Hobart 770756 Impact Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet Review
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Quality
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Safety
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Durability
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Comfort
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Value For Money
Summary
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Top class eye protection
Eye safety is of the utmost importance with welding, which is one area in which this helmet really delivers. It’s been made with the latest LCD lens technology, which is specifically designed to protect your eyes as effectively as possible. It really works: you won’t experience any blinding flashes or discomfort when working with this helmet.
Excellent visibility
The visibility on this helmet is really clear, which makes it incredibly easy to see your welding puddle. This is mostly down to a nice large viewing area, but the added bonus is that it doesn’t fog, keeping your view unobstructed the whole time!
Auto-darkening lens
The lens built in to this welding helmet is auto-darkening, so it will stay on light shade 3, but as soon as you start welding it will darken on its own to protect your eyes. It has a fast reaction time and a range of dark shades from 8-13, which is more than adequate for many different types of welding. It also includes a dedicated grinding mode, which comes in really handy.
Durable and lightweight
You’ll be amazed at how lightweight this helmet is. This is down to being made from a polyamide material, which has the added bonus of being super strong. It can hold up to fairly hefty bumps and impacts, which is perfect if you’re a bit clumsy or heavy-handed!
Extremely comfortable
Hobart have created this helmet with a brand new headgear design, which has been made specifically to increase comfort. Add this on top of the fact that it’s so lightweight, and the result is a very comfortable welding helmet that can be worn for long periods of time without the risk of causing neck strain, fatigue or general discomfort.
Sensitive controls
There are no limits to the amount you can adjust the sensitivities on this helmet, which is fantastic. In practical terms, this means that you can just keep turning the dials until the settings suit your own preferences – however extreme they may be! In order to allow this function, the dials are extremely sensitive, so a little rotation goes a long way in terms of sensitivity adjustment. Being able to fine tune a welding helmet in order to suit personal preferences so perfectly is a rare quality, but one that’s worth paying for!
Adaptable for wear with a hard hat
Safety is key with welding, so anything that can give you more protection is worth taking seriously. If your job requires you to wear a hard hat for extra protection, then this welding helmet will accommodate it easily. That said, if you do choose to wear it without a hard hat, you can adapt it back so that it doesn’t feel too bulky and roomy.
Face shield stays up
If you’re an experienced welder, then you’ll probably have found that many helmets face the problem of continuously falling down; if you’re new to welding then this is something frustrating that you’ll soon discover for yourself! However, in designing this helmet, Hobart seem to have overcome the problem entirely. Detents in the hinges mean that the face shield actually stays up and in place when you want it to – and you’ll be surprized at how much this small factor decreases your stress levels!
Stylish design
It doesn’t affect the use in any way, but we can’t move on without mentioning the fact that this welding helmet looks pretty awesome. Its stylish design is sleek and modern, which will stand out in your workshop for all the right reasons – no more getting teased about owning an out-of-date style!
Extremely sensitive
We’ve already mentioned the benefits of having such sensitive controls, but these come with downsides, too. You only have to adjust the dials a tiny amount to make a huge difference, so if you’re not careful it’s very easy to turn the dials too far. It might take some trial and error before you get the settings exactly right for you, but until then you do face the risk of blinding yourself.
Sunlight can affect the sensors
Although it’s great to have a welding helmet with sensors that are sensitive to light, you really want them to be affected by welding arcs alone. However, sunlight itself can pose a huge problem to the sensors. When they react to all this light, the lens becomes very dark – far darker than anything you’ll need for a welding arc. As a result, it can be virtually impossible to see what you’re working on, so this isn’t exactly the most practical helmet to use outdoors. That said, if you usually work indoors and in workshops, then this shouldn’t be a problem!
Not uniform
Some users have reported that the viewing window isn’t made with uniform colouring – that is to say that different areas have different levels of darkness. In fact, these usually present themselves as horizontal bands across the width of the lens; the difference can be as much as two or three shades. As you can imagine, this means that there can be quite a difference depending on which part of the lens you’re looking through. If you find your line of sight usually lined up with a darker band on the lens, you might want to adjust the settings to be slightly lighter – but then you run the risk of being blinded if you look through one of the lighter bands. However, this is an uncommon problem that only a few wearers have mentioned, so don’t discount this welding helmet for this reason alone!
Analog dials
In a world that is constantly making technological advances, some welding brands are joining in. That’s why having analog dials (as this helmet does) seems somewhat old fashioned. Despite this, it does mean that the technology can’t fail on you! As long as they do the job properly, you can probably overlook the fact that these controls aren’t digital.
See customer reviews on Amazon.com
- Color: black
- Viewing area: 7.05 in² (3.81 x 1.85 in, or 9.7 x 4.7 cm)
- Arc sensors: 3
- Switching time: 1/25,000 second
- Shades: light shade 3, variable dark shades 8-13
- Delay control: 0.1-1.0 seconds
- Sensitivity control: infinite adjustment for varying ambient light
- Auto on/off feature
- Power source: 1 replacable lithium ion battery
- Weight: 20.3 oz (575 g)
- Material: durable polyamide
- Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 13 in (22.9 x 22.9 x 33.0 cm)
- 2 year warranty
Extra protective lenses, owners’ manual
There’s no doubt that this helmet offers a fantastic range of features which you won’t find in many other helmets – and that kind of originality is usually worth paying out for.
However, it’s not infallible. The sensitivity is a major issue with this helmet; some will see it as a plus point, while others will see it as a major downside. It’s up to you to decide onto which side of the fence you fall down, as it all comes down to personal preference.
If you are willing to take a risk in terms of the sensitivity, then you can be pretty sure you’re getting a good buy. It’s got to be said that this is a great budget helmet which offers remarkable value for money.
