Best Welding Helmet Reviews 2018

Every item on the market most likely has a high-end type and a low-end counterpart. Being low-end doesn’t necessarily mean being low-grade. It’s actually a marketing strategy employed by manufacturers to reach both the high and low earners. When you want to purchase an item, just have in mind the amount of money you can afford to part with. Arm yourself with a good review about that item, like the one you’re reading now, and you are good to go.

Our review covers products in both the high-end and low-end category, with emphasis on the quality, regardless of the price. This means that any product you pick from this review is sure to deliver in terms of quality and performance.

The featured welding helmets’ prices range from as low as $45.95 to as high as $855.25. We came across many cheap welding helmets, but we decided to ignore them because their quality fell well below what we were looking out for. So, keep reading, as this review is on high-quality and durable welding helmets.

A welding helmet must have very good protective lenses to protect the eyes from those harmful arc lights. There are quite a number of different lenses currently being used. However, the most advanced ones have auto-darkening filters with different shade ranges. When shopping for a quality welding helmet, here are other features you ought to look for:

• Material
• The type of welding helmet
• Its power source
• The switching speed of the auto shade selector
• The total size and weight of the welding helmet

A good welding helmet should have excellent ADF (Auto Darkening Filters) with a reasonable range of shades it operates in. The viewer should not be narrow, and it should be as clear as possible. The material should be very durable, and not weigh heavily on the user. Good material usually comes in the form of lightweight nylon shell or high-density plastic.

Some welding helmets have advanced settings specifically designed for use by professionals, while others are built with intermediate or beginner features. Consider the level of the user, whether beginner, intermediate or professional, and choose the welding helmet type accordingly. Most welding helmets have digital features, including the ones in this review. This means that they require powering, which may be battery, solar or a combination to function optimally.

The switching speed varies among welding helmets. The switching speed is the time it takes the automatic shade selector to change from one shade to another, depending on the type of welding arc light being used. It’s usually very fast, in microseconds or milliseconds. Some welding helmets come with adjustable headgear to accommodate different head sizes, while others are non-adjustable. Whatever type you choose, you might want to check to see that it’s lightweight. You most likely will not want to wear a heavy helmet on your head for hours on end, as this can cause neck cramps.

A welding helmet with an automatic on/off switch is preferable, because you don’t have to worry about forgetting to switch it on and getting your eyes burned accidentally. The ideal welding helmet should have a really fast switching speed, so as to protect the eyes adequately with the appropriate shade required for the particular welding arc. This also means that the sensors have to be super-sharp, to sense and send the signals to the right receivers.

Choosing the welding helmet type best suited to your level of expertise in welding makes it much easier to use the features and get the best out of the helmet. Depending on how often it’s used, it might be better to choose a welding helmet that is battery-powered. It may be easier for you to change batteries when they run down than to change a solar panel when it goes bad. Then again, there are some helmets that come with a battery usage display, so you’ll always know the battery level and be ready to change them when it's time. You might want to get one of those, so you won’t have to worry about batteries running out in the middle of your work.