whats the catch?

[Craig-S]

falling into the welding mask rabbit hole, I need a second one so my daughter and I can tinker together. the initial purchase is an R-Tech Speedmaster PRO HD (seems a lot of words) which is fairly heavy and bought it when we got the welder not knowing any better....i mean it works but i have nothing to compare it to.

so down the rabbit hole we go, and not trying to bankrupt myself being weekend warriors, the options I can see that in my eyes Optrel Vegaview, Esab Sentinel A60 or 3M Speedglas G5-03 PROVC

The 3M is/was well out of budget....until a quick ebay look and I see someone selling them for £333.... well underpriced, so my question is why? scam? knock-off? back of truck? no warranty?

Thoughts? worth a punt?

 

[MetalMonkey]

Its your money, but if you are starting out, perhaps stick with one of the budget ones until you get an idea of how much use you are going to get out of it.
You can get some excellent cheap auto darkening hoods thesedays.

 

[hotponyshoes]

The Speedglas has various types of filter available, in different viewing sizes, versions with adjustable colour, versions with Bluetooth etc. So they have significantly different retail prices across the range.

 

[Seadog]

SIP Meteor Electronic Welding Helmet

• Variable shade: DIN 9-13• Plasma shade: 5-9• 4 shade for grinding• 4 ARC sensors • 4x light sensors powered by 2x CR2450 batteries

www.toolstation.com

I've a SIP that cost me £25 several years ago. I've no complaints.

 

[gaz1]

i just bought a 30.00 welding mask but mine had many functions on it

5-9 for low welding but comes in handy for the plasma torch
10-13 for arc welding or mig welding
comes with grinder mode as well

 

[Morris]

I wouldn't spend that sort of money for what you describe as tinkering. There's plenty of choice below £100, often a lot cheaper.
I have a SIP 8000 (aka Meteor as Seadogs) which is fine for me (retired hobbyist) which I paid £70ish for.

 

[Craig-S]

Cheers for the replies,

Being a n00b I generally equate cost/brand with quality/safety. I know bugger all about these things other than I know 3M are decent as i have a couple of respirators for spraying and they have a good reputation. but other than that I know nothing about how they each compare in terms of eye safety or if they are even regulated to standards.

 

[Jackimus]

You pay a premium for little quality of life things like a lighter passive shade, 1/1/1/1 glass.

I ended up getting an ESAB Savage A41, great mask in and of itself, but now that I have looked through it, in hindsight I would have paid the extra to get a G5-03 E with NC filter, and have passive shade 3 instead of 4 and 1/1/1/1 instead of 1/1/1/2.

Really depends how picky you are. I myself am very...

 

[Craig-S]

You pay a premium for little quality of life things like a lighter passive shade, 1/1/1/1 glass.

I ended up getting an ESAB Savage A41, great mask in and of itself, but now that I have looked through it, in hindsight I would have paid the extra to get a G5-03 E with NC filter, and have passive shade 3 instead of 4 and 1/1/1/1 instead of 1/1/1/2.

Really depends how picky you are. I myself am very...

I consider myself fairly picky, I kind of wish I knew how heavy the r-tech mask was before buying it, but here we are. Short periods will be fine I guess.

That G5-03E seems a better deal than the VC version I don't see the need for multi colour. Who does the best deals on them?

I dont get passive shade 3 instead of 4 or 1/1/1/1 instead of 1/1/1/2. as the E version seems a bit flimsier, Im wondering if its worth getting the pro helmet and NC filter, it bumps the price a bit though.

I seem to be talking myself into something i definately dont need....for a change

 

[Jackimus]

That G5-03E seems a better deal than the VC version I don't see the need for multi colour. Who does the best deals on them?

I dont get passive shade 3 instead of 4 or 1/1/1/1 instead of 1/1/1/2. as the E version seems a bit flimsier, Im wondering if its worth getting the pro helmet and NC filter, it bumps the price a bit though.

1) Looks like these guys right now: https://tbws.co.uk/shop/3m-speedglas-g5-03e-welding-helmet-welding-filter-g5-01-03nc/

Also 'further reductions available on request' - don't know if that will be money off just for asking or bulk deals or what.

2) As in you don't know what those numbers mean? Or you don't think they're worth it? I can say to me they're pretty significant.

I believe the only thing you're losing between the E and the Pro is the haptic grinding mode where you knock on the helmet to turn it on. Not sure if there's anything else off the top of my head.

The other more expensive filters have a significantly wider view, but the NC is plenty. Most of the extra cost is from the filter that's in there.

 

[Craig-S]

1) Looks like these guys right now: https://tbws.co.uk/shop/3m-speedglas-g5-03e-welding-helmet-welding-filter-g5-01-03nc/

Also 'further reductions available on request' - don't know if that will be money off just for asking or bulk deals or what.

2) As in you don't know what those numbers mean? Or you don't think they're worth it? I can say to me they're pretty significant.

I believe the only thing you're losing between the E and the Pro is the haptic grinding mode where you knock on the helmet to turn it on. Not sure if there's anything else off the top of my head.

The other more expensive filters have a significantly wider view, but the NC is plenty. Most of the extra cost is from the filter that's in there.

Thanks for the reply, to clarify, i dont know what the numbers mean.

it seems from some reviews the E version is ergonomic which is thinner more flexible material than the PRO VC, at £180 im not sure its worth springing to £340 for the pro off fleabay, theres seems to be a few at that price from various sellers and that over £200 off shop price

 

[trigger3]

I consider myself fairly picky, I kind of wish I knew how heavy the r-tech mask was before buying it, but here we are. Short periods will be fine I guess.

That G5-03E seems a better deal than the VC version I don't see the need for multi colour. Who does the best deals on them?

I dont get passive shade 3 instead of 4 or 1/1/1/1 instead of 1/1/1/2. as the E version seems a bit flimsier, Im wondering if its worth getting the pro helmet and NC filter, it bumps the price a bit though.

I seem to be talking myself into something i definately dont need....for a change

heres the differences between g5 03 and g5 03e. e costs about 1/2 the price , has no side windows , has a bit less face and neck coverage on the sides , has a more basic head gear. g5tw lens has 2.5 light shade which is nice but it cost more.

 

[Jackimus]

Thanks for the reply, to clarify, i dont know what the numbers mean.

it seems from some reviews the E version is ergonomic which is thinner more flexible material than the PRO VC, at £180 im not sure its worth springing to £340 for the pro off fleabay, theres seems to be a few at that price from various sellers and that over £200 off shop price

Passive shade = how dark the filter is when NOT activated - lower number = lighter = good. I don't know what the scale is / what the difference is between two numbers exactly, but it's noticeable.

X/X/X/X = the optical quality of the glass in four regards, 1 = 'perfect' (as perfect as physics allow), higher number = further from 'perfect'.

Savage A41 = passive shade 4, 1/1/1/2
G5-03 E with NC filter = passive shade 3, 1/1/1/1

The last number, the one they differ on, is ghosting at the edges of the glass, and it's noticeable to me. I also wish the A41 was lighter, but brightening the workspace would fix that just as easily as buying a more expensive mask.

 

[JOEPRO]

The ESAB A60 gets my vote

 

[Craig-S]

heres the differences between g5 03 and g5 03e. e costs about 1/2 the price , has no side windows , has a bit less face and neck coverage on the sides , has a more basic head gear. g5tw lens has 2.5 light shade which is nice but it cost more.

will the VC help puddle viewing? the eyes arent once what they were

Im still considering the VC, plenty of people selling "new" ones on ebay for £330-£340, united welding sell them for £538, its not toooo much of a stretch from the 03E for something that should last a good 10 years.

anyone bought a helmet from fleabay?

 

[Craig-S]

The ESAB A60 gets my vote

on the fence, its surely decent but im not the biggest fan of stormtrooper/crash helmet designs

 

[trigger3]

will the VC help puddle viewing? the eyes arent once what they were

Im still considering the VC, plenty of people selling "new" ones on ebay for £330-£340, united welding sell them for £538, its not toooo much of a stretch from the 03E for something that should last a good 10 years.

anyone bought a helmet from fleabay?

its hard to say if you would think puddle veiwing is improved with vc as everyones eyes may be different. it is a nice lens imo but honestly i think i prefer the tw lens as it has 2.5 light shade instead.
for the cheaper price i think you would be happy with the e and nc lens. pro with tw lens is probly my favorite but it costs a fair bit. as for ebay at very discounted prices , im not sure if they might be knock offs

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you are thinking of spending £300+ and have no experience of high end masks it's probably worth a visit to a welding dealer to try out a couple of different ones.

 

[Craig-S]

If you are thinking of spending £300+ and have no experience of high end masks it's probably worth a visit to a welding dealer to try out a couple of different ones.

ooof im not sure theres much where i am and just pulled a trigger.....because im an idiot

 

[Craig-S]

its hard to say if you would think puddle veiwing is improved with vc as everyones eyes may be different. it is a nice lens imo but honestly i think i prefer the tw lens as it has 2.5 light shade instead.
for the cheaper price i think you would be happy with the e and nc lens. pro with tw lens is probly my favorite but it costs a fair bit. as for ebay at very discounted prices , im not sure if they might be knock offs

thanks for all the info,

Im not risking the chance of an expensive (for a hobbyist) helmet being a knock off with no warranty, and cant justify £500+ so i decided to go with the 3M Speedglas G5-03E Welding Helmet With G5-01 Welding Filter