Northern Industrial 1644910 AD Helmet Opinions? (3.82" x 2.44" view area)

[Welderooni]

I only perform TIG Welding and the standard pipe-liner fixed-shade helmet with Gold / Amber lense and 1.5x magnifier has been my only helmet for a few years now. However, after working on car projects in tight spaces, I feel a better helmet that doesn't require me to flip the helmet and gives me more view area will help my work efficiency. My first welding teacher also highly recommended a good Auto Darkening helmet to me, but it was out of my budget back then.

This Northern Industrial 1644910 caught my attention because it's available at my local Northern Tool store and also affordable (<$125). But does anyone know where I can get an amber shaded ("gold colored") lens (helps me see weld puddle easier) and a 1.75x magnifier lens that will fit? Also, what do you weld gurus think about this helmet?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...6894_200416894

Alternative helmets with "amber" lens shades, whatcha think?:
http://www.safetywholesaledepot.com/...80/8277557.htm

Thanks for everyone's help in this community and HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU all!

[fdcmiami]

i have owned four of them. the first one i bought three years ago has worked great. i have beat the hell out of it and it keeps ticking. last august i bought another, they have changed the headgear in it and it is not as good as the old helmet. i never got it out of the garage before i broke the adjusting knob on the right hand side. contacted northern got an RMA and paid 8 dollar to ship it back to north carolina. so then they sent me another one. i did not break this one but could not get enough tension on the adjustment knob to keep the helmet from closing when i had it up. another RMA and another helmet on its way to north carolina. they sent me another one, it is hanging on the rack in the garage. i just have not taken it out to use. i had pictures of the differences in the original headgear and the new but i deleted them after showing them to northern customer service.

i gave it a one star rating and a pretty negative review that northern chose not to publish. i noticed that the most recent review (not mine) is one star. still the same problem. if you read through the reviews you will see this is an issue in a lot of them. i'll keep mine for when i work in the shop but that's it. i keep two helmets on the truck just in case; the other is a fixed shade jackson.

[Welderooni]

Thanks for sharing your experience here fdcmiami .

After trying this Northern Tool AD helmet, I noticed I was getting some headaches afterwords that I never received with my old pipeliner helmet with amber/gold lens. And yes, I did try several different settings and making sure it had full battery charge. Also, I noticed the puddle and surroundings is harder to see with the Northern Industrial helmet's blue-ish/green colored lens.

So, I bought a Jackson W60 HaloX TrueSight and figured my 'only pair of eyes' was worth the added expense compared to this Northern Industrial helmet. The Jackson TrueSight supposed to have an "amber" lens color, so I'm hoping this will also make it easier for me to see the puddle too. I know the added viewable area of the larger TrueSight lens should be helpful as I like less visual restriction....will report my review when it arrives.