On the job or in the garage, every welder needs protection to prevent eye damage.

As a general rule, spending more on a welding helmet will increase comfort, improve your welding ability, result in higher quality welds and ensure your safety.

Unfortunately, selecting a helmet can be confusing if you're not familiar with the latest auto-darkening lens technology and national safety standards.

This article will help you sort through the clutter and point out the most important things to consider before investing in this important piece of safety gear, while showcasing some of the industry's top trends and designs.

Auto-Darkening or Standard Glass Lens

The first question to ask when buying a welding helmet is which type of lens is right for you.

Standard — or passive — welding helmets are as common today as they were 50 years ago.

Although now made of molded plastics instead of thick leather, these helmets provide basic protection and budget prices, from $20 to $30.

The viewing lens — or filter — is a special piece of dark tinted glass, most often with a #10 shade and ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) coatings.

When the welder is ready to begin welding, a quick nod or snap of the neck flips the helmet down before striking an arc. When finished, the welder reaches to pivot the helmet up and away from his face to view the work piece and to reposition for the next weld.

Although inexpensive, standard helmets have several disadvantages:

It is difficult to keep the gun/torch in the correct position to begin welding after lowering the helmet in place, especially for beginners.

When welding in restricted spaces, such as under cars or trailers, there isn't enough room to flip a helmet up and down.

The repetitive task of flipping up and down causes neck discomfort after a day of welding.

And, finally, lifting and lowering a helmet is inefficient especially while doing a lot of tack welding.

Auto-darkening welding helmets resolve all of these problems.

Instead of a standard piece of tinted glass, helmets with auto-darkening filters have an electronic filter lens and often are equipped with adjustable features to make welding easy. These features are discussed below.

The auto-darkening filter lens, or ADF, is a special liquid crystal display (LCD) that is similar in design to the technology used to display numbers on a digital alarm clock.

Most filter cartridges are powered by a combination of battery and solar power.

Several light sensors are mounted near the lens to detect the welding arc. When the lens is not activated, an auto-darkening LCD filter usually has a #3 or #4 shade, which is relatively easy to see through, similar to sunglasses.

This makes arc starts easier because the welder can see the position of his MIG gun, TIG torch or stick electrode relative to the material he is welding.

Once an arc is initiated, sensors on the helmet darken the lens to a shade #9 to #13, depending on the settings, hundreds of times faster than you can blink an eye.