3M Speedglas 9100 Welding Helmet with 9100XXi ADF

★★★★★

Outstanding Quality!!! Midwest Fab seal of approval.

I upgraded to the Speedglas 9100xxi. I've owned a Lincoln Electric Viking 3350, Lincoln FGS Series, Miller Digital Elite, and numerous 3M pipeliners. All of which have served me well. But the Speedglas stands out. It's lightweight, the headgear is comfortable, the side viewing panels (#5 shade) are incredibly nice when it comes to safety and knowing where you're going. The xxi cartridge is phenomenal. Colors are vibrant and true. Visabilty when the arc is struck is next level when it comes to clarity. But the most understated feature that I never knew I would appreciate so much, the venting. I know welding hoods, unless they have respirators, are free flowing because of the open-back design. But 3M added ventilation that allows your breath to be exhausted from the hood. Fumes don't enter the hood from the venting either. Clever design. But best of all, you don't fog up your lenses and you stay cooler when working because the furnace that is you exhaling escapes the hood without traveling over your face. It's amazing. The headgear is also great, it's super comfortable even after all-day wear. It fits the way you want. Adjustability is seemingly endless. The brake works perfect. So no more busting yourself in the mouth. Cover is easily removed from the front. So no more handling your ADF cartridge to get it out through the headgear. This also means changing or cleaning lenses is a breeze. The price seems a bit much. But when you consider how great of a hood this is, you won't regret your purchase. Plus to me, my eyes are worth more to protect. When it comes to a hood, you get exactly what you pay for. There isn't a sub $100 hood I would trust the way I trust this one. The $450 price tag is more than worth it.I have over 500 hours under one of these hoods and I recommend to all my fellow welders and fabricators that they get one for themselves. It gets the Midwest Fab seal of approval!!!

Verified Purchaser · April 19, · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★★★

The best welding helmet

This helmet has lasted me over 2 years and is of impeccable quality. I’ve used it for all welding processes but the only complaint I have is the lense gets scratched and blurred by sparks pretty easily. I recommend it more for TIG and fabrication work.

Verified Purchaser · January 9, · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★★★

Good customer service.

Product came with a slight scratch and the wrong front cover.  Seller was very responsive and corrected the issue ASAP.  It's a nice helmet as expected.

Verified Purchaser · June 23, 2 · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★☆☆☆☆

Was not worth the insane price.

After 1 year of use the helmet will randomly just not work. I'll go to start a weld or tack something and I get flashed and then I have to sit there and hit the buttons on the hood insert like 1000 times just so it'll auto darken when I go to weld.The outside clear lense is trash. It lasts about a week before you gotta replace it. Idk what it is, but that clear lense on this thing seems to trap dirt and whatever else gets on it.The clear lenses on the left and right were a cool idea, but i have never actually used them while I'm welding. It was a cool idea, but completely useless.For how much you pay for this hood, you'd figure they'd go with a blue filter instead of the classic green, but nah. Still that classic green filter you can barely see through.This thing is way too expensive for the quality that you get. You could spend less and get a better helmet with a larger viewing area.

Verified Purchaser · April 25, · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★★★

Not top of the line anymore, but still amazing!!

I have had this speedglas for about 4 months. It has been incredibly reliable and durable. The lens is huge and very clear, you can even see around your puddle even with darker shades. Most surprising to me is that this hood just doesn’t die. For one welding out in -15 with an auto darkening lens I for sure thought that it would barely darken or not darken at all. But it never skipped a beat, plus the vents helped the lens never fog up. This hood has been dropped and thrown before yet it still works as if it’s brand new. The only real negatives I have with this hood is that it is a little heavy and outdated lens wise. I have tried Millers, Lincoln’s, and optrels but personally this style of hood is my favorite so I will continue to use.Edit: 2 years later and it still works great and is super clear!

Verified Purchaser · February 1 · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★★★

I Like the Side Windows, Auto on/off and Shade 3 Light State - Perfect For Tig Welding

Great helmet overall, I own some of the top brands and this one does not disappoint. The XXi filter is very, very clear, like high definition for welding, its well made and easy to use. I am only using this for tig and put a 3m cheater in it. The standouts for this helmet are the side windows, auto on/off, shade 3 light state and vents, does not fog ADF. Having the helmet down for long periods is not as stuffy feeling with the side windows, plus I can see around me as I re-position. About the only thing I would change is the headgear, I still find the JACKSON just a bit better and locks up, not a huge deal but as good as the helmet is it's the only thing that possibly could be upgraded by 3m. When you consider all the other exceptional aspects of this helmet though it is top of the line for any professional welder.

Verified Purchaser · December 2 · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★★★

Love it.

Love the optics of the Speedglas 9100, very light and clear. The headband and adjustments are easy and comfortable. I use a 2X magnifier for low amperage TIG. My only complaint is that it is quite heavy. I returned a Miller Digital Elite and found the Speedglas to be more comfortable and feel like higher quality all around.

Verified Purchaser · December 2 · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★★☆

Pretty awesome hood

Great product I would buy again in a heart beat. Only reason I gave less than 5 stars is the fact that it states that it is true color yet it isn’t. It’s green. Maybe not as green as a cheaper hood but regardless it’s not true color. I feel as if that fake advertisement needs to be taken down and replaced with different wording. As the color is way more crisp than other hoods it’s still a basic green lense.False advertising is extremely disappointing especially on something so expensive from a great company.This lense is crisp and clear but true color would be so much nicer. Other than that this helmet is all that. The comfort along with features. Worth the buy if you weld all day every day!

Verified Purchaser · March 23, · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase

★★★☆☆

Not worth $500 at the very least $300

I'll keep it simplePros1. Grind mode looks very clear2. Welding arc looks clear3. Fog breath resistant4. Very easy to adjust the helmet to flip down or up5. Changing lenses is very easy6. weld mode to grind mode with a press of a buttonCons1. Grind mode button is very difficult to press it requires a hard press and hold to activate if helmet is not on tight helmet will move to the side2. Green filter is not impressive why not blue ?3. Sensitivity is to sensitive on high just looking at the turning wire brush activates arc mode lower sensitivity causes arc flashes when finishing a weld (tig)4. Helmet feels very cheap5. Obstruction of vision looking down to tack a piece in place.6. Head gear did not fit me unles I wore a hat7. Head gear keeps the view area up to high I had to adjust to little below my eyebrows to have a center view

Verified Purchaser · April 25, · ✓ Amazon Verified Purchase