Welding helmet

[Double R]

Can anyone recommend a good reliable welding helmet? We’ve tried expensive and cheap and they just don’t hold up. Recommendation greatly appreciated.

 

[Pearl]

I read that title quickly and thought it said WEDDING helmet!

 

[Spikedriver]

I read that title quickly and thought it said WEDDING helmet!

Same here...
The Lincoln Viking series hoods seem to be the highest rated ones on the internet.

 

[zoomzoom]

I don't know how good mine are but I'm pretty sure I have a couple new ones on the shelf. One may be a Lincoln, the other is a Miller. I'd sell at a very reasonable price if you're interested.

 

[Biggkidd]

I've been using an auto darkening one from HF for YEARS without trouble. I wish someone would but a big BRIGHT LED light on the face lighting the weld / work zone. I can't see crap anymore!

 

[Spikedriver]

@Double R How often do y'all weld? On the farm we just had a flip down face mask type. That thing lasted 20 years. But we didn't weld that often either, so it didn't get much wear and tear...

Harbor Freight might be worth checking out. You might get two cheap ones for the price of one cheap one somewhere else...

 

[Tirediron]

I would recomend a miller over a lincoln, because lincoln has a lower quality "consumer" line that are a crap shoot, we had several cheap imports from our version of HF, 1 was great, 5 were not so great. depends on what quality you need, as Spike driver said, a flip front manual is reliable, but the head harness does tend to fail after a while.

 

[Double R]

We don’t weld regularly I would say. Seems projects line up then a bunch of welding happens then another pile up. We have had both expensive auto darkening and regular dark helmets over the years. It’s been down hill since our very old ones finally died. Quality is definitely lacking in the last 10-15 years. Definitely seems the head harnesses are the most unreliable part.
Hadn’t even considered harbor freight ones but will definitely be looking at them.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

 

[Peanut]

Just a general observation… The helmets that clip on a hard hat seem to stand up to daily use better than other types. The head gear is usually heavier, not made to provide comfort to a wearer. It just snaps on a hardhat and stays there, doesn’t get adjusted often.

A regular helmet’s headgear gets adjusted every time you put it on. The plastic headgear is thinner to provide comfort. It wears out quicker. At least that has been my experience.

Also, hard hats can be handy when welding. I had a partner, we positioned and welded out the king pin receiver on the bottom of train cars. We used short handled 4lb sledge hammers to set its final position with tack welds. My partners hand slipped while hammering. Busted my welding helmet, split my hardhat into 2 pieces and laid me out in the floor. I was okay after a short nap... The hardhat saved my life.