Who makes the best ADF?

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Hey I am in search of a auto darkening helmet and I've researched quite a few of them.  I'm looking for the one with the best clarity.  I've tried a Miller Elite, Miller Digital Elite, Jackson Boss, and a no name cheapy.  To me it seems the Miller Elite had an edge over the Digital Elite in clarity.  I also liked the fact that with the Elite and Boss you have an infinite shade adjustment compared to the Digital.  I was also considering a Jackson Nexgen EQC, Speedglass 9100, or Optrel.  Which do you have and what can you compare it to?Right now I'm using a fixed shade #11 Gold Lens that is awesome in clarity.  It does not seem as if any of the helmets I have tried are as clear as the gold lens.  Is it possible?
Reply:I think that as good as all these are, you will need to fit them to try them on...Each one has their own feel and advantages.  I just tried a German made Cobra...A tiny little helmet with a huge viewing area.  It has the adjustments on the outside.  It can fit into tight areas, is light and you don't have to take it off to adjust the settings.  But it doesn't offer as much protection as the Jackson that I have.  The Jackson is strong a tough.  But it flips down at the slightest motion of my head.   The Miller Elite that I have used is just the opposite.  So each helmet has its own personality and fit.  But my 49.00 HF flips and and fits better than any I have tried...go figure.  All the more reason to try them on before you put down the green.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:John,  I prefer speedglas. This does not go to say that the others are inferior, it is just my preferance. I have never owned the others you mention, but have used them in the past, either by company issue, borrowing, or demo.One thing for sure with a product of this nature is, go big or go home. If you plan on using it on a daily basis, and it has a direct link to your paycheck, spend the extra cash, no matter which brand, and get the top of the line. If it is just for hobby use, that is a differant story. One can go with the lower end models and still be satisfied. Again, not brand specific. IMHO this applies to any brand.jrw159EDIT: Lugweld gives good advice concerning trying them out. This can play a big role in the decision on an individual basis.Last edited by jrw159; 03-03-2009 at 06:45 PM.
Reply:I started out with a fixed shade 10 AD linclon medalist. Not a bad unit for the time ( It's probably 6+ years old now,if not older). Just bought a new Miller elite. Tried it and personally found it very comfortable. I definately wanted an adjustable shade hood this time. I tried the speedglas and personally didn't care for the feel of it. Seemed like  good unit, just didn't feel right. Kind of hard to explain other than that. I agree, get one you feel comfortable with. If you can find one to borrow and try that would be best.
Reply:Thanks for the suggestions.  I've used the Miller Elite, Digital Elite, Jackson Boss, and a cheapy one.  Out of those the best I thought was the Miller Elite.  I'd really like to get my hands on a Speedglas 9100 and see how I like it.  Any feedback on those?
Reply:If you're talking about the mirrored fixed lens being very clear, I gotta agree with you.I just recently started using one, and I'm happier than I've ever been.  No more "halo" lookin' thing around the puddlePawelder suggested it, and damn if he wasn't right on the money."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammIf you're talking about the mirrored fixed lens being very clear, I gotta agree with you.I just recently started using one, and I'm happier than I've ever been.  No more "halo" lookin' thing around the puddlePawelder suggested it, and damn if he wasn't right on the money.
Reply:in my experience the lower end helmets are less clear and have cheaper design.  I had one napa auto darking special that i picked up and put on one day and my head loved it so i bought it.   Now i am 6-3 300lbs and when it is 100* and you are welding all day in the sun on a bucket that your brother managed to bitcch up you sweat and with this helme the battiers where right under my chin and i just filled that baby up with sweat.  i wiped it all down.  the next day i picked it up to use it and it wouldnt work the batterie terminals where ruined with rust and i couldnt get them clean enough to work.  so i got my vintage flip down helmet out that is that old army green color and went about sweating some morewww.burdettenetworks.com
Reply:Jackson EQC  MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I was using my buddy's Jackson Boss again today.  After I spent about 10 mins with it on I was really impressed.  Its not quite as clear as a gold lens, but a good step above the old green one.  I just need a Speedglas to try now!!!
Reply:Originally Posted by JohnDaManI was using my buddy's Jackson Boss again today.  After I spent about 10 mins with it on I was really impressed.  Its not quite as clear as a gold lens, but a good step above the old green one.  I just need a Speedglas to try now!!!
Reply:I LOVE my Jackson NEXGEN EQC. I have beat this thing and used A LOT between welding at home and 40 plus hours a week at work. Great hood and the best part is it fits any 4x5 big window hood and uses a standard outside cover plate.
Reply:Im with ironman, Ive got a Nexgen EQC and wouldnt trade it for anything. Just my $.02Go Cards!!!!!
Reply:For the love of God I wish some brave or consciencious industry insider would weigh into one of these threads on welding helmets and tell us who's actually developing and manufacturing this golden technology.  Forum comments are always anecdotal and too often overweighted with brand loyalty. How can I know whether the electronics and lenses in the 400 dollar helmet are or are not sourced from the same chinese or south east asian assembly line that the 69.95 HF lens and electronics come from?   I looked at some Jackson helmets today locally and could find no indication on the unit or packaging that indicated where they were made.  The sales guy was no help.  That might not even matter.   They could be 'made' in wisconsin, using a chinese lens, and who'd be the wiser?   Nothing  at all wrong with that, IF you're "getting what you pay for".   Probably most of this very high quality HP business-class laptop that I'm using at the moment was manufactured in china.  I have no complaints with it.   It's a fantastic piece of equipment.  But the playing field for consumers of laptops is pretty level right now.  There is so much intense technical knowledge among consumers that a manufacturer just cannot get away with retailing a unit at three times the cost of it's made-in-china equivalent just by slapping a Hewlett Packard nameplate on it. If not for this consumer awareness (education) I'd be paying three grand for this laptop instead of the one grand that I did (that is, if i were an idiot and just couldn't live without the HP nameplate).  This just doesn't seem to be the case with auto darkening helmets...  yet.Automobile consumers have gotten likewise savvy to the siren song of brand loyalty in an (unstoppable, so quit whinin')  global economy.  When it got a little hard to disguise all of the foreign components under the hood (just because sourcing them from out of the country was just soooo good for ford's bottom line profit while they kept begging YOU to 'buy american') from the average consumer,  ford and gm lost the competitive advantage of brand loyalty they'd been  banking on for so long.  They still have not recovered.  They might not.  Too late now perhaps to get that money back from superbowl ads and invest it in R&D.  A generation our high school valedictorians went and made a killing on wall street instead of developing microchips or cancer cures.   And we're still blaming the consumer's lack of patriotism any of this stuff?  Oh well.   ... but i digressC'mon.    Speedglas, miller, jackson, harbor freight, et al?  Screw it.   I've read welding forums for days on auto lenses and not heard among mountains of user opinion anything that can possibly justify the difference in retail price between a 400 dollar and a 59 dollar helmet.  Next week HF will likely come out with a 49 dollar helmet with four sensors around a large lens and I'll try an auto shader again. For now I'll stick with my single shade. "You get what you pay for".   Was there ever a more bone headed aphorism applied to basic decision making?   With all the breathtakingly stupid opportunities to waste money and take a good screwing out there,  the guys who believe that truly deserve the worst. If you really knew how much that 400 dollar helmet of yours cost to manufacture, you'd fall on your sword in abject shame for being dumb enough to subsidise the lower prices of other products from that particular multinational/business conglomerate that owns the fancy name brand on the front of your helmet.   God this stuff just makes my head ache.Last edited by frascati; 03-04-2009 at 07:10 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by frascatiFor the love of God I wish some brave or consciencious industry insider would weigh into one of these threads on welding helmets and tell us who's actually developing and manufacturing this golden technology.
Reply:Originally Posted by frascatiFor the love of God I wish some brave or consciencious industry insider would weigh into one of these threads on welding helmets and tell us who's actually developing and manufacturing this golden technology.  Forum comments are always anecdotal and too often overweighted with brand loyalty. How can I know whether the electronics and lenses in the 400 dollar helmet are or are not sourced from the same chinese or south east asian assembly line that the 69.95 HF lens and electronics come from?   I looked at some Jackson helmets today locally and could find no indication on the unit or packaging that indicated where they were made.  The sales guy was no help.  That might not even matter.   They could be 'made' in wisconsin, using a chinese lens, and who'd be the wiser?   Nothing  at all wrong with that, IF you're "getting what you pay for".   Probably most of this very high quality HP business-class laptop that I'm using at the moment was manufactured in china.  I have no complaints with it.   It's a fantastic piece of equipment.  But the playing field for consumers of laptops is pretty level right now.  There is so much intense technical knowledge among consumers that a manufacturer just cannot get away with retailing a unit at three times the cost of it's made-in-china equivalent just by slapping a Hewlett Packard nameplate on it. If not for this consumer awareness (education) I'd be paying three grand for this laptop instead of the one grand that I did (that is, if i were an idiot and just couldn't live without the HP nameplate).  This just doesn't seem to be the case with auto darkening helmets...  yet.Automobile consumers have gotten likewise savvy to the siren song of brand loyalty in an (unstoppable, so quit whinin')  global economy.  When it got a little hard to disguise all of the foreign components under the hood (just because sourcing them from out of the country was just soooo good for ford's bottom line profit while they kept begging YOU to 'buy american') from the average consumer,  ford and gm lost the competitive advantage of brand loyalty they'd been  banking on for so long.  They still have not recovered.  They might not.  Too late now perhaps to get that money back from superbowl ads and invest it in R&D.  A generation our high school valedictorians went and made a killing on wall street instead of developing microchips or cancer cures.   And we're still blaming the consumer's lack of patriotism any of this stuff?  Oh well.   ... but i digressC'mon.    Speedglas, miller, jackson, harbor freight, et al?  Screw it.   I've read welding forums for days on auto lenses and not heard among mountains of user opinion anything that can possibly justify the difference in retail price between a 400 dollar and a 59 dollar helmet.  Next week HF will likely come out with a 49 dollar helmet with four sensors around a large lens and I'll try an auto shader again. For now I'll stick with my single shade. "You get what you pay for".   Was there ever a more bone headed aphorism applied to basic decision making?   With all the breathtakingly stupid opportunities to waste money and take a good screwing out there,  the guys who believe that truly deserve the worst. If you really knew how much that 400 dollar helmet of yours cost to manufacture, you'd fall on your sword in abject shame for being dumb enough to subsidise the lower prices of other products from that particular multinational/business conglomerate that owns the fancy name brand on the front of your helmet.   God this stuff just makes my head ache.
Reply:Anybody ever heard of Sellstrom ADF filters?  Made here in the US.  They have one that looks an awful lot like a Jackson Boss here.  They also have one that caught my eye in this flyer brochure.  I saw the second one go for $159 on a welding supply site.  Not too bad considering it has the magnetic sensor.  The ADF from the first link is $370!  Ouch!!
Reply:Jackson re-markets their hoods under a few brand names.  HTP sells the Jackson EQC line as their Striker line.  Lowe's has some Jackson hoods that say Lincoln on them.   I've seen the Jackson hoods in various catalogs with other names on them too.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op