Northern Industrial MIG/Stick 200 Welder

[WVVan]

Hi All,
This machine was briefly mentioned in a previous thread in this forum.

Northern Industrial MIG/Stick 200 Welder

Wondering if anyone has any experience or insight into this particular model. I'm a noob and planning on buying this as my training machine. I've searched through the postings here at WeldingWeb and find that Northern Tool machines, though made in china, don't have the same bad reputation as Harbor Freight equipment.

Yes I know that I could spend more money and get a Holbert/Lincoln/Miller but $599.99 (current price) is the near max I want to spent and I didn't see a name brand with both MIG and Stick close to this price.

Of course when you add in all the extras I'll need (hood, leathers, gas bottle, clamps, consumables, new fire extinguisher) the $599.99 is just the beginning of it all.

Thanks for your time.
Dave