Welding Tips and Tricks

hey guys i'm gettin ready to buy a new welding helmet and i'd really appreciate some input.
My last helmet was an Astro. i think the model is ansi z87, not sure
its always been a good helmet but no1 around here sells the correct size of cover lense for it so i have to trim the edges every time i want to put a new lense on and they only last about a week because i'm doing a lot of overhead and they quickly get burnt up.
So i'm just curious as to what helmets you guys would suggest for around 200$ price range. hopefully one with the built in safety goggle feature or w/e it's called so i can just slide the shaded lense up and do my grinding.
and also don't want one that is gonna have any battery trouble and no on/off BS.
thx guys

check out the metalman helmet at northerntool. its the shiznit.

but i recently discovered it doesnt holdup well to the rain.

at 100 bucks retail, its really great! and it has a grind mode tat really cant be beat except by miller hoods.

hey guys got sick of waitin for a reply so i sucked it up and bought a miller elite for 350 bones. Spent an extra 7 on a magnifying glass just for shits n giggles.
holy waffletwats guys this helmet is the shit n a half i cant believe how much better it is than my old one. I can see SO much better, bigger field of view better nonshaded light even shaded it seems to let me see my edges better. the magnifying glass is a kick too, sure zooms you in on the action.
i'd give it an A+, i never knew what i was missin until i got one of these sick puppies.

Wich one did you get? I got the Inferno and yes it is the shit

I use a Elite Joker. Best hood Ive ever used.

i got the inferno too. pretty sweet shit for a welding helmet. love this thing, it makes my old helmet laughable.

I like my hood. Jackson eqc journeyman auto dark it's one tough sucker

I've got the Elite, a Jackson and a HomeDepot Lincoln. The Elite is setup for TIG, the Jackson for MIG/Stick and the Lincoln is for vistors that insist on watching.

I have the Jackson Halo X Red Flame, with the Boss Electronics Huge field of vision! Love it! Light weight and comfortable.

i think the model is ansi z87, not sure

ansi z87 is the lense rating/standard for impact/shatter resistance. For instance, on a job site all safety glasses have to be ansi z87 rated or they can write ya up. Just thought you'd like to know what that meant