DEKOPRO Auto Darkening Solar Welding Helmet ARC TIG MIG Weld Welder Lens Grinding Mask Black Design

I’m not a serious welder and use this hood every now and again. For me it works perfectly because it is inexpensive and does exactly what it’s supposed to.

I've spent several weeks with this helmet, Dekopro model ‎DK-196 and another "Yeswelder" brand helmet LYG-M800H. Both helmets functioned, by there were some very subtle problems that make both of them extremely dangerous.I had to give up and buy an Esab A40 helmet.I started out having a lot of faith in the "cheap" helmets.The price for the Dekopro DK-196 is about 1/6th of the price of an Esab A40 helmet, with both having nearly identical features and lens sizes. I figured there was not much practical difference between them...I was wrong. The cheap helmets are no longer an option for me.Small amounts of damage to your eyes over time, may not be noticeable. But UV light is incredibly harmful, and the less you can absorb, the better. Ideally you want the darkest possible helmet, with the smallest possible viewing window. A large viewing window just exposes you to more light, but doesn't help you weld any better.So long as you can complete your weld properly, you want the helmet to be as dark as possible, not "barely dark enough."This helmet (DK-196) is just "barely" dark enough. Even at level 13, it feels like the arc is white bright, and I have had to wear a set of dark sunglasses under the welding hood at all times when arc welding at only 35 amps.Initially I thought maybe I was just being weird, and I should just "deal" with the overly bright arc.What finally raised the alarm bells it that I begin to have a headache and eye pressure after only 20 minutes of welding, doing small arc welding beads at 40 amps with 3/32" welding rod. I felt tremendous eye strain.I didn't want to give up on the nice looking Dekopro helmet. So I tried some troubleshooting, and I tried a new battery. Nothing helped. The helmet is not dark enough. And while doing some basic light tests on a Halogen light bulb, I noticed that the periphery of the lens, all the way around the outside edge of the glass lens, is much brighter than the very center of the lens. The middle is noticeably darker!Which raises the question. Is it worth risking permanent damage to your eyes, to save $120? No. It's just not. Nothing you can do or say can justify buying a cheap helmet.[As a side note: The Yeswelder helmet LYG-M800H was so bad that it actually took about 1/10th of a second to "flip" to the dark mode, when you would start welding. As a result you would get hit with a flash of light every single time you started a bead. The Dekopro helmet is much better than the Yeswelder helmet. Because the Dekpro switches instantly. But it is not anywhere near dark enough, and the lens is only dark in the very center of the lens.]After welding today, I decided that I will never buy anymore "budget" welding helmets.In conclusion, I would suggest the Esab A40 helmet. The reviews for the A40 are better than anything else in the price range.Your eyes are priceless.

When I first got the helmet, I couldn’t see very well when welding, and the filter wasn’t enough, even after taking off the protective plastic on the outside. I started disassembly and discovered that there was still plastic on the inside that was never removed. I was appalled at this and wondered why the inside plastic was never removed during assembly at the mfr, & this was never mentioned in the included manual. After I removed the plastic, everything was sharp and clear when welding, and there is an adjustment for max darkness when welding and can be adjusted for just torch cutting, and is easy to see through the filter at night. Sensitivity can also be adjusted, but if adjusted too sensitive, the filter will flicker before shutting off. Great value, features, and quality, but if you want something turnkey that you don’t want to disassemble for quality, look elsewhere. I personally would recommend and buy this brand again. (5 stars as of May 11, 2019.)Update as of 10/11/195 months later, some flaws have developed that don’t affect the protection, but are nonetheless annoying. 1st, the headgear screws can come loose when moving the helmet. (and get lost if not careful) 2nd, the headgear screws don’t allow the helmet to properly move on the pivot and stay. It’s either too loose to stay in position, or too tight to pivot, with nothing in between. (So, buy this replacement headgear set along with helmet so it will work properly: Antra APX-XXX-9979 Head Gear for Auto Darkening Welding Helmet, $13, & seems for now to be worth every penny. You’ll just have to take an awl or 1/8” drill bit and enlarge one of the holes to make the headgear stay bump fit). 3rd, you can’t have a light too close to you at night or the welding filter will activate, thinking you’re welding. I suppose a better quality helmet would’ve worked better, but I expected more quality for the $, at least for the headgear helmet pivot to work tight and the screws to stay in. I’d say get the helmet, the replacement headgear, and a spare welding filter 4.3x3.5in cartridge ($12-16) if doing occasional welding, but get a better helmet if you plan on doing more welding. I.e, Since May, I’ve already used more than 25# of mig wire, so I use a welder pretty extensively for not having a welding career. I’d say get it if you’re hard up on $$, but it won’t amaze you, and you’ll wish for something better. (It still beats a manual flip-up welding helmet filter.)

It is really cheap, you get what you pay for, but it does work.

Very lightweight. Not madeFor medium or large welding jobs