

[tracyb]

see this came up again and will add,


weld hoods are personal choice. there is no right answer.


i hear the, i've used it for years... old unit, now i'm getting flashed stuff for every single brand.

i have 2 3m hoods that were bought at the same time. i used one more than the other. the most used noticeably lost shade over time. was a good 2 shades lighter than the other hood before i trashed it. and gave the other away.

i buy them it pairs now, half cuz i need to, i keep one in the mobile rig incase i forget the other. but i really only use one. after years they fade. the fisrt time i bought a pair it was the old 100 series helmet, now they are 9100 and i have already had to buy a replacement lens for one.





what i'm trying to get at is all auto hoods fail. and the expectation is for them to fail completely or not at all. doesn't work that way. everyone that welds needs a base line. keep an ectra hood or at least have a fixed shade to have a reference. i started out using only harbor frieght, bought and used them all, only buy 3m now. but the guys i gave the other ones love them.

its not the brand name or price that matters to me, none are bad, they all do what they say they will do. some work longer than others.

when i buy a hood the first thing i look at is weight, then i try them on at the local weld supply, to see how they faal and how they flip down..... then i buy. and many tines i regret it and buy something else. real happy with the 3m 9100 now.


i plan to buy the carbon fiber hood from pipeliners cloud next. i probably/dont think i'll like it, but i cant not try it out at 9oz or whatever it is. the white (the white ones are different than the colored) weld hats are all i like now. and i just ordered more umbrellas. they have the weld umbrellas i've seen. i got 10' first. ordred another and 2 8' for the camper.

 

[Pocahontas]

Are you wearing safety glasses while welding?

I do not.

 

[willis_racing]

I bought a Lincoln Viking 3350 while I was doing structural last summer. It's pretty heavy on the scale of things, but the window is nice and large, all the features work as advertised, it has the comfiest headgear i've ever used, and it was pretty cheap when I got it. I'd recommend them, but it will definitely strain your neck depending on what you're doing.

 

[Brad]

I do not.

This is the flash burn problem a lot of people have. I’ve posted this before but I’ll say it again. I have welded in a shop, walking past people welding, flashing myself, catching an arc from another guy out of the corner of my eye, etc. that and wearing safety glasses while welding, sometimes for hours at a time, I’ve never had flash burn/sandy eyes in the 20 years I’ve been doing this

 

[AlxJ64]

I've used the Hobart mid grade ones for MIG and stick and I have a Speedglas for TIG and plasma work. I once had a Save Phase welding helmet given to me and that thing flashed me doing TIG enough times that it became a shop projectile, and that is not my personality at all. Using the Hobart and Speedglas, I've never had any problems with them nor ever had flash burn or sandy eyes, etc. The speedglass is nice for use on my plasma table because I can quick set it to lower shades and it adjusts the sensitivity too at the same time. The one thing about an expensive welding helmet is though it may not perform better than the others of lesser value, theres a good chance you'll keep it nicer, with clean lenses, and clean headgear moreso than a cheap one.