Autodarkening Welding Helmets Optrel E680 Dk Bl

I've had this hood for a little less than three years now so I think it's time for a review.SHELL:after only a few months of using my e680, the shell developed a small 3/4" crack through the top edge. It hasn't spread, and I never bothered returning it. I'll just fix it my self. It adds character.LENS:the outer lens is so perfectly designed. The rubber gasket is part of the lens so you only have one piece to replace. Buuuut no welding supply shops in my area keep them in stock, so I have to order them online. I haven't been able to find packs of more than 5 or a bulk discount.FILTER:The filter is great. With clean lenses, you'll be amazed at the clearity and how true the color is.ADJUSTMENTS:The level of adjustability is nice, but the switches, button, and dial being on the outside drives me crazy some times. I can never tell if the grind button is on or off without striking an arc and hoping I don't get flashed. The button also sticks sometimes. The most common problem for me is the shade adjustment. I somehow manage to darken the shade up one setting. The knob should have a lower profile.Just buy it.

This is a great helmet. I wore out my old satellite helmet after 10 years of use. The e680 comes with an "improvement" over the older style. It has replaceable batteries. The nice thing about replaceable batteries is that I don't have to worry about the batteries wearing out and trashing the hood.One of the nicest features I like about this hood is the optional leather neck protector. It is out of view when the hood is tilted up and keeps my neck protected when down.This hood is highly adjustable from the shade darkness to the head harness. There is also ample room for a respirator.Some reviewers talk about getting flashed. As with any automatic lens you risk being flashed. The nice thing about this hood is that even if you are flashed you still are protected from UV rays. But I find that the e680 is very reliable for darkening. The sensitivity is adjustable.Overall I recommend this hood to serious welders.

I'd imagine this hood would be a good choice in a shop environment, but it's lacking in the field. I've had one for almost two years, and it's certainly not a graceful performer.I'm in deep, dark, dirty holes fairly often. I need to be able to take my hood out of my bucket, put it on, and weld. And, I may not be in a well lit environment where I have the convenience of (per Optrel FAQ) "waking the helmet up" with "10 seconds in the light", because the ADF (lens) isn't darkening. I couldn't count how many times this hood has flashed me. Granted, it's at a +4 even when the lens is "dark", 90 amps will temporarily blind the center of your vision for several minutes. This has even happened to me on weld tests. The ambient lighting just isn't bright enough to "wake" the lens up from it's "sleep" state. This hood is also no good for certain forms of welding due to only having one UV strip censor, located on the top, as opposed to two; top and bottom, nor is there any electromagnetic sensors. I've been in numerous positions where the strip sensor was being blocked by obstructions in my environment... F^#$!... flashed again...It's to the point where I have to prep the hood to get it to perform. I have to find a bright light, and set it there for several minutes, and this isn't always convenient in my line of work. I've used the top hoods from other brands, and you can just grab them and go, some of which work right now, every time, and never ask for new batteries as the e680 does (two CR2032 cells). In fact, many of the problems I've listed above, can be rectified by carrying the batteries outside of the hood, and just popping them in when it's time to work. For me, that's too inconvenient, and frankly, hard to remember. Though, even if you do pop fresh batteries into this thing on a regular basis, you will still suffer from; only one UV strip sensor, no electromagnetic sensor (best because it doesn't need light), grinding button gets jammed with dirt and very hard to press, not the lightest hood on the market.Some things I do like about this hood; rounded design allows for slag and other falling debris to cascade around the lens (best feature, excellent for overhead), grinding mode, available shades and sensitivity settings, color of lens both when dark and otherwise, respirators fit nicely underneath.Would make a good shop hood unless welding pipe, or other instances where the sensor can become obstructed (looking through cracks, holes, slits, seams, while welding).EDIT: After 2 1/2 years of use my hood was knocked off of a temporary resting place, and fell about 8 feet to its death. The wire ribbon going from the lens to the control knobs sheered in half. It is unrepairable. My final conclusions? It has hints of greatness, but generally sucks. Should have survived the fall...

I bought it like 5 years ago, it worked well for a few months. But because I'm a casual user, I left it like 8 months without use and when I tried to use it again, it will not react to the arc. It will flash me, and then react on the second arc. It was like it needed the first arc to charge its power or something. But if I spend more time between the first and second arc, then it will not react at all.Then last year, I sent a letter to Optrel and they offered me a $100 discount on buying another helmet, but I lost trust and I didn't want to risk $250.00 on this again.Then I tried to use it again today, and it will not react, not even with a second arc. It's useless. It's sad to see my $360 thrown to the garbage. And because I'm a hobby user, I can not even say that it paid its cost.Another bad thing it had is that it did not hold up well when you lift it.I know basic electronics so I wanted to see a way of fixing it by myself, but the case of the board is glue-closed and the inside is filled with some kind of foam.It is a total disappointment because I never thought that an European especially Swiss Made product could have been this bad quality. I feel terrible for this waste.I'm considering a Miller, 3M, Jackson or Lincoln right now.

I bump the grind button all the time and flash myself at least once a day. It's relatively light weight. But the aggravation st hat this hemet come with make it not worth the money.