Welding Tips and Tricks

This will be a review in progress, the hood was delivered today (12/22) and I don't go back to work until 1/04/2016 (yea)

Purchased from Welding Supplies From IOC on 12/12/15 for $263 minus a $15 discount (I think it was for signing up for their newsletter, I had just created an account so maybe that was the reason, either way...). Plus I'll be taking advantage of Miller's $45 MIR (which can actually be emailed) for a final cost of $203!

I wasn't in hurry so I selected the free shipping option, only to be surprised they sent it USPS 2 day priority! However I wasn't surprised when it didn't arrive on the 18th as the tracking suggested.

My current hood is the Digital Elite which is at least 10 years old, so I am looking forward to seeing what the best Miller hood has to offer. I've been reviewing hoods on and off for the past 6 months and it came down to this one or the new Speedglas XXi. With the discount and Miller's rebate I figured for the price I couldn't do better.

I'll continue with photos and my impressions over the holiday's, and a final after I get some arc time with it.

Here is the hood front, you can see the four sensors, two above and two below the lens

This is the hood bag, a new clip-on top suspension pad on the left, extra lens covers and a cheater lens attachment on the right

The headgear seems quite good once it is adjusted, and has the most options in any hood that I've owned, the 10yo Digital Elite was my first auto darkening hood. After I use the hood I'm guessing there may be a final adjustment.

The lens has an arc timer, clock, timer, alarm, language and help functions, most of which doesn't interest me but some will find it useful. The lens does have an On and Auto On function that I like, my DE "on button" was getting to be a PITA to work.

I got to use the hood today welding aluminum, the color is excellent with no noticeable false colors. I checked my old Digital Elite and it was made in 2003. I had been welding with it for so long that I didn't really notice the green tint as much as I did today, being able to compare it to the new DI. I only welded for about an hour so still adjusting to the new head gear, but overall I'm very satisfied with the purchase.

I submitted the mail in rebate via email and received a reply letting me know it was received and a check would be sent.

I wish I could compare this with the new Speedglas XXi which retails for about $200 more then I paid.

LtBadd wrote:I got to use the hood today welding aluminum, the color is excellent with no noticeable false colors. I checked my old Digital Elite and it was made in 2003. I had been welding with it for so long that I didn't really notice the green tint as much as I did today, being able to compare it to the new DI. I only welded for about an hour so still adjusting to the new head gear, but overall I'm very satisfied with the purchase.

I submitted the mail in rebate via email and received a reply letting me know it was received and a check would be sent.

I wish I could compare this with the new Speedglas XXi which retails for about $200 more then I paid.

I am in St. Pete if you want to compare. The XXi blows away my old Miller Ti hood. I also have some neat old school passive glass if you would like to try it out.

I was given one with my new welder. I find it heavy compared to the Digital Elite. I wonder what other peoples options are on the weight of the Speedglas. One thing I like about the miller hoods is X mode. Its what keeps me from getting the Speedglas.

Skylineauto wrote:I was given one with my new welder. I find it heavy compared to the Digital Elite. I wonder what other peoples options are on the weight of the Speedglas. One thing I like about the miller hoods is X mode. Its what keeps me from getting the Speedglas.

When I first pulled it out of the box I thought it felt a tad heavy, one reason though (DE at 18oz, DI at 23oz) is it's all in the lens unit. However with the headgear adjusted I don't find it excessive. Also I don't nod my head to lower the hood as that puts more stress in the neck muscles.

A quick search but couldn't find the weight of the XXi

I currently have the Miller Digital Infinity also, I love the viewing area and the color of the lense. The weight of it bothered me at first but I got used to it after a while. I love this helmet, I was thinking about purchasing the speedglas, but I heard about the X-mode and for the price I had to go with the DI. The headgear is really comfortable and I like the digital display also, along with the large viewing area. I highly recommend this helmet to all!

Might sound like a simple thing, but after using this hood for awhile it nice to not have to turn it on when I'm ready to weld, my previous hood I would some times get setup, drop the hood and start to weld only then to realize I didn't turn it on...!!!
You might think turning it on would be a habit, thing is it would auto turn off after "X" number of minutes, so I would setup thinking it was still on.

I bought one today. 275$ for the stars and stripes graphic. I looked for the MIR info but haven't found it.

Turbo wrote:I bought one today. 275$ for the stars and stripes graphic. I looked for the MIR info but haven't found it.

The MIR I used expired on 12/31/15, BTW I did receive the check