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I can relate what some of my customers have said about those helmets, Bill. 1.People who wear bifocals opt for the larger lens. The small opening has you looking at plastic instead of thru the lense when you wear bifocals. Some welders have gone so far as to have the bifocal located in the top portion of their glasses. 2. The smaller lensed helmets are a bit lighter then the larger lensed units. 3. The narrower helmet designs allow for getting in close when working under machinery. The Jackson seems to be one of the narrower designs. 4. The length of the helmet is key when there is concern regarding neck and throat protection. The shorter styles can leave you with a welders sun burn if you go at it for long periods. 5. Auto helmets are limited within certain temperature extremes. Too hot and the liquid thins and won't provide adequate shielding. Too cold and the lense slows down resulting in slow switching speeds. These temp extremes should be listed on a warning label inside the unit. 6. Some of these helmets are not recommend for overhead welding. Protection is not adequate at that angle of view. 7. Some helmets require batteries and some do not. Be sure to get one that takes ordinary batteries if you go with a battery operated helmet. 8. The AWS recommends a #12 shade for MIG welding, aluminum welding with stick, stainless welding with stick, or when TIG welding. Many people use a #10 for short duration. Harmful ffects are often long term and some people are more sensitive to the IR/UV rays than others. Use your best judgement here. 9. The Jackson has what they call HTLS which is the 'high transmission light state'. I've got one and they really are nice when trying to grind or align parts. It's available on the low end EQC even. Those will sell for somewhere around $100.00 to $150.00 usually. The best brands to compare in my opinion are the Selstrom, Optrel, Jackson, Huntsman, and Hornell. Probably any of the high end helmets are still going to be close to $300.00 in price. The high end helmets have whistles and bells that the occasional welder won't benefit from. You may want to compare the headgears as well. Some manufacturers use a better head gear than others. I probably left out something but the aforementioned items I have learned from years of selling those helmets. Hope it helps you out.
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