Lincoln Electric K3419-1 Glossy VAR 7-13 W/Grind ADF Helmet, Capacity, Volume, Polycarbonate, 11.12 x 10.25 x 11.87, Black (

I tried two helmets that were from low cost budget brands, one from Yeswelder and one from Dekopro. Both of the cheap helmets had issues. The Yeswelder was too slow to respond, even with a new battery. And the Dekopro was barely dark enough and not really safe to use, even with a new battery. I finally returned the Yeswelder helmet and junked the Dekopro and bought a Lincoln K-3419-1 auto darkening helmet. The Lincoln has crystal clear optics, and its very dark. On level 13, which is where Im running it, the arc is easy on the eyes but still pretty easy to see. I could barely look at the arc with the Dekopro helmet, even at level 13! The Lincoln clearly meets real quality standards. Because its much darker at level 13 than the cheap Dekopro. Ive finally decided that I will never buy another no name brand welding helmet. The safety factor of protecting your eyes is too important to roll the dice on unrelianle generic helmets that have a fairly large failure rate. Id suggest using the cheap helmets as a backup if your Lincoln or Esab helmet breaks. I would stick to Lincoln or Esab A40 for your main welding helmet. The Esab A40 does seem to have the highest reliability according to the lack of negative complaints. But the A40 has the most expensive lenses. I ended up buying both! The Esab A40 helmet and the nearly identical but less expensive Lincoln K-3419-1. My reasoning in buying 2 premium helmets is, I want to make sure that anyone welding with me has a safe welding helmet too. When teaching friends or family to weld, you want them to be safe. Now I have two super good auto darkening helmets. Please dont make the mistake I made. Dont waste your time rolling the dice on a no name brand helmet, just to save $10 on a cheap helmet. Its not worth the possible damage to your eyes. The Lincoln K-3419-1 takes AAA batteries! Buy a Lincoln, Esab, Miller, Speedglass, 3M, Jackson or Hobart. Dont waste your time with no name auto darkening helmets. If you do buy a cheap brand helmet, it must be tested against a high quality helmet to verify that it works properly. Check the speed of the switching and the darkness. Always use the darkest setting possible unless you are having trouble seeing your weld. Contrary to theories by spiritual gurus, all forms of high intensity UV light are damaging to the body. The less light you expose yourself to, the better. Eyes can be permanently damaged slowly over time if you arent using a dark enough lens! The damage of UV light is cumulative. Thats why I recommend sticking with the name brand helmets, and running them at level 13 whenever possible. I LOVE this new Lincoln helmet and I was able to see everything very easily when grinding and hammering because its so bright when the shade is turned to grind mode.

Awesome product from Lincoln! Great value.

Got it in today. Ordered the glossy black but got the “lone star”. Not a big deal, will still serve its purpose

No batteries, no operators manual to describe set-up etc.

Good helmet for horizontal and vertical just don’t recommend for overhead transitions quick no arc flash just with overhead if hot slag land on helmet it will begin to lent into helmet was able to make a return no problem though and just switched over to a pipeline hood and purchased a tradesman transition lense apart and swapped out

Finally I get something that works great! thanks. Had a bad experience with miller

take your safety serious and get a welding helmet from a responsible brand...

Got this to replace a harbor freight hood. Definitely a lot better quality and it’s cheaper than the other miller & Hobart hoods. Very light weight too.

Im a hobby welder. I bought other helmets but they did not protect my eyes as well as this helmet does. Spend the extra money to protect your eyes, you only get one set of eyes folks. This takes 2 AA batteries and they are easy to replace.

Use everyday at work. Highly recommend.