Top Inexpensive Welding Helmet 2022- Top 3 Picks

The best inexpensive welding helmet is an all-in-one need of occasional welders, and sometimes commercial welders. Why sometimes commercial welders? The commercial welders choose expensive helmets in order to use them in industrial places and at work. On the other hand, occasional welders sometimes join car parts or shop metals just to save money. 

In this article, we list the best welding helmets a welder can wear to ensure maximum safety. In addition to the helmets, you’ll find a complete buying guide for buying a helmet. So, buckle up because you’re about to land on the best article about welding helmets. We’ll see you afterwards!

3 Best Inexpensive Welding Helmet 

The wait is over! Here it is, the most awaited part of our today’s topic, the reviews of the Best Inexpensive Welding Helmet. You’ll find all the information about the best products here. Check out the review for any of these and then purchase it; it’s as easy as peeling a banana; cheers.

What’s the most important thing you look for in a helmet before buying? Optical clarity ratings, right? If so, this helmet has 1/1/1/1 OC ratings, which means you can see welding metals clearly without any distortion. Of course, this gear is suitable for almost all welding processes, including stick, TIG, pulsed TIG, MIG, pulsed MIG, flux-cored, and Gouging. 

One of the essential parts is its long absorbent sweatband for those long days under the helmet. After that, you’ll get to see 2 extra inside and outside impact-resistant clear lenses that enable you to keep the helmet on for longer hours.  

Aside from two basic sensors, the brand also includes two independent arc sensors to help avoid blind spots. And variable delay and sensitivity control to help you adjust this auto-darkening welding helmet. The 4c true color lens technology adds more value to it. At the same time, ANSI Z87.1 and CSA Z94.3 safety standards make this helmet a perfect choice for budget welders. 

The Lincoln K3419-1 can charge its sensors on solar power, and you’ll also get AAA batteries to use at night time. While talking about its downsides, the helmet has a small view slot that is not preferable for many welders. It sometimes blocks the view when working in a narrow space. One more thing, the helmet only weighs 1.50 pounds, and its all in all dimensions are 12” x 11.25” x 10.25”.

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Further, the pivot-style headgear makes this affordable helmet a perfect choice for TIG, MIG, MMA, and plasma processes which means it’s the best welding helmet for any process. After that, you don’t have to lift the helmet for grinding because it comes with a built-in grinding shade. 

Coming to its true tone technology, the Yeswelder M800H has 1/1/1/2 optical clarity ratings. I know the last one is “2”, but believe me, this helmet will never disappoint you with visibility because of its low limelight tint. More so, with 4 optical arc sensors 4~5/9-9/13 and a wide view screen, you’ll be able to see any metal while performing your tasks. 

Also, the brand includes sensitivity controls and delay control in order to make sure that you get the most out of this auto-darkening helmet. And its unnecessary light blocker helps you to see the metals in the day and at night.You can learn more about how to make a best lightweight welding helmet on google and in our website. Plus, you’ll get a battery life of up to 3000 hours 😳 , and it’s replaceable too. Its solar power cells let you watch over metals for uncountable hours.

When it comes to safety, even at under $90, this mask meets all safety and technical standards, which include EN379 and ANSI Z87.1. One more thing, its auto-darkening feature is super reactive at 1/10000 seconds. Its overall weight is 2.2 pounds with 12.5” x 7.9” x 9.75” dimensions. Other than that, the whole package includes many exciting gadgets such as two replacement lenses, one replacement battery, and one storage bag.

Following this, according to our observations and research from other peoples’ ratings, we concluded that it’s best for an occasional welder because this helmet has certain lacks that a commercial helmet doesn’t have. The first thing to know is that it’s lime green tint can fade for longer hours, and your eyes may get irritated. Secondly, the helmet’s bolts are not always reliable, and more importantly, the lens can become unreadable if you sweat excessively.

Similarly, its ergonomic shape confirms that you’ll get ample internal space, which makes your welding life easy and comfortable. Ah, huh! We know that the model MM 001 main material consists of soft texture, but it guarantees you’ll get all the safety and support you can expect from an under $100 helmet. More so, this welder mask is also corrosion-resistant to both high and low temperatures.

The brand ensures that MM 001 contains high-quality liquid crystals. Its optical coating will protect your eyes, face, and neck from UV and IR rays because of its DIN16 protection ratings. But wait, what makes it the best budget helmet? Its multi-purpose capabilities, such as welding, cutting and grinding, and 1/1/1/1 OC ratings make it stand out from the competition.

What about its arc sensors? We were just telling, and you put that question, seems like we’re on the same channel, aren’t we? The company integrates 4 arc sensors through which you can control the delay and sensitivity of the auto-darkening glass. Also, its batteries are replaceable but work extensively for over 2000 hours. And you can also power this helmet with solar cells. One more thing, the total weight of this helmet is 2.12 pounds, and its overall dimensions are ‎11.93″ x 9.8″ x 7.8″.

Down its downsides, the only defect we can say is the viewing screen is too close when you wear it. It makes a slight of a tunnel vision effect which sometimes makes the extra-large view useless.

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The Best Inexpensive Welding Helmet 

It’s not very special that a welding machine joins metals and produces excellent designs with its abilities and superpowers. But, on the same page, a welding machine also generates UV and IR rays when you use them for joining or sculpturing. 

And, if these rays get into contact with your body’s most sensitive parts (face, eyes, and other parts), they could lead to permanent burns or temporary pain. So, here the hero of our story comes into action, the Best Inexpensive Welding Helmet Under $100. 

It helps to prevent all these damages from happening. More so, a helmet is convenient at eliminating the risk of getting your cornea damaged (inflamed) or, in technical words, arc eye. Likewise, we are lucky to have some of the best technology in the helmet because people were only limited to a few varieties a decade back. 

Since technology dominates every other industry today, you’ll find many varieties, shapes, sizes, and yes! Two major types, such as passive welding helmets and auto-darkening welding helmets. Again! Besides protecting your eyes, modern helmets will help prevent arcs and rays from damaging your neck or face.

How many Types Of  Welding Helmets

In this era of modern technology, you’ll find two major types of Best Inexpensive Welding Helmet leading the chart. And, you’ll be glad to know that we’re going to review both of these to find which one suits you. So, let’s get started!

Traditional Welding Helmet:

The world of welding knows traditional helmets as standard or passive helmets as well. And, welders are using these helmets since the beginning. But wait, what shade level do these offer? The standard welder mostly comes in the shade 10. 

Further, you’ve to wear it in the up position while positioning the electrode, welding gun, or torch. After that, when you finish positioning, you’re about to strike the metal. It’s now time to flip the helmet into position by holding on to the operator’s neck for a quick snap or node.

Auto Darkening Welding Helmet

Here comes the coolest and modern helmet of today’s welding world, an auto-darkening welding helmet. These safety products are light reactive, and these are way more different from passive helmets. Usually, an auto-darkening helmet contains a viewing lens of shade 3 or 4 when it’s inactive to allow the welder to see metals through it. 

Another thing, they consist of automatic sensors; these sensors turn on their capabilities when they sense any arc. More so, in a matter of seconds, the glass turns from shade to 8 or 13 according to the heat the sensor receives.

You’ll indeed find many brands in the market while you opt-out to select the best one for your professional career or holiday hobby work. And, some of these helmets come in similar shapes, designs, but some lack essential features. More so, you know that every brand has its price tag, so this is the case with the welding helmets as well. 

So, in order to find the best of the best and best from the rest, check out the below considerations we’ve written only for you to get the full bang of the buck.

Lens Shade:

You’ll find out a variety of available options when it comes to the lens shade of your new helmet. And, the lens shade goes side-by-side with flexibility and multitasking.

In addition, if you’ve to change the settings and processes capability of your helmet regularly, then you should go with 9 – 13 shade. In contrast, if you’re a low amperage worker with difficulty watching over the arc, going with the 6-13 shade will be a good choice. 

As previously mentioned, auto-darkening helmets come in different shade ranges varying from 9 DIN to 13 DIN, and some are 8 to 13. When it’s inactive, or when you are not near an arc, the helmet is 4 DIN, which allows you to take complete control over grinding.

Optical Class rating:

Before deploying the lenses of auto-darkening helmets to fit in its structure, the team tests these lenses for quality control and gives them an optical class rating. It refers to the clarity of the vision you’ll get through the glass. 

Further, these helmets come in four different clarity varieties, and the testing team rates them in numbers. The best of the best helmets contains an optical rating of 1/1/1/1. More so, this category didn’t have any visual difference from 1/2/1/2. Still, an experienced welder will show you the real difference in the first shot.

Helmet Viewing Area:

You’ll find the most inexpensive auto-darkening welding helmets with a small viewport, 3.62” x 1.65”. They’re cheap because these save production costs and money as well. In contrast, the biggest viewport is 3.94” x 3.86” like on the Optrel Crystal 2.0, which is a maximum. 

Similarly, if you’re a pro welder, you should know that the bigger the viewing area, the better the view of the welding arcs. It also provides maximum comfort to your head and neck because of the large viewing screen; you won’t need to move your head when welding longer bits. Also, they’ll make your life easier when working in narrow areas, and of course! It’s lovely when you can see more.

The average size available on the market is 3.93” x 2.36,” and it gets the work done. You’ll get many hoods in these sizes on our list. And above all, every helmet we recommend comes with the latest technology, multiple sensors, and yes, again! They’re best of the best in terms of any aspect.

Arc Sensors

When buying an inexpensive welding helmet, arc sensors are also an essential factor to consider. But what do they do, huh? The primary function of an arc sensor is to detect flashes and darken the helmet automatically correct when you start welding to keep your eyes away from burns. 

Mostly, cheap helmets contain 1 or 2 sensors, while expensive and modern helmets have 3 to 4. According to a documentary of a famous welder, 2 arc sensors work best. But, they increase the risk of not detecting flashes when you’re welding in a normal position. Thus, we recommend four sensors as a minimum, but do not choose fewer than three.

Sensitivity control

You’ll be amazed to know that almost every brand includes adjustable sensitivity controls in their headgears. And, it’s also better to get a product with adjustable sensitivity control. It’ll allow you to control the amount of brightness you need, and it directly impacts the darkening of the lens. One last thing, sensitivity controls come in very handy when the arc isn’t much brighter, and you have to work at low amps.

Power Source: Battery Or Solar

The last thing to consider is the power source of your new helmet, as battery-powered welding helmets might use too much charge and increase your electricity bill. Also, you’ll need to charge it as well, as there’ll be a risk of low battery when you’re working for longer hours. 

In rival, nowadays, brands opt to produce solar-powered welding helmets that come with solar panels and non-disposable lithium-ion batteries. These helmets are best, but sometimes they can also create a mess when you’ve not charged the battery, and you’re going to work at night.

Final Thoughts

We think now you’ve got an idea that which helmet is the best of the best inexpensive welding helmet. Still not, huh, what do you mean? You are still facing difficulties in selecting the best one? If yes, then don’t worry at all, because Welding Heaven is here to help you. And, below is our top pick you can go with because it’s our top pick and also the best auto-darkening welding helmet. 

The Lincoln Electric K3419-1 is our top pick because it has an optical clarity rating of 1/1/1/1 and four sensors to detect and react in only 1/1000 seconds.