Hobart Hoods

Attention all weldors: if you don't have an auto-darkening helmet, it's time to wake-up and step into the 21st century! The Hobart Hood is a high quality, affordable welding helmet that features a wide-view, auto-darkening lens that provides full eye protection while allowing use of both hands throughout the welding process. Yes, I know you have learned to do "the flip," that process where you snap your neck to flip your old-school helmet onto your face. But I also know that it is a major inconvenience when welding upside down, under a 4x4 (you know, like when you fixed that cracked spring hanger last year, or when you patched that hole in your exhaust). And I also know that there have been countless occasions when "the flip" caused your hand to move slightly and knock your work pieces out of alignment, necessitating you to "unflip" and re-position.

Check out the specs on the Hobart Hood:

• Stylish graphics combined with lightweight, polyamide nylon materials make these helmets attractive, comfortable and durable.
• Advanced "COSMEL" fabric absorbs odors in the sweatband.
• External-adjustable, auto-on, auto-darkening, wide-view lens switches from light state (#3.5) shade to dark state (#9, #10, #11, #12, #13) in 1/11,000 of a second.It is powered by a rechargeable 3-volt lithium battery which is charged by the solar cells.
• Features full-neck coverage, locking headgear and no on/off switch.
• Cassette dimensions are 4.33 x 3.5 x .39", visual field is 3.85 x 1.85". Total weight is 0.9 lb. (415 grams).

If you're a serious hobbyiest weldor (and what fourwheeler-weldor isn't??) then you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the Hobart Hoods. For more information, visit their website.

We tried the Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Flame hoods.	The Dale Earnhardt Jr. hood features a beautiful colour scheme along with his number and signature. This deluxe hood also comes with a carrying bag.	The helmets have very precise and firm adjustments to keep the hand-band portion of the helmet firmly in place.
The Dale Earnhardt Jr. hood is an XLi model. Besides having a very special graphic applied to it, it also features a lens cartridge that provides greater control over its operation. There are adjustments for shade level, delay (for keeping the lens darkened a bit longer after the arc finishes), and sensitivity level.	The Flame hood, which is a standard model, comes with a single adjustment knob. It controls the shade level.	Both helmets feature a reset button for resetting the circuitry if the helmets have been stored in the dark for long periods. These helmets are solar powered. A single 20 minute charge is enough to operate the lens cartridge for an entire day.
Warning: if you try one of these helmets, you will immediately hate using your old, non-auto-darkening helmet.	You have to admit, these helmets look very cool.