My Speedglas 9100XX Review

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A quick rundown of the 9100XX3M's product selection guide: HereI really liked the extra coverage and the the new designed headband. It is very comfortable and adjustable for placement of the filter. Best described here in video:Click "More Videos on YouTube >>" and the different videos that describe the hood are on the right...HereYou can get the 9100 w/ or w/o side windows. They do come with cover plates that snap in to block light or nearby welders.I also like the breathing vents, both my 9002X & 9100XX hoods had this feature.The hood also does stay up better but does tend to drift down with heavy or sharp head movements.I also purchased the extra head & throat protectors. They are nice and the throat protector does not get in the way when the hood is up as most do.The 9100 filters now have 3 sensors, 2 at eye level on the sides and 1 in the middle near the bottom of the lens.Here is the user guide in pdf format....here. As you can see from the user guide, the lens has many functions.The light state is a 3 which is used for grinding is good. I have had hoods that the light state was 4 and was really just to dark to grind with for me.Now for the optics.My first 9100XX lens was not uniform per say.It started out at the top blue/green then faded to green in the middle then faded to yellow/green near the bottom.It looked like this in both the on & off state looking directly at a bright light.example:I sent it to speedglas and you can read their reply after the pic.Here is how the new lens looks:Here is the 3M email report:""I have been holding your lens this long as we are having problems seeing what you are seeing. The optimal viewing through the lens is straight ahead. If you look left, right up or down you can see a slight difference in the shading. During our initial conversation I referred to this as potential "angle dependency". I can see a little bit of this, but I have to tip the entire lens to almost 90 degrees and this lens would fall within specification. I am going to replace this lens and send it to our optical engineers so they can test it for any potential angle dependency issues and let me know if the lens is within specification. Our optical engineers did say that from lens to lens you can see a slightly different tinting (light yellow, green, light blue) and this is normal. The replacement will be shipping today.""Customer service was great, no complaints there.I locked the lens in the darkened state and compaired it to a new Lincoln Supervisibily passive lens, shade 11, looking directly at a bright light.The 9100XX filter @ 11 is 'slightly' lighter and @ 12 it was 'slightly' darker. On to the welding:I used a Lincoln V350-PRO Multi-Process Welder set at 125 amps; CC - Stick Soft, using 1/8" excalibur 7018 rods right from the oven.I welded on a 3/8" plate. The first pass was on the edge where someone had tried to cut it and there was a lot of slag. I didn't care as I was testing the lens and not the weld.Here are a few pics. As I said, I was moving the filter around and twisting my head to see if there was any angle dependency goin on with this new lens and didn't really care about the bead.Pics w/ phone to break up the reading You can see as the bead traveled I picked up a lot of that dross.Slag lifting up. I was always taught to try and keep it down to protect the weld until done w/ the stringer, good thing I was done...lol7 or 8 stringer pad weld. Alternating between shade 11 & 12. I moved my head around a lot and didn't notice any difference in the filter colors.The weld puddle was silver/light orange. At 11 or 12, I didn't see any slag puddle, just the way I like it Another day I will have to tig with it, a little hung over today, but at least I didn't blow chunks in my lid :POverview:Probably the most comfortable hood I've tried to date (yes, even better than the jackson 370). Also the hard hat adapter works well and positions the filter in a good spot. Both in eye relief and position. Which is a first, as I normally have to modify them.Optional head & throat protector.Filter: see the operators manual, link above. It does a lot!!Extended coverage over the ears and is 1" wider over the 9000 series hoods.Special inside and outside protective plates...cyberweld prices here.I don't mind paying for plates, buy'm in bulk and they last for years.Larger lens (9100XX) tends to reflect light coming in the back, can be disctracting. The extended crown protector blocks most of it though. Will I buy a different ADF hood in the near future, sure....I'm OCD that wayDo I have any regrets, heck no...awesome hood!Now back to the game.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed run thru on this. Sounds like the new head gear might take care of the biggest issue I had when I tried a Speedglas a few years back before I bought the Miller.Now I have to decide between this and the Jackon Nexgen I was thinking about getting to replace my Miller Elite! Well at least I have it roughly narrowed down to two right now. I just wish there was an easy way to try all three at the same time to compare them, but the LWS didn't have any hoods to try when they had their open house a month ago unfortunately..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Anytime DSW, I'm thinking about picking up a NexGen also.If I understand it correctly, in the light state they are amber then turn green when welding.Can anyone confirm this?The older NexGen ones I've tested were not amber in the light state. Some BOSS users have stated the filter is amber in both the light and dark state I believe.Any NexGen or Boss users out there?Edit: I won't be getting the Halo-X hood though...been there with the Truesight.Last edited by skelley521; 09-23-2011 at 09:24 PM.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Is it a amber or green color. I have been using a amber and seem to like it better then green.
Reply:What hood have you been using that's amber?The lens is green. Attached ImagesSemper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:It's a huntsman I think not a speedglass. I am in the market of upgrading from a passive to autodark.
Reply:I don't know if "I" would call it amber, it looked bright orange to me, was Jackson's new TrueSight. Maybe someone that has the Jackson Boss or Nexgen can chime in, but I believe that the Boss is amber in both the on & active state. I believe Jacksons NexGen is amber in the on state but green in the active state.I would look at what functions you need.The big 3 are Speedglas; Jackson & Miller.I don't think you can beat the quality of their optics.Speedglas & Miller are both green type lenses, so if it's amber you are looking for you may want to look into Jackson hoods.Like I said, maybe someone with the Boss & Nexgen will chime in to answer about the amber state.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!