Posted by Lanse on March 17, 2013 at 10:32:13 from (206.55.217.126):
Goodafternoon everyone!!
So, the HTP America guys sent out this cool helmet for me to have a look at, and honestly, I didnt know how well this was going to turn out... See, I HATE cheap auto-darkening helmets, I can't stand the things... Back when I first started welding, I went through a few of them, and they all completely sucked... These were helmets in the $50-$100 range, and they had sub-par headgear, hard-to-find clear lenses, and optics that bothered my eyes after very little arc time...
I ended up going old-school with a passive-lens hood, which I used up until a few months ago...
Now I've used some of the best helmets on the market, in the $300-$500 range... And because of this, and my past experiences, I was really leery of testing out a $139 hood, but let me tell you, this thing completely blew me away.
What do I like about it? Well, lets start with the hood itself... It comes with a gloss black finish, which is "scratchable" on the surface but seems overall very durable. It's flexible without being "wimpy", and has HTP's usual high-quality fit and finish.
Moving on, the lens is clear... I mean, like REALLY clear, in fact it's one of the clearest helmets I've ever used... HTP claims it's one of the clearest lenses on the market, which is something I won't disagree with. Its a yellowish-orange color in it's light state, and switches to a dark, dull green once the four arc sensors send it into its dark state... Thats right, it has FOUR arc sensors, which as I found out, will pick up on a 5 amp DC Tig arc...
Its adjustable, with the usual shade, sensitivity, and delay knobs, which are very "tight" and are harder to turn than some helmets, but they're not hard to use at all.
Theres a wire clip that holds in the VERY high quality plastic "lens housing", and the entire lens can be removed in seconds. Its one of the best systems I've EVER used... You simply flip the wire back, and the entire assembly just lifts out, and allows you to remove the clear plastic lens...
Now, when I got this helmet it didnt come with any extra clear lenses, and it DOES look like it takes a unique lens, which could have been a problem, but after a little disassembly, I found that it uses standard $1 clear lenses that you can buy anywhere... This is a very nice feature as well.
Now, lets move on to the headgear...
Its the standard plastic shape with a ratcheting knob in the back, so you can tighten it down around your skull... It comes with very large foam pads all the way around it, which make it very comfortable to wear, and it's quite easy to adjust to a comfortable level.
On the outside of the helmet's shell, are two black plastic knobs which adjust the tension between the helmet and the headgear, which work as they should, however they're so small that I found them difficult to adjust with gloves on...
And this is where we find the first thing that I don't like about the hood, the headgear "ratchets" as you raise and lower the helmet... It has these notches, which allow you to lock the helmet half-way down, and make a loud "clicking" sound as you flip the hood down...
I'm not sure what purpose they serve, but the helmet is still easy to "flip" up and down, and the headgear sounds mildly annoying, but it's still comfortable and very well made. Its not the end of the world, and I actually started to get used to it, but this is by far my biggest complaint about the helmet, and its still not a deal-breaker...
What are my overall thoughts about the unit? Well, as usual this is another HTP product that honestly makes me wonder why HTP isn't a house-hold name... Just like everything else they've sent, its affordable, well built, easy to use, works as it should and costs MUCH less than comparable products from other companies... I'd put it up against helmets that sell for twice as much...
However, the headgear scores just below average because of the ratcheting feature, which you can see in the video...
The optics score MUCH higher than average, thanks to their clarity, adjustability and comfort level... I have very sensitive eyes, and this helmet does not bother them at all...
Fit-And-Finish as well as build quality are on-par with everything else I've gotten from HTP, and the helmet scores very well here, too.
It uses clear lenses that you can buy for $1, and the unit's low price both give it extra points in the "value" category, and at the end of the day, the CSV defiantly gets the "Thumbs-Up" from me. I wish I'd just bought one of these a few years ago instead of the cheapies that I did...
Anyway, here's the video I made, if you watch it you'll see everything that I've mentioned here, plus a few other things as well.
It was a really fun review to make, and I just thought I'd share my findings with y'all... Have a nice weekend, everyone!! :)
Audio/Video clip:video1
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