http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46092
one of the VERY RARE... GOOD VALUES ...at harbor freight, (above)
I had a 15% off coupon in a sales flyer, I bought a second auto dark helmet from them for $44 ,I had the old one for several years with no problems yet, how can you beat a basically throw away price on an auto darkening helmet that works for that price//
Ive got $360 miller auto darking helmets that are only marginally better
the only advantages I see in my more expensive helmets is the degree of shading is adjustable and the screen areas larger but both features are of minor value in the welding Ive been doing, simply because the harbor freight helmets set up to fairly close to ideal as its out of the box settings. (thats why I bought a second one) and rarely use the miller brand helmets, if IM going to screw one up, get the screen scratched or burnt with framents of crud from welding over my head under a car, it may as well be a $44 throw away vs a $360 ID cry over
you would be correct , if your thinking about getting what you pay for in almost all cases, while Ive never had the slightest problem with any of my helmets reguardless of brand or cost, and Ive heard of even expensive helmets failing.
but your correct that the cheaper helmets use cheaper components and are slightly more failure prone, but keep in mind, the electrical components cost next to zip, labor and plastic cost next to zip in china , the helmets design is fairly old and low tech so its probably not as far appart in quality as you might suspect
one of the VERY RARE... GOOD VALUES ...at harbor freight, (above)
I had a 15% off coupon in a sales flyer, I bought a second auto dark helmet from them for $44 ,I had the old one for several years with no problems yet, how can you beat a basically throw away price on an auto darkening helmet that works for that price//
Ive got $360 miller auto darking helmets that are only marginally better
the only advantages I see in my more expensive helmets is the degree of shading is adjustable and the screen areas larger but both features are of minor value in the welding Ive been doing, simply because the harbor freight helmets set up to fairly close to ideal as its out of the box settings. (thats why I bought a second one) and rarely use the miller brand helmets, if IM going to screw one up, get the screen scratched or burnt with framents of crud from welding over my head under a car, it may as well be a $44 throw away vs a $360 ID cry over
you would be correct , if your thinking about getting what you pay for in almost all cases, while Ive never had the slightest problem with any of my helmets reguardless of brand or cost, and Ive heard of even expensive helmets failing.
but your correct that the cheaper helmets use cheaper components and are slightly more failure prone, but keep in mind, the electrical components cost next to zip, labor and plastic cost next to zip in china , the helmets design is fairly old and low tech so its probably not as far appart in quality as you might suspect