Showerthought: I thought those fancy welding hoods with the auto-darkening were a gimmick until I borrowed one on a big job last spring.

I used to swear by my old fixed shade hood, figured the new ones were just for guys with more money than sense. But then I was helping a buddy on this 3 week tank project out in Bakersfield and forgot my hood at home. He let me use his Lincoln Viking and after the first 10 minutes I was shocked at how much easier it was to position the rod without flipping the hood up and down. My neck didn't hurt as bad at the end of the day either. I still think some of the super expensive ones are overkill but that basic auto-darkening saved me a lot of time. Has anyone else had a similar experience with switching over?

2 comments

2 Comments

abbyr961mo ago

Yeah man I felt the exact same way honestly. I was convinced auto-darkening was just another way for guys to spend an extra 200 bucks on something they didn't need. Spent a full day on a job with my buddy's Miller last summer and the lack of neck strain alone was enough to sell me on it.

miles541mo ago

Lack of neck strain alone was enough to sell me" - see I get that but honestly my neck never bothered me with the old school flip hood. I've been at this 15 years, maybe I'm just used to it. The auto hoods feel weird to me, like I can't trust the timing.