Had it with my HF helmet... Need something new..

[AFFENDE]

Honestly i have a jackson Truesight 1 and a miller digital infinity and you know what i use in class everyday? thats right my fibre metal pipeliner with a shade 10 phillips safety gold lens in it.

yeah ... until you are tack welding 10 hours a day in a production shop and it feels like your neck is going to break from dropping that hood 200 times an hour.

Every hood has its place. There is not a single hood in existence that is perfect for every situation.

I have many different hoods from pancakes and pipeliners to digital bells and whistles that set of an alarm for lunch time ..... and they are all great for different situations.

[Bzbcustoms]

Been shopping myself i have a old speedgas that has been great had that helmet 10 trouble free years but the headgear was not my favorite i ordered my new hood from usaweld.com i have delt with them quite alot and great people i went with the striker digital its made by jackson and is private lable same as the jackson eqc its the best hood i have used only had it a short time but vary solid hood have 10 hours under it and is vary clear solid hood
I also ordered the striker supreme for my dad and that thing is an amazing hood for the price$99 free shipping better headgear as well my dad cant see as well so a clear helment is key and a set of cheaters and he is welding like a pro also has a 1/1/1/1 optic rating i think for $100 u wont get a better veiw
I really like them both i really like the large view if the digital xxl but the Supreme is a impressive hood for the money i have about 10 hours at 130amps ac on tig u can see everything vary clear and i turned it way down on a impala fender and worked grest for 30amp stuff as well both great choices the problem is the market is flooded with hoods hard to say what the bestone is for the money trying them on is a big plus i used a lincon 1840 at work many hours and it was a solid hood as well upgraded the headgear to 3350 headgear and was a vary comfortable hood still for the value i the the striker Supreme best deal i have found i have used the hf hoods and they work but visibility is not near goodenuff for me i like to see as much as possible when ya have a clear site of view you will make better welds atleast for me

[bbertb]

yeah ... until you are tack welding 10 hours a day in a production shop and it feels like your neck is going to break from dropping that hood 200 times an hour.

Every hood has its place. There is not a single hood in existence that is perfect for every situation.

I have many different hoods from pancakes and pipeliners to digital bells and whistles that set of an alarm for lunch time ..... and they are all great for different situations.

that's why I have the Jackson and Miller. I never would have used that pipeliner at my last job or my neck would hurt bad so yeah I understand what you're saying
situations.

I'll PM you my address. I'll help you unload that Miller Digital Infinity.

nah I love my digital infinity it comes in real handy when im doing tig and stuff

[d-rock]

I use an optral at work and an old Lincoln head nodded at home. The optral ID really nice with a nice big button on the side of the helmet for grind mode, no need to have to take the helmet off and try to push a small button with gloves on. It's about 400 bucks, but it's like welding in high def. downside is price and that most local shops won't carry covers.

Can't go wrong with a head nodder. Mine is Lincoln, but I have a couple others floating around too.

Used a hf for about 3 years. It worked fine for hobby stuff, but when I started welding hours a day at work I would get a headache by the end of the day.

You can pick up some Miller hobby helmets that are nice in your range, but I would get a head bobber and save for a nice helmet in the 400 range. You only get one set of eyes

[Slob]

My son purchased a "metal head" helmet from Harbor Freight and with the exception of the headgear supplied it works surprisingly well indoors. I have a Selstrom helmet I'd purchased new in the spring of 96 and it continues to serve me well but for outside work in the daylight I still prefer my old Fibremetal helmet from the 1960's which is not electric at all. Only wish I could get the original quality of headgear for this one from years past as it gave out after about 40 years.

[BellyUpFish]

Well I wound up with a lightly used Miller Digital Elite today.

Thanks for all the help.

[bhoth]

Before you toss the HF helmet in the garbage, I just want to point out 1 thing. There are several (at least 2 anyways) different part numbers for the same helmets as well as the 3-4 different models they have. (blue flame, racing stripes, metal head, standard black). I picked up the "racing stripes" helmet about 6 years ago and I love it....works just as good as any name brand helmet I've ever used at work. It finally stopped working the other day so I went and bought a new one. It was nothing like my old one....I went back and exchanged it for one with the same part number as my old one....back in business and it didn't cost me a penny! But hey, to each his own!

Hey Stroked, please share what HF part number is the one that works for you!!

[Bonzoo]

Save Phace

[mad welder 4]

I have a Lincoln viking and like it a lot. Much better than the cheap ones I have used in the past.

[stsmytherie]

I also have a 3M Speedglas 100 and like it a lot for my hobby use. Works perfectly fine for Tig, which is pretty much all I do.

My one complaint about it was triggering in a group setting for Tig demos at school, where I wasn't right next to the arc. I had to get right up next to the instructor for the auto-darkening to trigger. Otherwise comfortable and lightweight and hasn't flashed me yet in a year of use.

All that said, I'm looking for a wide view fixed shade as a backup/alternate/guest hood.

[69sa200]

Don't cheap our when it comes to your eyes. I like the fixed shade lens for long welds where you don't have to re-strike a lot. But most of my work is short welds 2"-6". When I'm welding long seams like floor plate I use fixed shade gold lens. My Miller low end auto dark helmet leaves me arc flashed so I wear sunglasses underneath to compensate buy they fog up and reduce visibility. With the sunglasses I can't see the puddle as well and stay on on top of the seam. I ordered a Lincoln Viking I talked about it in another thread. I'll let you know how it performs as soon as I get it.

[strokedbronco]

Sorry bhoth, haven't been online in a long time. The "good" SKU# I was talking about is 67854 ("Racing Stripe") I'm not sure what the number was on the one with junk headgear.

[08JKdrvr]

I have Lincoln Viking 3350 4C model. Love it. Buy once, cry once.

[455dan]

For a budget unit to replace an inconsistent HF auto dark - I have been very happy with my Antra AH6-260-0000.

Couldn't see low amp mig puddle very well with my HF and then it started flashing me on low amp tig so after some looking for an inexpensive hood that would work ok for everything
( tig mma,mig, plasma cut, oxy/ acetylene, grinding)

no fancy graphics
just a plain black hood but well equipped and versatile

4 sensor
auto on
solar or battery
sensitivity and delay adjustable
has a 2 range 4/5-9 and 9-13
UV/IR Protection: Permanent Shade DIN16
also a grind mode
it switches in 1/ 25000 second (.00004)
has a test switch to check the batteries
spare lenses included
cheater lens compatible
has adjustable stop for the down position-so it drops to the same place every time
also it's light weight
amazon sells for $46

Over 600 feed back ratings ( 4.5)

Only had this hood for about a year now but so far no complaints for a hobbiest style use with multiple processes.

[Yofish]

Miller 'Elite'. Not 150 smacks, but worth the extra. I like my Arc One Vision Extreme also, and it takes standard screens instead of Miller's proprietary, expensive ones. Sometimes on FleaBay, they are a more reasonable cost.

[VenomInjected]

Fibre Metal pipeliner with an autodarkening ArcOne Tradesmen 240 insert....

$120 total ($60 helmet/$60 lense)

[TheBFA]

Check out Accustrike hoods. They look gimmicky as hell but work awesome. They are kind of a hybrid between an auto hood and fixed hood. I had a few friends buy one after they used mine. Only $100 when i got mine, or $130 with a fan. I would suggest getting a gold lens and a few extra cover lenses.

[hpfiend]

Thanks for posting this! I have read and taken notes. I weld like once every other year sadly so have a hard time justifying a miller digital elite and as I have never had anyone try my 1990s darkening helmet or try a better one I dont know if it's me or the helmet haha I do know the sun sets it off and the darkness adjustment doesn't do squat!


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