My $300 welding hood was a total waste

Bought one of those auto-darkening hoods with all the bells and whistles. Cost me $300. Worked great for about two months. Then the sensors started glitching in direct sunlight. Had to switch back to my old fixed shade on a job last week. That cheap backup saved my ass. Anyone else had a high-end hood let them down?

3 comments

3 Comments

john_fisher1mo ago

You said "my old fixed shade" and "rock solid for years" - just want to point out that fixed shades aren't really a brand thing. A $40 hood from any store with a fixed shade will work the same as a $400 one since there's no electronics to fail. Same with taraross mentioning going back to a fixed shade too. The real issue is that auto-darkening tech in general has a higher failure rate because of those sensors. Seems like we all learned the hard way that paying more doesn't mean it'll last longer. Did you stick with the same fixed shade brand or just grab whatever worked?

taraross1mo ago

Man, that sucks. I had the same thing happen with a pricey Miller hood. Went back to my old fixed shade too and honestly it's worked better for me ever since.

alicecraig1mo ago

Oh man, "went back to my old fixed shade" - that's exactly what I did with my Lincoln helmet. Dropped $400 on that thing (still hurts to think about) and it flickered like crazy. My old Harbor Freight special? Rock solid for years. Feels like some of this new tech is just overcomplicated, you know?