Opinions please.

[ozzman]

Im looking to buy quite a high end auto darkening helmet.
either Esab eyetech 2, Optrel satellite, or a speedglas.

so i was just wondering what peoples experiences of any of these helmets has been either good/bad etc.

the main thing is that ive got a helmet which i can use for all types of welding and grinding etc.

also anyones opinions of any other vari-shade helmets that i havnet mentioned would be much appreciated.

Cheers owen.

 

[irondarren]

optrel ones are nice helmets ive owned a couple, and they have been well abused, speedglass ones are ok as well. any of these high end auto helmets wont give you much change from 200 quid, but work well with low power TIG

 

[Welderpaul]

I have three or four esab eyetecs, never had problems with them - you can also get the kit to attach inside them to give you an airflow inside the mask keeping all the nasties away from your gob.
Deffo vouch for the esabs. Like Darren says, they get plenty of abuse and stand up to it well (One got squashed under a forklift wheel - that one not so good now)

 

[snowcat]

optrels for me, but each has there fav's..

 

[weldequip]

Eye-Tech II's are very nice (same optics as the Optrel )
weldequip

 

[Hitch]

Not had the pleasure of an Esab Mk2, but if its the same lense as the mk1, im happy with mine, must be 6 or 7 years onld now.

 

[matt1978]

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them. I have got a SpeedGlas 9002 Adflo and Optrel 9-13 with Grinding function, they both very good. Down to personal choice regarding comfort etc.

ESAB one is made by Optrel too.

 

[Welderpaul]

Eye-Tech II's are very nice (same optics as the Optrel )
weldequip

Is that the space age-looking one Steve?

 

[weldequip]

Aigh...



Top of the range, Malc's got one.
weldequip

 

[Welderpaul]

Much change from 200 quid for one?

 

[irondarren]

about 1 pence change i think lol, but with weldequip's speacial forum discount, lol
Best ive seen the 5-13 for is about 190 inc vat

 

[matt1978]

Are the cover lenses expensive for the ESAB one?

 

[Welderpaul]

I get them for a quid a piece - pucker esab ones. TBH, i hardly need to change them - when i had the glass lenses the spatter used to stick to them like crazy - doesnt stick to the plastic lenses - woulda thought it would be the other way round

 

[oddball90]

Can say the esab is spot on, not had any problems with mine. Great for low amp tig and mig.

 

[malcolm]

Aigh...Malc's got one.
weldequip

Aigh is right - got to watch your ears with those things. Though if anyone has a photo of how the ear shearers on the inside are supposed to be orientated I'd much appreciate it. I think it's a fault that has developed.

Oherwise pretty cool. I don't use the low range myself though - don't have a plasma cutter.

 

[Welderpaul]

I had a cheap ebay one that did the same. The autodarkeneing worked fine, but the shield itself was so flimsy it had loadsa duct tape all over it that stunk when it got hot. You had to pull it down in a certain way to miss your ears, if not, it felt like yerd sliced em clean off. Cracking design! One of the lads has the same mask, i'll take the camera and have a look tomoro.

 

[ozzman]

thanx for the replies everyone.

well its a toss between the optrel and end ESAb, so which ever one i can get the best deal on will be the one i part my money with methinks.

Just gota decide what Mig i want now for home use.

so if Weldquipe reads this would it be possible to get in contact with you to discuss a few different mig welders etc.

cheers owen.

 

[MrFluffy]

ugh I must be the only person in the world thats had gyp off a esab eyetech it seems...

 

[ozzman]

what would that be? as negative comments are usually better than positive ones!

 

[MrFluffy]

I left it in a darkened room while I went away to work, and when I came back it only autodarkened if you left it outside in strong sunlight for a few hours. Even then it was a bit hit and miss, so the rechargable batteries had got knackered with no use. When I looked into it, weldy here pointed out that it was at least 7 years old, although I had only owned it for 4 of them. So it had sat round on the suppliers shelf for a few years aging too.
As I had about 30 hrs use in total on it (in fact I found the spare sheild cover that came with it the other day), I thought "its ok, I bought a quality make, ill just get a new shade" only to find that the shade cartridges were almost the same as buying a new helmet in price. Then option b reared its head, replace the batteries. Well, unlike on cheap nasty helmets which seem to have battery covers that you can just slip new cells into, the batteries were actually buried deep inside the shade cartridge and embedded in using silicon, with the leads soldered directly onto them, even though they were industry standard cr2025 cells. At the moment after surgery with a knife and soldering iron, its still working, but it still rubs me that the mask does not allow the batteries to be changed.

So for me, the ESAB was a complete waste of money. If it goes funny again, Ill buy a cheap one. Which ironically I would have been better off doing in the first place.