Nice review. The one thing I'm gonna disagree with you is about flipping your hood down. As I have gotten older I have noticed that if I flip my hood down by doing the whip lash I need to visit my chiropractor more often. One major point in having an auto hood is that you can use your hand to turn your hood down. I would like to encourage all welders to not do the whiplash motion if possible. Your neck will thank you. This becomes a chronic condition later in life.
All the big Name Fabricators here in Germany use Optrel Welding helmets and they love them. I Love Reviews Like yours , it makes it easy to compere different products and it makes the decision easier what you want to buy. Great Job with this Review! Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
Thank you for the review! I used to TIG weld daily and fab using Miller Elites. Seeing how far the helmets have come, this makes me want to purchase this helmet and get back into fab work. Wish this was around 10-15 years ago! Thanks again for a great review 🤘🏻
I've been using my Optrel helmets for 5 or 6 years now. Optrel is the only brand helmet I've ever owned or used and I have no plans of ever using anything else.They have excellent customer service, and have continued to offer super high quality gear at an affordable price point. I absolutely Love my Vega view 2.5 and my Weldcap. I'm going to treat myself to a new helmet. I'm thinking either the Crystal 2.0 or Panoramaxx 2.5. Also, great video and thank you for the review. Liked, subbed.
One other thing that will keeps eye fatigue down is the light state DELAY knob that you can set to TWILIGHT mode... instead of a delay that brings it to light state in a sudden flash, it actually fades it back slowly which is really nice... and if you want super fast change back to light stage, almost instant,then you put on tack mode. Tack mode combined with the 2.5 shade, there is no reason to flip the hood before part is fully tacked.... all in all great review Justin
I've tried to use alot, on auto mode, the shade varies as you weld. It does not compensate fast enough. If you use it for one week, your happy, use it for months, you get to see the flaws. Tru view is neat, no grind mode. It is light. As the saying goes, dont vug tbe first version, it's a test platform on the masses, maybe next years model will be better.
Yes, this was an interesting video for me a welder and it help me make the decision to buy one because it got great reviews and has great features. Thanks for sharing and keep on rockin.
Thank you for the information This was well done. The Swiss optics are hard to beat...the headgear IS annoying, you are right. Snap down headgear makes a huge difference in day to day, hoods down welding
Seems to be comfortable for long wear since it's so light. BUT, will it also be easy to bend out of shape if it's "squeezed up against something? Also the nose section makes it difficult to wear a respirator?...or is a respirator built in?
I got an Optral helmet back 15 years ago and the lens had blur lines when welding. The Welding store replaced free of charge with a new Optral with the same problem. Grind mode was terrible and to dark but worked for cutting. Over all I hated this $550 helmet and stop using it do to the blur lines when welding.
You got a free helmet to review the helmet. That's called bias. That being said, I have 2 of these helmets and a crystal 2.0 and they are my favorite lid. Crazy field of view and clarity. It's the Oakley of welding helmets. Nice review. just make sure the helment is centered on your face cuz you will smash the hell out of your nose.
Pete DiCapua I promise there’s no bias. I have literally thrown products in the trash and told the companies I did so. I actually feel less biased getting it for free because then I’m not trying to convince myself that the money I spent was worth it. And yes I’ve smashed my nose with it a few times. It sucks!
@@themotofixery I rather have this one all day but I love the full view and I don't wear glasses. If I wore glasses I could see moving towards the crystal with a cheater lens.
I have the ESAB sentinel..... I love my hood but this one has got me really curious the options it has are pretty cool. I mainly weld stick would you recommend I stay with my ESAB or give this one a go?
Thanks for the great video, MorFab. This video is a few years old now, so I'm wondering which helmet you use now (in the Summer of '21). I was also wondering about magnifying lenses for the Optrel helmets? I've never owned an auto-dimming helmet, so your updated thoughts are much appreciated.
I have the lightest cheaper 3m compared to yours and the flashing issues a pain in the ass and im only welding stuff on a bench, i have been looking at that helmet for the last few weeks. The clearer lens is a definite plus, just don't like the non replaceable battery. The nod thing is easily fixed on a helmet with just a squirt of silicone spray lube, had that before on my lighter 3m and others too. Sounds odd i know, but lubricate the friction bits, then you can tighten them a nats more and get the perfect welding nod friction!
I am having a hard time deciding on getting one since I really love my Miller Digital Elite. I actually own 3 of them. It's lighter by 40g and has better headgear. Have you ever used a Miller digital elite? How does the Optrel compare? Nobody around me has one for me to try on. I only tig weld high end SS, Inconal and titanium exhaust 30 to 35 amps.
I dont have any experience with the miller but i can tell you that it blows my 3m speedglas out of the water. The only gripe i have is with the headgear. Its comfortable but in the up position it tends to fall down a lot where my speedglas doesnt.
what do you think about wearing glasses under this helmet, will it fit or you have to push forward the helmet to a point where you loose the panoramic feature?
Is this helmet good to weld stick welding? I will start welding school and don’t know what gear to buy, I like to protect my eyes as much as possible, I only have one pair!! Thanks for the vid!!
hey Boss.. i believe at about 1240 ,you say that the delay is "from the time the arc is struck to the time the helmet darkens...all 6 of my auto helmets are from the time the arc stops to the time the helmet lightens..am i wrong?
Why do you say that performing MIG welding would destroy the Panoramaxx? I am thinking about getting one and will be MIG welding on cars since I am an auto body technician. But I don't want to spend $380 on a helmet and have it destroyed. My welding habits/frequencies are not all that often, I'd estimate about once a week on average, and for smaller to medium sized jobs, and rarely over head, mostly plug welds or stitching a quarter panel on.
I do a lot of exhaust welding on the car which means im welding from below and looking up. It wont destroy the helmet by any means but it will increase the frequency in which i need to replace the protective lens on the front. My 3m helmet needs a new protective lens once every couple of weeks.
OK, so it doesn't have anything to do with the self darkening lens itself then, only the protective lens that covers it? I read on their web site, as well as a few distributors that you can buy a pack of like 5 (both inside and out) for a few dollars. Is that what you are referring to? Thanks for the response.
Makes sense, but I bought the 5 pack of inside/outside protectors, and with the low frequency of welding that I am doing, I should be alright for a while. Plus a majority of the welding I do is in front of me or below me. I rarely do any over head welding, even though it is required to do a couple of small beads for the i-Car certification.
@@Slisktord I can tell you that with the amount of welding that I am doing with this helmet, it still looks almost brand new. I have been using it regularly. But I am typically protective of my tools, because I only want to buy once/cry once. I keep it in the protective bag, and then store it on a bigger bag, and store that bag on a shelf so it doesn't get damaged. As far as the screen, it is a great helmet. It took me a while to get it dialed in, but once it was adjusted properly, it has never given me any trouble. Definitely worth the money if you have it. I wouldn't spend this much if you are rarely going to use it though, unless you have money like that. I know that some people want the top notch tools and equipment though. But if you are starting out or upgrading and are in the welding trade, or are often welding within your trade, then this is a good investment.
I think the vision assisting helmet is a great idea. That being said I can't help but think of people walking around like Storm Troopers from Star Wars.
i have a question about this helmet when you have it down over your face, it makes me wonder if the viewing area being close to yours eyes, and the lens figure being like googles narrowed in the middle with a cave for your nose, how does the viewing area looks like in front of you ? can you see with both eyes when trying to see sideways ? is that narrowed part in the center of the lens where your nose fits in the way of one eye or the other one when trying to see side ways? i hope you understand my question since i am really bad explaining things, i will appreciate your response. thank you
Hi, I had in the past the p550 that made me sick. The head gear always bothered my ears, never had a good strenght on my had and what bothered me the most was that the display was very poor. The shade in diagonal on the oposite 2 corners stayed almost at the lowest value, about 5 or 6 (just guessing) and this realy hurt my eyes. Could you somehow confirm this issue on this model too? I don't want to pay about 450 euros (price in Spain) for it, if this has the same fabrication failure. I had to change twice the mask and those 2 times were as bad as hell. Thanks
Is this helmet good for Shield Metal Arc Welding I need a helmet that can be used with 6011, and 7018 electrodes along with used for tig. I will need to do mig sometimes but not a ever day thing.
Nice review but you know ... $300-400 range welding helmet is something to think about... does it worth the price ? My $50 bucks one does the same job and I have it working for 2yrs now, no issues.
3 1/2 minutes into the video and still nothing about the helmet. Bye. And your wrong about the delay. Delay is not delay from the time the arc is struck until the time the helmet darkens, it is about how long the helmet stays dark after the arc is gone. The way you say it, implies some of us want to be flashed, and we want to determine how much flash we get. But overall your review was very good. Thanks.
It’s kinda funny how you say you are not being payed to do this review but virtually in the same sentence tell us you received the helmet for free for the purposes of doing a review. Free merch is just another way of getting paid and it is impossible to be unbiased based upon the bribe you received from the company who made the helmet.
You are correct. I was not PAID money to provide a review. I was provided with a product to review. Theres a huge difference. If the helmet was garbage, I would have just thrown it in the bin. Not being paid for the review gives me free reign to give a totally unbiased review without input from the manufacturer.
You a salesman ,I've been welding my whole life and never flashed myself. No mig welding why have it then.production welding is 90% of any shops welding. That's the money making not custom welding.
Nice review. The one thing I'm gonna disagree with you is about flipping your hood down. As I have gotten older I have noticed that if I flip my hood down by doing the whip lash I need to visit my chiropractor more often. One major point in having an auto hood is that you can use your hand to turn your hood down. I would like to encourage all welders to not do the whiplash motion if possible. Your neck will thank you. This becomes a chronic condition later in life.
All the big Name Fabricators here in Germany use Optrel Welding helmets and they love them.
I Love Reviews Like yours , it makes it easy to compere different products and it makes the decision easier what you want to buy.
Great Job with this Review!
Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
I've been using optrel for already 8y and I'm so satisfied. Specially I'm welding low Amps range from 3A ~ 10A Superb welding helmet, must have!
Thank you for the review! I used to TIG weld daily and fab using Miller Elites. Seeing how far the helmets have come, this makes me want to purchase this helmet and get back into fab work. Wish this was around 10-15 years ago! Thanks again for a great review 🤘🏻
I've been using my Optrel helmets for 5 or 6 years now. Optrel is the only brand helmet I've ever owned or used and I have no plans of ever using anything else.They have excellent customer service, and have continued to offer super high quality gear at an affordable price point. I absolutely Love my Vega view 2.5 and my Weldcap. I'm going to treat myself to a new helmet. I'm thinking either the Crystal 2.0 or Panoramaxx 2.5. Also, great video and thank you for the review. Liked, subbed.
Great observation. The headgear can "squeeze" your head and give you a headache after a while.
One other thing that will keeps eye fatigue down is the light state DELAY knob that you can set to TWILIGHT mode... instead of a delay that brings it to light state in a sudden flash, it actually fades it back slowly which is really nice... and if you want super fast change back to light stage, almost instant,then you put on tack mode. Tack mode combined with the 2.5 shade, there is no reason to flip the hood before part is fully tacked.... all in all great review Justin
Steve Ferraro Interesting, I hadn’t heard about this feature before. Very cool, good to know, thx
Nice informative video about that welding helmet, but what did they treat the river blindness with? Ivermectin?
I've tried to use alot, on auto mode, the shade varies as you weld. It does not compensate fast enough.
If you use it for one week, your happy, use it for months, you get to see the flaws.
Tru view is neat, no grind mode.
It is light.
As the saying goes, dont vug tbe first version, it's a test platform on the masses, maybe next years model will be better.
Yes, this was an interesting video for me a welder and it help me make the decision to buy one because it got great reviews and has great features. Thanks for sharing and keep on rockin.
Delay is not arc to darken time.... its arc stop to lighten time, to prevent you from looking at molten puddles that can be extremely bright...
The controls are really nice. Also the battery charger. No need to pull out small batteries.
Great review! I think thats got me sold on switching from the Speedglas now! Quick question, any idea how glasses wearers get on with it?
I wear saftey glasses with mine
I realize this is a year old, but I wear prescription safety glasses under my Optrel Panoramax, and there is plenty of room.
the headgear got updated and you can switch it to all older Optrel helmets!
“Now these controls are super cool”
Shows the controls every helmet has 😂.
Cool helmet tho.
Just got mine 2 days ago and I love it
True color is like the newest speedglass the 9100xxi which has no green tint.
Thank you for the information
This was well done. The Swiss optics are hard to beat...the headgear IS annoying, you are right. Snap down headgear makes a huge difference in day to day, hoods down welding
A real honest review. Can you wear glasses if needed? It looks like you can with the adjustments.
Glasses should fit behind it no problem!
ordered my special edition Optrel and it should be here friday. Excited!
I read your review. Im also shopping for a helmet. Whats your opinion on the helmet. I noticed you got it a year ago.
This may be a great helmet for the younger welder. But for us oldies we need a magnifying lens to see
Delay is how long it takes after welding that it returns to 2.5 Not after striking the arc!
Thanks for the review. Also the lettering on that tatt was done perfectly. Who was the artist?
Brennan Freemantle In CT
Seems to be comfortable for long wear since it's so light. BUT, will it also be easy to bend out of shape if it's "squeezed up against something? Also the nose section makes it difficult to wear a respirator?...or is a respirator built in?
I got an Optral helmet back 15 years ago and the lens had blur lines when welding. The Welding store replaced free of charge with a new Optral with the same problem. Grind mode was terrible and to dark but worked for cutting. Over all I hated this $550 helmet and stop using it do to the blur lines when welding.
They must have gotten their shit together ;-)
You got a free helmet to review the helmet. That's called bias. That being said, I have 2 of these helmets and a crystal 2.0 and they are my favorite lid. Crazy field of view and clarity. It's the Oakley of welding helmets. Nice review. just make sure the helment is centered on your face cuz you will smash the hell out of your nose.
Pete DiCapua I promise there’s no bias. I have literally thrown products in the trash and told the companies I did so. I actually feel less biased getting it for free because then I’m not trying to convince myself that the money I spent was worth it. And yes I’ve smashed my nose with it a few times. It sucks!
@@MorFabIndustries I doubt you threw this in the trash. I'll send you my address and 50$ and you can ship it to me:)
Pete DiCapua lol no I didn’t throw it in the trash but I did give it an honest review. The only thing I don’t like is the headgear.
Would you rather have this one or the crystal 2.0 for all purpose?
@@themotofixery I rather have this one all day but I love the full view and I don't wear glasses. If I wore glasses I could see moving towards the crystal with a cheater lens.
Use mine almost everyday! Love it! The nose thing is weird at first
I have the ESAB sentinel..... I love my hood but this one has got me really curious the options it has are pretty cool. I mainly weld stick would you recommend I stay with my ESAB or give this one a go?
22:00 The New Headgear must be way better, Costs roundabout 70 bucks
Bless you optrel
Thanks for the great video, MorFab. This video is a few years old now, so I'm wondering which helmet you use now (in the Summer of '21). I was also wondering about magnifying lenses for the Optrel helmets? I've never owned an auto-dimming helmet, so your updated thoughts are much appreciated.
I'm still using the optrel for Tig welding and I use my 3m speedglas for mig welding.
Maybe you can put your favorite headgear into the new hood.
How does the nose relief arch work with using the non paper slimline respirators?
This is what I want to know
Excellent video- very thorough- thanks
Is that 3m 9100xxi in the video?
I cant decide if I want to buy an Optrel or a G5-02
What did you end up going with?
I have the lightest cheaper 3m compared to yours and the flashing issues a pain in the ass and im only welding stuff on a bench, i have been looking at that helmet for the last few weeks. The clearer lens is a definite plus, just don't like the non replaceable battery. The nod thing is easily fixed on a helmet with just a squirt of silicone spray lube, had that before on my lighter 3m and others too. Sounds odd i know, but lubricate the friction bits, then you can tighten them a nats more and get the perfect welding nod friction!
The newest speedglass has true color, no green tint. The 9100xxi
this would be SUPER nice for the quarter, rearbody & tail light pocket imma have to mig weld.
I am having a hard time deciding on getting one since I really love my Miller Digital Elite. I actually own 3 of them. It's lighter by 40g and has better headgear. Have you ever used a Miller digital elite? How does the Optrel compare? Nobody around me has one for me to try on. I only tig weld high end SS, Inconal and titanium exhaust 30 to 35 amps.
I dont have any experience with the miller but i can tell you that it blows my 3m speedglas out of the water. The only gripe i have is with the headgear. Its comfortable but in the up position it tends to fall down a lot where my speedglas doesnt.
I want to know too.
what do you think about wearing glasses under this helmet, will it fit or you have to push forward the helmet to a point where you loose the panoramic feature?
Glasses should fit just fine.
Thanks for the awesome review!.!.
Can you get cheater lens for this helmet?
Keep up the good work nice to to a honest review have the helmet myself hgv mechanic I love it
By new headgear or put your best hood headgear on it.
Which Speedglas were you using?
You mentioned mig welding would you recommend using it for mma?
Is this helmet good to weld stick welding? I will start welding school and don’t know what gear to buy, I like to protect my eyes as much as possible, I only have one pair!! Thanks for the vid!!
I would for sure use it for stick welding!
nice one , me i have esab a 50
hey Boss.. i believe at about 1240 ,you say that the delay is "from the time the arc is struck to the time the helmet darkens...all 6 of my auto helmets are from the time the arc stops to the time the helmet lightens..am i wrong?
Nope I was wrong. You are correct. It's from the time the arc stops till the helmet lightens.
Why do you say that performing MIG welding would destroy the Panoramaxx? I am thinking about getting one and will be MIG welding on cars since I am an auto body technician. But I don't want to spend $380 on a helmet and have it destroyed. My welding habits/frequencies are not all that often, I'd estimate about once a week on average, and for smaller to medium sized jobs, and rarely over head, mostly plug welds or stitching a quarter panel on.
I do a lot of exhaust welding on the car which means im welding from below and looking up. It wont destroy the helmet by any means but it will increase the frequency in which i need to replace the protective lens on the front. My 3m helmet needs a new protective lens once every couple of weeks.
OK, so it doesn't have anything to do with the self darkening lens itself then, only the protective lens that covers it? I read on their web site, as well as a few distributors that you can buy a pack of like 5 (both inside and out) for a few dollars. Is that what you are referring to?
Thanks for the response.
Makes sense, but I bought the 5 pack of inside/outside protectors, and with the low frequency of welding that I am doing, I should be alright for a while. Plus a majority of the welding I do is in front of me or below me. I rarely do any over head welding, even though it is required to do a couple of small beads for the i-Car certification.
@@jmackinjersey1 hey man! I'm just wondering how it's holding up after 2 years, are you still happy with it??
@@Slisktord I can tell you that with the amount of welding that I am doing with this helmet, it still looks almost brand new. I have been using it regularly. But I am typically protective of my tools, because I only want to buy once/cry once. I keep it in the protective bag, and then store it on a bigger bag, and store that bag on a shelf so it doesn't get damaged.
As far as the screen, it is a great helmet. It took me a while to get it dialed in, but once it was adjusted properly, it has never given me any trouble. Definitely worth the money if you have it. I wouldn't spend this much if you are rarely going to use it though, unless you have money like that. I know that some people want the top notch tools and equipment though. But if you are starting out or upgrading and are in the welding trade, or are often welding within your trade, then this is a good investment.
So I've been looking into 3 different ones and I can't decide. The esab, this one and the Eastwood panaramic
Go with the Optrel hands down. esab is nice. I prefer the Optrel.
I thought about the Eastwood panaramic looks cool and I like the view
How is it with a respirator
How is it with fogging up while welding?
Doesn't fog at all.
Would u rec this helmet or the viking 3350??
I think the vision assisting helmet is a great idea.
That being said I can't help but think of people walking around like Storm Troopers from Star Wars.
Well, I know what my next helmet is going to be. I'll make sure to tell them I saw it @ Morfius.
Can you tig weld with it?
i have a question about this helmet when you have it down over your face, it makes me wonder if the viewing area being close to yours eyes, and the lens figure being like googles narrowed in the middle with a cave for your nose, how does the viewing area looks like in front of you ? can you see with both eyes when trying to see sideways ? is that narrowed part in the center of the lens where your nose fits in the way of one eye or the other one when trying to see side ways? i hope you understand my question since i am really bad explaining things, i will appreciate your response. thank you
Same field of vision if you were to put on a pair of ski goggles. The field of vision is very good.
@@MorFabIndustries thank you for replying.
That headgear issue is terrible especially for a long day. Unacceptable for a helmet priced at 500+
Hi, I had in the past the p550 that made me sick. The head gear always bothered my ears, never had a good strenght on my had and what bothered me the most was that the display was very poor. The shade in diagonal on the oposite 2 corners stayed almost at the lowest value, about 5 or 6 (just guessing) and this realy hurt my eyes. Could you somehow confirm this issue on this model too? I don't want to pay about 450 euros (price in Spain) for it, if this has the same fabrication failure. I had to change twice the mask and those 2 times were as bad as hell. Thanks
This one has been perfect. No problems at all!
@@MorFabIndustries ok, thx for reply so fast
Does anybody else have the Optrel panoramaxx Quattro ????
Is this helmet good for Shield Metal Arc Welding I need a helmet that can be used with 6011, and 7018 electrodes along with used for tig. I will need to do mig sometimes but not a ever day thing.
It would be perfect for what you need.
Is the front lens sealed? It looks like it has a gasket in it.
It does have a gasket.
Thanks for the review. I am about to replace an older miller shield. I had my eye on this. I am gonna buy.
Thanks again ps. I like discounts. Lol.
Does the damn lid actually stay up when you flip it up? The Sentinel a50 is a little too rubbery.
It does as long as you keep it adjusted well.
What do you mean rubbery? My a50 stays up fine
Nice review but you know ... $300-400 range welding helmet is something to think about... does it worth the price ? My $50 bucks one does the same job and I have it working for 2yrs now, no issues.
I used cheap auto darkening helmets when i first started mig welding. Until you use a good hood, its hard to make the comparison.
My greasy nose will destroy that foam pad. Lol
Don’t look like you can use a cheater lens in it ?
I'm sorry but, what is grind mode?
Keeps the helmet in its light stage and doesnt auto darken when sparks are flying.
@@MorFabIndustries ooh for like when you are grinding down metal?
3 1/2 minutes into the video and still nothing about the helmet. Bye. And your wrong about the delay. Delay is not delay from the time the arc is struck until the time the helmet darkens, it is about how long the helmet stays dark after the arc is gone. The way you say it, implies some of us want to be flashed, and we want to determine how much flash we get. But overall your review was very good. Thanks.
Question ? What hood would you recommend for the pipefitting industry. I like the wider view.
Honestly i couldnt tell you. Every pipefitter ive ever seen has the old school helmets
we have old school and nieuw once for the shop sometimes
10-15 mins dude you at 26...
It’s kinda funny how you say you are not being payed to do this review but virtually in the same sentence tell us you received the helmet for free for the purposes of doing a review. Free merch is just another way of getting paid and it is impossible to be unbiased based upon the bribe you received from the company who made the helmet.
You are correct. I was not PAID money to provide a review. I was provided with a product to review. Theres a huge difference. If the helmet was garbage, I would have just thrown it in the bin. Not being paid for the review gives me free reign to give a totally unbiased review without input from the manufacturer.
I've had 5 Optrel helmets check out my reviews.
You a salesman ,I've been welding my whole life and never flashed myself. No mig welding why have it then.production welding is 90% of any shops welding. That's the money making not custom welding.
VN review!, i have a cheaper model (NEO) and is amazing for the price, i think Optrel is awesome brand.
Junk, inner and outer scratch super fast, delay sucks , you get a micro delay b4 it dims, maybe I got a bad one, not worth the money
nope...spot on. I wish I went for the speedglass.
I am going to stick to my miller helmets.
What about putting cheaters In Them
made in Canada, well thats not as bad as made in china, but so far, i think it way over priced.
Can't put a cheater lens in it.
Yeah that's a bummer