Hobart Pro Series all the way here:
Sub $200. Way cheaper than a new set of peepers!
get something with 4 sensors.
I bought a Weldcote last winter for my MIG class and really like it. Was around $120 on amazon
JBasham wrote: I weld custom exhausts, make custom brackets, patch rusted floor pans, etc. This one has been just great for two years of that. Set the sensitivity/delay to minimum and there's no lag problem. Adjustable darkness with good range. Window's not huge but it's big enough to work at weird angles. Replaceable screen and comes with a spare. Absolutely no issues with physical/head discomfort or eye discomfort. For $50, the thing I have to live with is false triggers of the darkening if I point the helmet sensors in the direction of a ceiling lamp. I can adjust it to deal with ambient indoor shop lighting or daylight work, but it flips the screen to dark if it gets a direct look at an ordinary light bulb against a white background (ceiling). I keep telling myself I'll go to AirGas some day and pay up for a slick helmet, but I never make it over there. Antra
Thanks for that recommendation - that looks like a great option.
NGTD wrote:JBasham wrote: I weld custom exhausts, make custom brackets, patch rusted floor pans, etc. This one has been just great for two years of that. Set the sensitivity/delay to minimum and there's no lag problem. Adjustable darkness with good range. Window's not huge but it's big enough to work at weird angles. Replaceable screen and comes with a spare. Absolutely no issues with physical/head discomfort or eye discomfort. For $50, the thing I have to live with is false triggers of the darkening if I point the helmet sensors in the direction of a ceiling lamp. I can adjust it to deal with ambient indoor shop lighting or daylight work, but it flips the screen to dark if it gets a direct look at an ordinary light bulb against a white background (ceiling). I keep telling myself I'll go to AirGas some day and pay up for a slick helmet, but I never make it over there. AntraThanks for that recommendation - that looks like a great option.
Now all you have to decide is whether you want skull or flames.
I went with plain black. My neighbors are already sufficiently freaked just over the sight of me welding in the garage. I keep having to tell them not to look at the arc when they're walking by with their dogs, ten feet behind the hired nanny pushing their 2.3 kids in a double stroller that cost more than my track car.
The optical clarity of the lens is amazing, meeting the European Standard EN 379 with a 1,1,1,1 rating—THE BEST POSSIBLE overall quality rating.
I ended up buying this 2 days ago used off Kijiji:
I know OP already purchased a helmet but I use a plain black non-dimming one with no problems.
Steady hand and pulling it down seems to have been fine for me and I do nothing above the hobbyist level work
NGTD wrote: I ended up buying this 2 days ago used off Kijiji:
Okay, if it works, it works.
But seriously, do you wear a cape and a leotard with that?
WWE fans want to know.
Life is too short for plain black welding helmets
JBasham wrote:NGTD wrote: I ended up buying this 2 days ago used off Kijiji:Okay, if it works, it works. But seriously, do you wear a cape and a leotard with that? WWE fans want to know.
It was $50. Up here they sell for about $150 new.
I am 6'4" and about 330 - who wants to see that in a cape and leotard!
patgizz wrote: Life is too short for plain black welding helmets
Probably the 3rd or 4th time I've posted this picture, but I agree. 
I don't know where my dad got it, but I inherited from him a welding helmet with a flip up lens only in the large size. The rubber bumpers for the lens are getting dried out, but it is almost as good as an automatic being able to leave the whole shield down and just open and close the window.
My helmet is an autodarkening unit. I got it at the local welding supply shop. I actually purchased the lens at the recommendation of the person at the shop. I then selected a hood that fit the best. The autodarkening lens was in the 200 range and the hood was another 100. I have had them for at least 10 years and never had an issue. I have welded all day with it and never been flashed at all.
Has anyone tried the magnifier cheater lenses in one of the hf auto dark helmets? Do they fit?
Compared to the hold in one hand not auto dark "shield" my cheap E36 M3ty welders have come with, the harbor freight helmet is great. I already want one with a bigger window and maybe less of a delay though.and one that doesn't fog up when I'm sweaty.
The Miller digital elite is looking good price and spec wise, so I'll probably get one for Xmas, but until then, I wish I had like bifocals for the harbor freight mask.
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