Welding hood shootout: Miller Vs Esab Vs Lincoln

In this episode we look at the Esab sentinel, Miller digital infinity, and the Lincoln 3350 welding helmets / hoods.
Esab hood unboxing: • Esab sentinel welding ...
Miller hood unboxing: • Miller digital infinit...
Lincoln hood unboxing: • Lincoln Viking 3350 AD...
0:00:00 Intro and marketing wank
0:03:34 Accessories
0:10:13 External inspection
0:19:43 Head gear comparison
0:25:52 ADF cartridge comparison
0:35:43 Cartridge clarity test undarkened
0:39:12 Arc footage and clarity test
0:46:16 Obscured view test
0:54:47 Which one won?
0:57:48 Conclusion

[@michaelwhiting878]

Miller Digital Infinity grinding mode tip/trick: Weld in the X-Mode setting which triggers on sensing current flow, but the Lens will not Trigger when grinding. I do this all the time, and with rare exception, it works well by remaining in its clearest (none auto darkening) mode. Note that you can adjust sensitivity in X-Mode to Mid to Low Sensitivity, and it still works very well. You can play with the settings until you find a good balance. If you accidentally strike an arc while grinding, the X-Mode will catch it and trigger as though you intended to strike an arc and therefore you can seamlessly switch between welding and grinding Hands Free i.e. you have the best of both modes.

[@andrewwood7217]

Thanks again for a clear concise no BS review, I enjoy your content

[@mishapesic9323]

Great review! This is the best helmet review I have seen out there! Great job!

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Thanks. It’s tough getting things to accurately show the differences in the color. All 3 of them are really good, and won’t disappoint 😀.

[@DazFab_Metalworks]

Great break down of the 3 Greg.

[@andrewwood7217]

When I purchased my ESAB A60 it had a sheet of decals enclosed, and as a fare comparison for view / clarity please note you tested two with clear outer lenses(no yellow tint filters) then handicapped the ESAB A60 by using the yellow tinted filter, personally I find using a clear shield it’s like viewing my work through a piece of clear glass. It’s also easier for me to use my respirator with the ESAB A60 that’s one of the reasons i like it

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I only used the yellow tinted filter for the arc tests on the esab, the rest were clear. Its clear state shield is not nearly as bright as the miller or Lincoln. The yellow filter only helps with the arc lit, it’s a hinderance (in my opinion) for general use. With the clear filter in place the arc would have been worse than the Lincoln by a little bit for color In the tig test

[@erpar3694]

You said the Esab had the best filter cartridge compatibility, but scored it as 2 on the last test. Good video, thanks.

[@rayray5091]

Just ordered the ESABA60 thank you for the detailed comparison. Can you please do a welding jacket comparison? I got a Lincoln one in training and spatter burns straight through it so I opted to just wear my normal sweatshirt

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I generally use FR shirts or a FR hoodie. I can tell you the best welding jacket bar none is leather. Nothing else I have found really compares. Even cheap rough yellow leather that’s not a lot more than an average welding jacket is a lot better.

[@rainypoo_wcue3]

Have used a matco hood sice i got started as a mechanic. Used a esab and opened me up to a whole new world of weld abilities

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Glad to hear that. The better you can see the better you can weld 😀

[@_hector__]

hello greg, when will you do a review on a optrel of similar caliber to these?

[@user-gv3bc4tk8v]

Home fabricator, splurged on the ESAB. Worth every penny

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Anything you don’t like about it? I would have never bought one besides testing it for a video. I think I sold it short in the past, which really shows how important it is to actually use stuff a bunch to get a feel for it. I was surprised at how good it is. The big thing to me is the light weight and balance of it is really good. I just spent 7 hours with my older Viking on, and I was wishing it was as light as the esab lol.

[@melgross]

I’m not one who likes graphics on my hood. But if you do want them for the ESAB, there are lots of them available for these hoods on eBay and possibly on Amazon. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like welding hoods for grinding, but I understand that some people grind immediately after welding and so it’s fast just tapping the button and grinding. The only thing I don’t like about the Sentinel is that the rounded front is wider than most other helmets, so sometimes I bang the helmet if I move between two things. I’ve had my A50 for over 5 years, maybe 6. The head mounting has held up without a problem. Maybe with cheap helmets it’s a problem, but these are made from very strong materials and being thinner doesn’t seem to be a problem. The A60 is slightly different. About the yellow cover, from what I know, they like that in Europe. Why, who knows? I don’t use them. I tried it at first. Maybe it cuts actinic light more. The new helmet, with its new cartridge, uses the old cheaters with the adapter which came with mine. Great job Greg. That was a lot of work and expense. I love some of the Speedglas hoods, but they’re twice what my ESAB cost, and a couple are pretty heavy.

[@bruced1429]

Greg good review, I have one issue, seems the grind mode button is something you like , however you compare that with using a glove to change to grind mode with an inside button. I don't know any welder who would use a gloved hand to change any button on the inside of a welding hood. It would be like eating your sandwich with a glove on. If you wear inside the ear , ear plugs I guess you could hit the outside grind mode and grind away. Most guys I know take off the hood to grind and put on ear muffs and good eye protection. I have an Esab A50 and I have never used the outside grind button. I also have the Miller digital infinity as well and take it off to grind.

[@Nerdthan2]

As a full time production welder I grind with my hood exclusively and so does everyone else basically, the button is way better with gloves cause I can just push it not worry about what setting the knob is on

[@anicekevorking3753]

Yeah#26 on the like! I like your content a lot. a lot of no bs shill stuff.

[@UpcomingJedi]

Give this man an Accu-strike helmet to cut down on the jaw-jacking. I LOVE mine! You use your chin to raise the lens up to see the rod end or the tig torch then close my mouth to drop the lens and begin welding. No batteries to ever worry about .

[@Cptnbond]

Thanks, Greg, for your extensive and fantastic review of these hoods. I cannot agree more: do not buy cheap HF hoods. They gradually wear out, like the locking mechanism, and it would not stay up but slowly close down regardless of how hard you turn the locking knobs. I advise buying the cheaper version of the brand names, like ESAB A30/A40, if you need more money to afford the more expensive models in their respective range. For fun, and if you like the futuristic look, ESAB has the A60 Sentinel Sage and A60 Sentinel Cypher paint jobs, making you look like a tough space marine. Lol.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Those paint jobs on the a60 do look good, nobody seems to have them around here. You brought up a good point, often times the cheaper version from a company has much of the same performance for less money. With Lincoln they have a bunch of helmets that have the exact same color/clarity of the more expensive ones, but with a smaller screen. No doubt a big screen is nice, but for half the price the smaller screen isn’t much of a downgrade. The difference spent on metal and practice would be far better than paying double for a hood lol.

[@Myfamily1964]

There is one helmet you may be forgot about the putting in tests is 3M speed glass I had that thing and it was nice back in the day but now I have not really found them that often around.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Speedglass is still used in industry, but they have virtually disappeared from home shop use. I am not sure why to be honest. I will get a hold of one in the future for testing for sure.

[@Myfamily1964]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg went to the website of their product and it's very expensive for I looked and very futuristic if you caught that and it's very pricey for the average user and I don't know if it's really worth trying to compare.

[@jsk.71]

Leaving my new optrel helix clt for an esab a60. My hood wouldn't stay up anymore and using a cutting torch only worked on auto mode( shade tronic). Manuel only went from 7 to 12 with clt lense. Also my neck constantly got burned. Same problem with neck burning with my speedglas. 32yrs experience.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Honestly I think the a60 is a really good hood. It looks funky, but I think they really did some homework on it. I have been using it a ton and as much as I like my Viking 3350, the a60 is way lighter, balances far better in the upright position, the wide screen viewing is more useful, and it seems to work really well at picking up a arc. Optrel is the only hood I have never personally owned, they are very uncommon around here. I have heard good things but the cost of them over many competing hoods can be a lot higher. After you get the a60 chime in and let me know what you think. I will be doing an update video in a month or two on what I think of all 3 since I have been using them a bunch.

[@rogerdahl0]

I'm sure people wouldn't mind if you were to put some affiliate links in the descriptions for stuff you review and like.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I might in the future. My luck is I would recommend a product and it turns out I got a good one and the rest are duds lol.

[@richarcruz7843]

Wowwwww thank u Greg this is great knowledge thank u for taking ur time to really examine each helmet made my choice easy MILLER thank u an God Bless u an urs🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@michaelwhiting878]

I’m in the market for a new welding hood. I’m tossed between the Lincoln Viking 3350 ADV, the Miller Digital infinity or the black Miller digital Elite with external grind button similar to the Lincoln Viking I’m hoping you are going to do a followup video with long term results. I’m sure others are interested in hearing your experience with these hoods. Or perhaps a quick reply to this comment would do. Thanks for your awesome content.

[@michaelwhiting878]

Follow-up: I did a lot of research, went to some local welding supply stores and tried on a Miller Digital Infinity, Miller Digital Elite and a couple Lincoln hoods but not the newer 3350ADV and a couple of store brand hoods. Obviously you can’t use them in action, but you can get a feel for Fit and Finish. I ended up ordering a Miller Digital Elite with external Grind Button from IOC. I got a fair price, free shipping and a $75 rebate from Miller. Hands down, I think the features of the Digital Elite, especially the external grind button offset the features of even the Digital Infinity hood which has the larger viewing area, but honestly after trying them on side by side, I felt the Elite’s viewing area was very good. Perhaps if I did more overhead welding it would make a difference. After using the new Elite for a couple weeks, I felt I had made a good choice and got a great value for my money. The clarity of Clearlight 2.0 technology and the fact that the Digital Elite with the external grind button has a minimal 2.5 shade, which doesn’t sound huge until you use it, and it’s brighter which is good for my old eyes. I wish Greg had tested it, as I think he would have preferred it over the Infinity.

[@wkrnalrib4445]

i weld tig for work (stainless) and i hate auto darkening hoods the cheap ones flash me and the reasonably priced ones hurt my eyes after a while. Ive tried a few good ones like the 3m speed glass and honestly a cheap fixed shade 10 is clearer. Rn im using a jackson flip up with a gold plated shade 11 and ive never seen the weld pool so clearly.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Personal preference is definitely important. If you can run a fixed shade and it works definitely stick with it. Fixed shades generally have very good edge of viewing screen clarity and good color with a good lens. Nothing wrong with running one 😀

[@BobWhite777]

Would like to see the HF Vulcan included in the comparison.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I will probably pick that one up for round two. 😀

[@Jimminia8D]

Two of my headbands on my esab broke, still had it tight when I took it off and probably dropped it.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Sorry to hear that. I definitely like the esab, its headgear is a bit thin though.

[@gills3141]

i really enjoy the optrel stuff. They are expensive but, i have found they are pretty solid. I also use the papr so that does make a difference

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I definitely might look at one of theirs for testing. Tons of good things being said about them, and the only negative tends to be the price. Which they are less than the higher end speed glass and if they offer solid performance I could see it as a good option on the higher end market.

[@gills3141]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg they offer a really great student discount and for tig I really really like the clarity. The buy in is higher but, I think its worth it. I also like that they are made in the land of the swiss army knife and not china.

[@sixdegrees6434]

I’m about to buy my first welder. A $1000 ac/dc tig. I don’t even know if I’ll like welding but I don’t want to risk damaging my eyes. What would be a good helmet for me?

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

If you’re looking to start out on a medium budget the higher end Vulcan hood from harbor freight or the Lincoln Viking 1850 are solid options. Tig welding needs good clarity to get the best results so a bit better hood than the cheapest will do you good. When you are very experienced you can weld with pretty much anything, but being able to see clearly definitely still helps. It’s not a bad place to start with a bit cheaper hood either, if you want to upgrade you can keep the cheap hood for jobs that would tear up the expensive one. On the cheaper end I would look at the HF titanium or miller classic clear light.

[@sixdegrees6434]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg Awesome, thank you.

[@jackmay4230]

Just wondering how you feel about the hoods three months later?

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I will have an update in a couple weeks, I have been using them a bunch. As of right now they are all solid, still working, and decent. Since you asked I will share some thoughts. The Lincoln’s headgear sucks (it’s better than a cheap hood but it’s the weakest of the 3). I can’t seem to get it adjusted right for my head. The older 3350 I have is perfect and still works after 5+ years. The Esabs curved screen sucks. I wear a front bib (to keep smoke and uv out) and a clip on “hood” on the back of my helmet because of backlight issues. I hate setting my hood down upright where everything sits on grinder dust and metal shavings, so I set it down on the face. Well the esab is guaranteed to get scratched. Face shields seem to last 1/3 as long as the other hoods. Shoving my face in places is 100% guarteed to scratch the face shield. The miller is the best out of the 3 for shop use in my opinion. The lack of a grind button kind of sucks. The color of its cartridge makes it harder to see certain things. This morning I was welding with it and part of a frame undercoating caught fire and I couldn’t really see it because it tends to show shades of one color. What I thought was smoke was actual flame. The other two would have been easier to see that. Realistically based on where I am at, I am still going to use my older 3350 for work use. (Btw I actually found the newer 3350 is clearer in the light state than my older one). If I had to pick one to replace the 3350 it would be the miller. Then the Lincoln, then esab. If I did production work or mostly tig on the bench I would do the esab no doubt. It’s lighter and its drawbacks wouldn’t matter. Hopefully that gives you some insight.

[@john-smith.]

@ 53:36 you say Lincoln has 4 sensors, but the specs say 5. I see 3 on bottom, and 2 on top. I have that same Lincoln helmet, and one thing you did not mention or rate, is the warranty's. Not knowing how the companies will honor them, at least my Lincoln says 5 years, I don't know about the others. Great video shootout, as I haven't run into any others with this depth of content....thanx.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

No problem, I am glad you liked the video. I am shooting one with 4 100$ and under hoods this weekend and it will be out soon. I don’t know what to expect with those lol, I am hoping atleast one of them is decent so people have a more affordable option. So I forgot to mention it in the video but the 3350 ADV has a mode that senses the light output and adjusts the shade in real time. From what I read the 5th sensor is not an arc sensor for the darken function, but a sensor used for the adjustment of the shade darkness level when in auto adjust mode. Realistically this isn’t much of a benefit. Most skilled welders can weld fine on a shade 10 to 13 without much issue, so being able to have a real time auto adjustment between say 10 and 12 is not a huge deal. When I report back in a couple months I will have more of an opinion on that for sure.

[@tylerrichardson2057]

Killer added the external button

[@madmodder123]

I don't even own a welder, still enjoyed the vid

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Glad to hear that you liked it 😀. It’s fun to test stuff and find the differences 😀

[@kwtinternational4451]

Lincoln and Miller is my favorite. For me, Miller is more heavier than the Lincoln but it works great outside with X mode than the Lincoln…. The overall they both work the same

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

The xmode seems to work really good, it seems to reduce the false triggers my phone and camera cause when they reflect off something back at the hood. I have been using the miller a ton and I really appreciate how well it works, and its clear state is really good. I didn’t mention it in the video, but the newer Lincoln seems to have a clearer light state than my older Lincoln. The old one with newer plastic shields still isn’t as light as the current Viking. Both are really solid for sure though.

[@markhamilton1847]

Not sure about welding hoods but when shooting yellow glasses seem to help with details. Also the hoods you show are great and for a professional welder but I would like a few lower priced ones included for the part time user.I just got a YES hood that appears to have all the same features for a lot less

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I will pickup some lower priced ones to look at. The hardest part of doing that is I know a bunch of them suck, and it’s hard to spend money on something that isn’t going to last lol. I bet there will be atleast 1-2 standouts in the cheaper ones.

[@ghffrsfygdhfjkjiysdz]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg I have been using YesWelder LYG-Q800D for about a year how. The knob on head gear broke, but was easily fixed with 2 part adhesive putty. It's advertised as clear view blah blah blah. Really curios about it vs one of these helments. I am currently seriously considering to splurge on esab from this video.

[@timmarchiando448]

Why not test the Jackson helmets

[@UpcomingJedi]

Are you kidding? The video would never end if there is even one more to talk about.

[@casey3235]

didnt have enough money for the speedglas so you buy all the cheap stuff ?

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Haha speed glass is a good hood, but probably one of the most overpriced ones out there. I actually just got a speed glass papr, I will be trying it out for a few weeks. I doubt it’s better than the Lincoln one I have already.

[@casey3235]

@@makingmistakeswithgreg over priced lol when its still working good as new 15yrs down the road you wont be saying over priced. trust me sir ,i been using the speedglas stuff for yrs. papr and the regular helmets. if i didnt feel it was the most reliable best stuff i wouldnt be using it. cartridge batteries last a couple years not months. i can attest to that. papr battery lasts about 500 charges. you also forgot to mention that miller infiniti weights a metric ton. put it on a scale and youll see. all them little buttons on the esab and lincoln , why ? useless sales gimmicks. believe it or not i like your videos for the most part

[@casey3235]

im not trying to argue welding helmets. but my day job is welding. i have no time for lousy unreliable equipment. speedglas isnt over priced when you see it first hand working perfectly day after day. month after month. year after year . no gimmicky buttons. no light up fancy screens

[@LuisRamirez-xn4ck]

lol just like your mom😂 that’s why yall broke

[@kfmutrus]

Great head-to-head comparison! Also thank you for putting so much attention to the headgears, so many ppl just ignore them 👍 I’m curious about X-mode on Miller, how far you should be from another welder striking arc that ADF wouldn’t go dark? If you plan to make a video on cheaper one welding helmets maybe it would be a good place to briefly touch hoods with passive lenses. Looks like so many new people think that you should be a super mega pro welder to do even simple tasks with passive lenses and as a result they buy the cheapest junk with ADF they could possibly find.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

I bet the x mode will only work pretty close. It doesn’t appear to make a difference in triggering beyond maybe 2 feet. The best way to describe what I see with it is that it’s like running with a lower sensitivity than would normally be possible, which gives you less issues with sunlight and overhead lights from triggering it. The ideal hood would never be triggered by sunlight outdoors, overhead lights, etc, but only by a welding arc. Millers basically gives you the most adjustments to get it to work the way you want it. I picked up some cheap auto darkening hoods to test out and I did grab a passive one too. To be honest I rather have a quality fixed shade over a cheap auto darkening. Case in point I was welding under a car to weld a tailpipe back on today. I only had the 50$ harbor freight to use. I couldn’t get my head close to the weld, and even at max sensitivity it was randomly flashing me. A fixed shade would have been far better than the cheap auto darkening hood. Fixed shades work great for a ton of work, they need to have good headgear though.

[@kfmutrus]

​@@makingmistakeswithgreg If Miller’s ADF is really that capable it should get some additional points. Ha-ha, maybe I even change my opinion on “used to be simple” things that become too smart nowadays 😀 Thank you!

[@jmsauctionbarn2492]

yes when battery runs low the delay can burn your eyes.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

On modern auto darkening hoods they block UV even when in the undarkened state. If you flash yourself in the undarkened state you may see spots due to it being a bright light, but you won’t get arc eye. For a lot of work it’s actually safer to use a modern auto darken hood in grind mode than it is to flip up a fixed shade and accidentally arc strike something while just wearing safety glasses. Really depends on the type of work being completed as to what that best choice is. In the repair field I will never personally go back to a fixed shade.

[@Shadow6a]

Yeah, I love my A60. 🤷‍♂️

[@cm22454]

Consider reaching out to each manufacturer of any welding supplies you use, or want to do comparisons with. Introduce them to your channel and how many subscribers you have. You may be surprised when they send you free products to weld with, or compare. It's an advertising write off for them and a huge savings for you.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

So I get daily & weekly requests from companies to review their products. I dont do paid/compensated reviews, I rather buy something I am interested in. I don’t want to feel obligated to give a review, or to say a product is better than it is. I would consider If a company wanted to send me something that I would test, tell them what I would change, return it, and not be forced to make a video. It’s pretty awkward telling a company I think harbor freights products are better lol.

[@jmsauctionbarn2492]

Manual welding hoods are the safest hoods you can ever use.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

Keep in mind auto darkening hoods block all UV light from an arc even when they aren’t dark. Safety wise the modern ones are no less safe than a fixed shade.

[@Failure_Is_An_Option]

Nope.

[@tinkering123]

Finding a lotta helmets on the net. Pretty cheap. I'm going super cheapskate. Amazon $10 solar goggles and $5 face shield. All goes well until it doesn't.. We get what we pay for.

[@makingmistakeswithgreg]

There are a lot of cheap options out there. I think I will do an Amazon special hood review to help people out. Even that harbor freight hood I have has decent clarity. If they just put a reliable headgear in it they would have something lol.

[@tinkering123]

Ya that's funny. I actually got one with the $50 Amazon stick welder. I need 2 hands to hold the stick steady.

[@renderuthis]

Thats alot of small talk

[@engjds]

All 3 BS, my controls go to 11.

[@thh4584]

I have Miller infinity along with other hoods and out of the 3 i would say it's has more bang for your buck the lincoln has battery issues and esab just meh seems flimsy, but if you want the best go with optrels clear 2.5 or CLT's or the speedglas G2.

[@strangetamer69x12]

To remove dust & dirt without scratching use compressed air 🤷🏻