Welding helmets, HF review Options

[Bartlett 914]

OK I know this has been beat to death but I feel I have to bring it up again. I had a nice high dollar helmet that died. It had internal batteries that cannot be changed and one shorted. I fell for the low price HF helmet. It seemed to be OK and I did use it but I felt that I was getting "flashed". It just seemed to be a little slow. Well I was welding on my sons car replacing a panel. This requires lots of spots. Very short bursts. My eyes started seeing spots in the middle of my vision. Now I am welding in the dark. I purchased a Lincolin helmet. It has 4 sensors and several controls. The window is huge. I also used the "Cheater" lens. OMG what a difference. Helmet cost me 300.00 but I would go blind with the HF unit. In all fairness, there is a possibility the HF batteries are a little weak. I did put it in the sun for awhile. I am sure it could take more time for a full charge. There is no way to tell. The batteries cannot be changed or measured. The upside of this is my HF helmet makes for a nice grinding helmet by removing the lens

[TargaToy]

I used a cheap $60 self-darkening for years (Northern Industries maybe?) and thought it was great. Used it til it began to fail and I experienced surprise flash a couple times. When I popped for a "nicer" helmet, I had no idea what I had been missing. In addition to being able to see my work so much better before striking the arc, the ability to add a magnifier (same power as the cheaters I use around the house) actually improved my welds. Not to mention, the thing's much more comfortable, adjustable (digital settings), and even has a grinding mode.

I bought a Miller Pro-Hobby which isn't top of the line by any means but it's a really nice helmet compared to the entry level ones.