need opinions on welding helmets

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i want to buy the best helmet. does anyone have any advice on which one to buy and what your experience has been with it?
Reply:Don't think there is a "best".  Just get one that you like.  Everyone is going to have their opinion of which one is the "best".  To me, a shade 9 is a shade 9, no matter who makes it.  Right?It's not what you can buy, it's what you can build.
Reply:i'm just starting to school and need a good direction. don't want to have to buy a better helmet later.
Reply:Best.... Number one I would say fit and comfort. I tried on a very nice Speedglas hood another in my class had. I hated it. Even adjusted, it just didn't feel comfortable to me.Depends what you want to spend. I have a very nice fixed shade Jackson that is very inexpensive and fits well I doubt I paid more than $30 for it. I hve a Miller Elite big window AD that I just bought at about $300. They both are comfortable quality units but theres alot of room in between.Just what sort of welding do you do. AD hoods are great if you weld, stop, position a piece, weld etc. If all you do is run long mig beads a standard hood would be almost as good. Part of the reason there are so many styles available, different needs. I have an old fixed hood with the flip down lens, I hate the hood, but if I need to be under something I can squeeze in with the hood on then just snap down the lens and weld while all the crap falls on the cheap hood.Try as many hoods as you can. I know my LWS has several that they can let you try. Do a search and read what others use to get an idea. Ask anyone you see using one what their thoughts are. I frequently stop and ask guys I see using some tools just waht they think about that model vs some other. (this is a bit more pointed than whats best)I picked my Miller elite for  these reasons.I wanted the large window. My old AD hood had the small window, the Jackson std a large one I liked better.I wanted an AD hood to replace my old one.I wanted a quality company not HF.I wanted a comfortable one.I wanted an adjustable shade hood, my old AD was a fixed shade.I would have liked a grind mode, but the extra money for the digital didn't seem worth it, since I prefer to wear muffs while doing any serious grinding and pull the hood off anyways.
Reply:thanks. those are the brands i was looking at. but what about the sperian optrel satellites? i haven't been able to find any reviews on that helmet.
Reply:I have heard that some like them. Do a search on hoods or specific brands and you'll find  the topic has been covered several times in various ways.One thing to keep in mind is what your instructor might have to say. My 1st instructor at the local Votec was old school and would not let new students wear AD hoods. Said you needed to learn with out all the fancy gizmos. ( I can understand that, but its often easier to learn if you can see the whole time in my opinion) I got away with my old AD hood, as I was already welding, and had all the gear, but agreed I would use the old Jackson if thats what he wanted. Since I was in the "advanced" part of the class he didn't care about the AD.My 2nd instructor, who did the nite classes PT could care less about an AD hood, but generally used one of several fixed hoods in his day work.Again it's personal preference. Lets see how many I can list Jackson, Lincoln, Miller, Speedglas, Optrel... All good units, Theres a few fixed shade hoods, but I can't remember the exact names right now.As before try to see if you can't try on a few 1st. Even if you need to plunk down $30 for a fixed shade Jackson for example to start, you'll be ahead over just picking a more expensive hood that might not be comfortable and finding a better one later. Also remember the instructor is there to teach, frequently many have used other hoods and may have one you can try. Our school had one of the Millers the rep had left with the day instructor to use. I tried his hood as well as as many others I could lay my hands on both from other instructors, students and the LWS.good luck.
Reply:thanks for the help. i think that's what i'll do. wait and see what the instructor allows. and trying them on from other people is a good idea.
Reply:Yes, it is difficult to say which is best. You almost have to try one on (better yet, use it) to decide.I have a collection of around half dozen helmets hanging on the wall that are no longer used.I kept buying one after another in search of the 'best' helmet for me.One feature that I needed was to have a hard hat included with the helmet.I had to look quite a bit before I found the perfect helmet, but find it I did.It is a Speedglas model that comes with a hard  hat. Just perfect!........ pg
Reply:Ive had the optrel  and now I have the miller elite. The optrel worked fine, only had 2 sensors, so they got covered fairly easily, and i would get flashed. Problem was the battery's were internal, and could not be changed, so once the battery's were shot, the helmet was garbage. I have heard that optrel changed that, you can replace the battery. The miller elite i use now is not the digital, but it does have a grind mode, you just have to take the helmet off and push the sensitivity or shade lever all the way over, im not sure which, since i never use it. I like the miller better in that it comes with a #3 shade lens, which allows you to see good enough to tack parts together, whereas the optrel had a #4, and it was a little to dark to do so. I like the miller better, i get less spatter on my neck and chest, but all in all, if your looking for a auto dark, you can't go wrong with either. Alot of guys in our shop have speedglass auto darks, and except for the smallish mask and tiny lenses, they are very reliable to.
Reply:I vote for a speedglas had one for a long time really beat up but works great and light!Lincoln Tombstone 225 A/C Steel StickerOld Victor O2/Acetylene setupMiller Syncrowave 250 Tig/PC-300 PulserMiller Millermatic 212 Mig HTP Invertatig 201 Giant Teck D50 Plasma cutterLots of HF grinders
Reply:I have one of Millers professional series helmets and I really like it. Just picked up a Speedglas 9002x a few weeks ago and it i nice during the summer heat because it has vents in the front of the mask to help keep fresh air coming into the helmet. I have been really happy with both masks so far and would recommend either one of them.Miller Dynasty 300dxSpeedglas 9002XMiller Spectrum 375 XtremeLincoln PowerMig 255xtLincoln PowerMig 140cMilwuakee Portaband
Reply:I have used a pipe-liner with a rubber band for years and would not want to use anything else.  #9 lens is a little light if your gonna be doing any mig or tig.  I always used at least a #10.
Reply:Buy a helmet, use it, buy other better ones later. Some guys have 4 or 5 or more to use for specific jobs. You can keep the old ones if you want.           I liked the old fiber ones with a pipe handle riveted to the front to hold on to. They were real popular with stick men for decades. Didn't mess up the ducktails.         Later ones with bigger glass, flip ups, and headgear are better for some jobs.         The latest one that I have used a lot is a generic no name Automatic, bolted to a hard hat to keep the sparks off the head. It is adjustable, 8 or 9 for light tig, to 13+ for heavier work.          I have several with magnifiers, makes fine work easier. Had one that was really small and narrow for  work in tight places.           A friend bought a $500 dollar automatic helmet once, loaned it to a student, the student set it face down, safely inside the mini sub he was building. The student then chalked out a 10 inch hole in the 5/8" thick hull, put on the #5 face sheild, lit the torch, cut the hole. I walked in just as the hot 15 pound slug dropped into the hull, on top of the hot slag from the torch, that had been safely caught and contained by the brand new $500 dollar helmet that had been carefully stowed inside the hull. That helmet may have had oh, 10 hours use..... warranty didn't cover it.         The last day I taught Welding, June 30th, the last guy I taught, a grad student that was in a hurry to build something, filled my helmet with sparks and trashed it. - he didn't pay attention, moved the helmet, face down, and then set up a job and filled it with slag. Nice. Had to find another one to finish out the day.       Oh, one thing, whenever you can, set down your helmet FACE UP.past work toys; lathes,mills, drills, saws,  robots, lasers ironworker, shears, brake, press, grinders, tensile tester,  torches, tigs, migs, sticks, platten table, positioner,  plasmas , gleeble and spot. Retired June 30, 2009.
Reply:thanks for the help guys. alot of useful info here. will keep checking back for more.
Reply:I kinda like the accustrike one though some do not recommend it.  It can be trying to use if you have more chins than a chinese phone book when you look down (it may open slightly) but I think its nice that I can hold stuff with both hands and not bump the helmet nodding it down.  [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc6hmFZ2faQ[/ame]
Reply:Man!  That's bizarre.  Do you activate it with your chin?  I like to chew gum while I work, that would be funny!!It's not what you can buy, it's what you can build.
Reply:You can still chew gum.  It has an adjustment similar to the one on the back of the head so you have to drop the chin more/less. Its kinda like using your knee to pick up/ put down the foot on an industrial sewing machine but with your chin.  Or activating the Hi beams on the steering column with your foot through the steering wheel (don't do this while actually moving)  If you are in shadow, such as under a car, its easier to see where you're at than with a auto darkening one I think.Last edited by 3 weelin geezer; 07-23-2009 at 12:30 AM.
Reply:Why the h*ll would you buy one of those?  If it works for you, go with it, I'm not gonna judge!  Fibre Metal or Bust!  Last edited by mb_welder; 07-23-2009 at 04:53 AM.
Reply:Like I said, it works well in tight spaces and is not dark to start with.  I guess you never even tried it?
Reply:make sure it covers low enough to protect your throat/neck  area!