Our shop works in a shipyard. We primarily use GTAW and have to use welding hoods that fit into very confined spaces where typical welding helmets don't work. Our welders (including me) previously used gold mirror lenses for the best clarity for welding. We had tried auto darkening inserts in the past without good results. That changed when we tried these Lincoln lenses. The clarity is even better than our gold lenses. It is sensitive enough to darken even when welding in a mirror with interferences in the way. I have heard of some of the guys getting flashed so there is still some room for improvement with sensitivity. The ability to change the shade is an important feature for us. Overall these lenses are the best 4x2 size lenses we have used.
There are some areas where these lenses can (and hopefully will) be improved. Our first batch of 20 or so had issues with the batteries wearing out quickly. I'm not sure if this is because they had been sitting around for a long time before we got them or what. With later orders, we've seen better battery life but its good to keep some spare batteries on the job and/or a standard 4x2 lens for backup. Another potential area of improvement is the evenness of the shade at an angle. As you change the angle of the lens while looking at the welding arc, you can see the shade get lighter/darker. I believe this would be fixed if they make this lens a 1/1/1/1 clarity rather than 1/1/1/2 and I really hope they make this improvement in the…