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New Miller Digital Elite Helmet: A Review
Hey guys, as some might remember, a few weeks ago I was asking about the Millet Elite helmets, because I wanted to get something for the shop. Anyways, with the new Digital Elite being released, I ended up holding off on the regular Elite and getting one of the Digital ones instead. I thought it might be good if I did a review about some of my thoughts regarding the new hood since it’s still pretty new on the market.
When looking at a hood, for me at least, some of the important things that come to mind are comfort, clarity and quality. The three Cs, well, almost
I tried to keep those key things in mind while looking at different features of some of the hoods I have used. I guess another C could be added, "coolness factor," and this hood rates pretty high on that scale, but it’s really not a necessity, so I won't say much more than that about the awesome graphics.
Head Gear:
I’m impressed with the headgear on this helmet, I knew it would be better than what I was used to with my 3M Speedglas helmet, but still I didn’t realize how much I’d like the headgear until I put a day in with it. It definitely works a lot better than some of the other lids out there and is quite comfortable. I liked how the adjustment of the distance between the face and the lens was easy to use and when you adjust the knobs on the side for tension, the helmet will actually stay up accordingly (Speedglas manufacturers take note
Helmet Design:
Like any decently designed helmet, the Elite hugs the welder’s chest pretty good when flipped down, which helps keep out arc light and fumes. It feels to be about the same weight as my Speedglas, perhaps a tad heavier but over the long run it didn’t feel like it strained my neck like other hoods have, it seems to be better balanced. I’m always tilting my head back, just to keep the Speedglas and Selstrom helmets from flopping down when moving, so normally I just take them off every time I have to get a new piece, grind the tungsten, etc. The Elite just sits there upright on the head on its own, no neck straining required, one of those things that I never realized how much I was missing until I used the Elite.
A design feature I consider to be mandatory with modern auto darkening hoods is replaceable batteries. Reading through the literature on the Elite, I noticed that Miller has taken this another step further and has included a low-battery warning that will pop up on the screen a couple of days before you start to run out of battery power (apparently after ~3000 hours of arc time, so 3-4 years for most full-time welders. That’s smart, it means that for this hood I no longer have to stock a spare set of batteries and worry about their shelf life.
One final thing I liked about the overall design of the helmet was its ergonomics. There is enough room that I can adjust the buttons inside the helmet without taking it off, and the helmet shell, while being larger than the slim-design of the Speedglas, still allows for full range of motion of the head and is in no way ‘clunky’ feeling. Finally, when welding overhead, all of the inner ratcheting bits do their job to keep the helmet in the same orientation to the eye as it is when I am looking slightly down welding on a fab table. This sounds like something simple, but my Speedglas has a habit of slipping down and resting on my nose when doing the overhead work because its ratcheting mechanisms, to put it bluntly, suck. The Selstrom is a bit better, but is clunky feeling. The Elite just does what you’d expect and maintains the same setup regardless of head position.
Function of the Digital Unit:
I originally thought that the digital console would just be fun to have for the ‘coolness’ factor, but now that I have used it, I’ve found it to be nice to have. With the big buttons and numbers on the screen, it’s easy to tell what your settings are. Also, the settings (shade, sensitivity and delay) were linear in their range of adjustment and easy to use. No reading of the manual is really necessary to use the hood, as everything is self-explanatory.
X-Mode:
Yes, it really works. I wanted to make sure for myself before I came on here saying it worked, so I blocked off the optical sensors (carefully, so as not to damage them), and ran the hood on (optical) weld mode, to verify that the optical sensors did not allow the lens to darken, then I switched it to X-Mode and sure enough, it works like a charm. It even works when I tried it on 5-amps DC tig. I don’t know how it picks up the electromagnetic fields so well, but it seems to be the bee’s knees if you’ll pardon the expression. I know I’ll enjoy using the X-Mode for those times that I can only half see what I am doing, no more flashing because of blocked sensors.
Low-Amp Tig:
For the fun of it, as I mentioned up above, I wanted to see if the hood would pick up the 5-amp arc that it mentions it will in the advertising, so, I ground a fine tungsten, turned the Dynasty way down and on a DC arc, tested the X-Mode and Weld Mode. Sure enough, the helmet didn’t miss a beat and picked up the arc without so much as a stutter. That’s pretty amazing to me, considering how little light is given off of a 5 tig amp arc.
Cutting:
It’s known that these new hoods with the cutting mode are great for working with plasma cutters, especially ones like the Elite with the large window, but something that I thought was neat about this hood is that you can use the settings in the cutting mode to lock on a shade 5 lens, just like you put a set of cutting goggles on and use it for oxy-fuel cutting.
Clarity:
Clarity, in my mind, is perhaps the most important feature of a hood, if not one of the top 2, second maybe only to function. The Speedglas is the king of clarity, well; it was until I tried the Elite. I can honestly say that this is the first hood that I have used that has a noticeably better optical clarity than my Speedglas. To tell the truth, I was almost a bit put out that this, thinking that I’d get this new fancy Miller hood but the Speedglas would still be my “professional” hood because of its high level of optical clarity. Times change I guess, and the Elite has definitely impressed me.
Unexpected Benefit:
Something I didn’t foresee was an unexpected benefit of having such a large viewing area. I find that now with the Elite when I’m doing quick things like dressing up a tungsten or repositioning a piece for welding, I‘m just leaving the hood down instead of flipping it up. The large window let’s me see fully what is ahead of me and also some of my peripheral vision, it’s really quite neat just how much you can see with this big lens.
Overall, if you’re looking for a top-notch helmet and can afford the Elite Digital, it is well worth the money. It won’t completely replace my Speedglas, the Speedglas will ride around in my truck with me, as does the Selstrom, and be good for the grunge field-work, but for everything in the shop, the Elite will have its full-time place. The finding that the Digital Elite outclassed the Speedglas caught me a bit of guard, but I must say that the Elite was the underdog in my mind before actually using it, and its quality has earned a permanent place in my shop.
Thanks for reading and have a good one guys
When looking at a hood, for me at least, some of the important things that come to mind are comfort, clarity and quality. The three Cs, well, almost
I tried to keep those key things in mind while looking at different features of some of the hoods I have used. I guess another C could be added, "coolness factor," and this hood rates pretty high on that scale, but it’s really not a necessity, so I won't say much more than that about the awesome graphics.Head Gear:
I’m impressed with the headgear on this helmet, I knew it would be better than what I was used to with my 3M Speedglas helmet, but still I didn’t realize how much I’d like the headgear until I put a day in with it. It definitely works a lot better than some of the other lids out there and is quite comfortable. I liked how the adjustment of the distance between the face and the lens was easy to use and when you adjust the knobs on the side for tension, the helmet will actually stay up accordingly (Speedglas manufacturers take note
Helmet Design:
Like any decently designed helmet, the Elite hugs the welder’s chest pretty good when flipped down, which helps keep out arc light and fumes. It feels to be about the same weight as my Speedglas, perhaps a tad heavier but over the long run it didn’t feel like it strained my neck like other hoods have, it seems to be better balanced. I’m always tilting my head back, just to keep the Speedglas and Selstrom helmets from flopping down when moving, so normally I just take them off every time I have to get a new piece, grind the tungsten, etc. The Elite just sits there upright on the head on its own, no neck straining required, one of those things that I never realized how much I was missing until I used the Elite.
A design feature I consider to be mandatory with modern auto darkening hoods is replaceable batteries. Reading through the literature on the Elite, I noticed that Miller has taken this another step further and has included a low-battery warning that will pop up on the screen a couple of days before you start to run out of battery power (apparently after ~3000 hours of arc time, so 3-4 years for most full-time welders. That’s smart, it means that for this hood I no longer have to stock a spare set of batteries and worry about their shelf life.
One final thing I liked about the overall design of the helmet was its ergonomics. There is enough room that I can adjust the buttons inside the helmet without taking it off, and the helmet shell, while being larger than the slim-design of the Speedglas, still allows for full range of motion of the head and is in no way ‘clunky’ feeling. Finally, when welding overhead, all of the inner ratcheting bits do their job to keep the helmet in the same orientation to the eye as it is when I am looking slightly down welding on a fab table. This sounds like something simple, but my Speedglas has a habit of slipping down and resting on my nose when doing the overhead work because its ratcheting mechanisms, to put it bluntly, suck. The Selstrom is a bit better, but is clunky feeling. The Elite just does what you’d expect and maintains the same setup regardless of head position.
Function of the Digital Unit:
I originally thought that the digital console would just be fun to have for the ‘coolness’ factor, but now that I have used it, I’ve found it to be nice to have. With the big buttons and numbers on the screen, it’s easy to tell what your settings are. Also, the settings (shade, sensitivity and delay) were linear in their range of adjustment and easy to use. No reading of the manual is really necessary to use the hood, as everything is self-explanatory.
X-Mode:
Yes, it really works. I wanted to make sure for myself before I came on here saying it worked, so I blocked off the optical sensors (carefully, so as not to damage them), and ran the hood on (optical) weld mode, to verify that the optical sensors did not allow the lens to darken, then I switched it to X-Mode and sure enough, it works like a charm. It even works when I tried it on 5-amps DC tig. I don’t know how it picks up the electromagnetic fields so well, but it seems to be the bee’s knees if you’ll pardon the expression. I know I’ll enjoy using the X-Mode for those times that I can only half see what I am doing, no more flashing because of blocked sensors.
Low-Amp Tig:
For the fun of it, as I mentioned up above, I wanted to see if the hood would pick up the 5-amp arc that it mentions it will in the advertising, so, I ground a fine tungsten, turned the Dynasty way down and on a DC arc, tested the X-Mode and Weld Mode. Sure enough, the helmet didn’t miss a beat and picked up the arc without so much as a stutter. That’s pretty amazing to me, considering how little light is given off of a 5 tig amp arc.
Cutting:
It’s known that these new hoods with the cutting mode are great for working with plasma cutters, especially ones like the Elite with the large window, but something that I thought was neat about this hood is that you can use the settings in the cutting mode to lock on a shade 5 lens, just like you put a set of cutting goggles on and use it for oxy-fuel cutting.
Clarity:
Clarity, in my mind, is perhaps the most important feature of a hood, if not one of the top 2, second maybe only to function. The Speedglas is the king of clarity, well; it was until I tried the Elite. I can honestly say that this is the first hood that I have used that has a noticeably better optical clarity than my Speedglas. To tell the truth, I was almost a bit put out that this, thinking that I’d get this new fancy Miller hood but the Speedglas would still be my “professional” hood because of its high level of optical clarity. Times change I guess, and the Elite has definitely impressed me.
Unexpected Benefit:
Something I didn’t foresee was an unexpected benefit of having such a large viewing area. I find that now with the Elite when I’m doing quick things like dressing up a tungsten or repositioning a piece for welding, I‘m just leaving the hood down instead of flipping it up. The large window let’s me see fully what is ahead of me and also some of my peripheral vision, it’s really quite neat just how much you can see with this big lens.
Overall, if you’re looking for a top-notch helmet and can afford the Elite Digital, it is well worth the money. It won’t completely replace my Speedglas, the Speedglas will ride around in my truck with me, as does the Selstrom, and be good for the grunge field-work, but for everything in the shop, the Elite will have its full-time place. The finding that the Digital Elite outclassed the Speedglas caught me a bit of guard, but I must say that the Elite was the underdog in my mind before actually using it, and its quality has earned a permanent place in my shop.
Thanks for reading and have a good one guys
Wish I hadn't read it, because I feel a purchase coming on!
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