New helmet

[Tommyf]

Hi Guys , My new helmet turned up this morning and I put a few beads down tonight and I have to say that it seems to be much clearer than my old one & I didn't realize how much I couldn't see before. The headgear is very comfortable as well .

Its a Jackson Balder BH3 & so far it seems a cracking piece of kit.

 

[Tigman]

looks ok ! what sort of price range ?

 

[wheresmejumper]

Looked into buying this before, has a very good reputation.great colour to the view supposedly
what is your old helmet youre comparing it to?

 

[500e]

Bout £199.99 with vat
Nice shield though supposed to be the cats whiskers

 

[Tommyf]

It was £199 delivered from united welding supplies at Peterborough who were great to deal with bye the way . My old helmet is an Esab orio tech

 

[chunkolini]

I remember going from ym old cheapo helmet to a decent one.
it is like comparing oakley sunglasses to supermarket cheapos.
Also remember to polish the lens in your helmet now and again.
Can make a hell of a difference.

 

[Tommyf]

I had another few goes with it last night and the difference really is quite remarkable . Anyone tried putting one of those magnifying lenses inside before?

 

[BrokenBiker]

I had another few goes with it last night and the difference really is quite remarkable . Anyone tried putting one of those magnifying lenses inside before?

i used a cheat lens in my first auto dark before i had my eyes tested and found I needed glasses. It works well without my glasses on but everything is blurry with my glasses on.

 

[ned]

I paid for one of these helmets today, from the company you mentioned above. It will arrive next week. I now feel fully armed with the correct equipment )

oh! i noticed there is an external control on your shield, which is not present on the mask reviewed on youtube. Its to adjust the shade, is it?

 

[Elaine Wu]

Looks great.

 

[daleyd]

I had another few goes with it last night and the difference really is quite remarkable . Anyone tried putting one of those magnifying lenses inside before?

I read this and couldn't help laughing about the Billy Connelly ditty about him telling his dad to get a prescription windscreen for his car

 

[Tommyf]

I paid for one of these helmets today, from the company you mentioned above. It will arrive next week. I now feel fully armed with the correct equipment )

oh! i noticed there is an external control on your shield, which is not present on the mask reviewed on youtube. Its to adjust the shade, is it?

The controls on the outside adjust the delay, sensitivity & the shade , there is one switch above the lens on the inside that lets you switch from shades 6-9 & 9-13

I wondered about that when I ordered mine too, but I am glad the main controls are outside as it would get a a bit tedious to keep taking it off to adjust it when you need to ( that's just my opinion though). I hope you enjoy it though.

 

[ned]

cheers for the info, and for the link to that company. I was using a cheapo shade i bought from china, and wondering why i couldnt weld for s*** anymore.
Then i put on an Optrel mask last week and welded some doozies..... really looking forward to having work satisfaction again.

 

[Tommyf]

My pleasure, I know what you mean also, I've been at a point where whatever I tried I could never improve the beads I've been putting down. But hopefully things should improve now, fingers crossed.

 

[Tommyf]

Did you get your new helmet yet ned?

 

[ned]

yep, i did. i love it to bits. doing loads of good looking welds now, and stand a decent chance of getting better.
I mean to take a snap of the controls on the side, ill do that this evening. I was expecting it to be lighter, going by ChuckE2009's video review. not that its heavy, just thought it would be lighter. The headgear is very comfortable. Tbh i havnt had the opportunity to really appreciate the optics yet, as ive been doing short welds, looking forward to doing some long runs with it.

 

[chevy2]

Dont use one of these myself but those Jackson helmets generally get good reviews in the US where they're more common.

 

[ned]

some pics

this isnt branded a jackson, maybe its a european thing

 

[skotl]

At the very least, these helmets seem to have far deeper windows than the cheapies (like wot I have).

Still can't quite bring myself to spend 25% more on the helmet than I did on the welder, though