In this Miller Digital Pro Hobby welding helmet review, I’m going to show you how to go about choosing a welding helmet, and why this welding helmet is the best welding helmet I’ve used.
First off, this helmet is Miller’s Pro Hobby® line, and it was made for home hobbyists and light fabrication.
For most people who are just home/garage welders, this helmet is perfect.
Picking A Welding Helmet
When you go to choose a welding helmet you’ve got 2 different options to choose from.
- Passive helmet
- Auto-darkening
If you’re a complete beginner to welding then I would highly recommend going with an auto-darkening helmet similar to the Miller Digital Pro Hobby.
An auto-darkening welding helmet will allow you to see the workpiece while the welding helmet is in the down position, and then when the arc is emitted the lens will automatically darken.
A passive welding helmet stays dark all the time because there is a lens inside that is a certain shade and always stays dark.
Welding lenses range from 8 to 13, and these numbers refers to the darkness of the shade.
With an auto-darkening helmet like the Miller Digital Pro Hobby you will usually have a knob on the side where you can adjust the shade from 8 to 13 (also known as a variable lens).
This allows you to turn down the helmet for lighter amperage applications, and turn it up for higher amperage welding (brighter arc).
The bad thing about having a passive lens welding helmet is that if it’s a shade 10, then that’s all you get. Also, you can’t really see the workpiece before you start welding so it tends to lead to sloppy starts.
This is why I highly recommend you start out with an auto-darkening helmet like the Miller Digital Pro Hobby.
Benefits Of The Miller Digital Pro Hobby Welding Helmet
The reason I like the Miller Digital Pro Hobby welding helmet is for a couple of different reasons.
I started out using one of those cheap Chinese welding helmets and after a couple months of using the first one it broke. It was actually an auto-darkening helmet, but my sweat dripped on the sensor and I guess it fried it.
So, I then made the mistake of buying another cheap welding helmet (both were about $60), and the little plastic headband snapped after about 3 weeks.
This is just a word of advice to stay away from cheaply made welding helmets. The will break on you sooner than later.
That’s when I decided to buy the Miller Digital Pro Hobby helmet
I had read some reviews on this helmet prior to buying it, since it does cost significantly more than those cheap welding helmets.
But, I can tell you that I’m more than happy I made the purchase because not only is the window easier to see out of, and clearer, it’s also more comfortable to wear.
Plus, I sweat all over the digital display, but it’s built for that so I haven’t had any issues with it.
I like the adjustable headband a lot more than my previous 2 helmets, and when you put it on it’s kind on like having a ball cap on.
4 Awesome Features Of The Miller Digital Pro Hobby Welding Helmet
To start with, for the price of the Miller Digital Pro Hobby welding helmet you get advanced features that you would normally only get with much more expensive welding helmets.
- There is a digital display to set your lens shade from 8-13 so you can quickly change the lens lighter or darker depending on the welding process you’re using.
- There’s a digital setting for the delay. This is a simple way for you to change the reaction time (how quickly the lens gets dark) of the welding lens when you strike the arc.
- There is a digital setting so you can set the sensitivity. This setting will let you tell the helmet how bright the light must be before darkening.
- Plus, there’s a grinding mode so you can use the helmet as a safety shield when using your grinder.
Drawbacks of the Miller Digital Pro Hobby Welding Helmet
Now, since I love this helmet so much it was hard for me to find something I didn’t find right about this helmet, but I did find one thing I wasn’t crazy about.
The side knobs that hold the helmet up when you’re not welding are sometimes sticky, and when you nod your head to flip the helmet down sometimes it sticks.
This can be fixed by simply backing out on the knob on both sides, and then it works like a charm.
