If you are one of those people who are really into welding and want to start as a beginner, acquiring a welding helmet is probably the first move you are going to make. Welding helmets are the number one safety tools when it comes to welding, and they are absolutely necessary for every beginner and professional welder.
Starting out with welding, you should already know that you must never work without taking safety measures to avoid damaging your own health or the health of your co-workers. For this reason, safety tools and accessories regarding welding such as welding helmet, gloves and welding blankets are essential.
ALSO READ: Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Right Welding Helmet
There are a lot of dangers involved into welding and experienced welders know this for fact. As a beginner, you should take all precautions needed to avoid such dangers, so investing in a quality welding helmet is in your best interest.
What is the best type of welder for beginners?
To begin with, there are several different welding methods that are used today. Some of them are more well-known to the majority of the welders, while others are suitable for more experienced welders. As a beginner, you need to research and find out which method works best for you, and this will help you decide what type of welding helmet to purchase.
Let’s find out which are the three main types of welder for beginners.
1 – MIG welding
In my opinion, when it comes to just starting with welding, the MIG method is the most easy one. It is a great way to get introduced into welding, and serves greatly as a learning process for the rest of the methods too.
Being the fastest of the three methods described in our article MIG helps the beginners for a number of reason. First of all, with this method, beginners can very easily produce beautiful results, which will boost their confidence and their need to continue learning about welding.
In addition to this, MIG is extremely clean. It is very easy for beginner welder to achieve powerful joints that are going to last over time, without much effort. This is why MIG is great way to start learning the basics of welding.
You should keep in mind that there are some conditions that MIG is not going to work well in. A significant example are windy condition, which make it very hard for MIG to work effectively. What is more, MID also doesn’t work well with rusty metal, which is why you should go with Flux-Cored welding in order to fuse effectively rusty metals together.
2 – Arc welding
The second method that I recommend for beginners, is the arc welding. This method is one of the most common welding methods in general, massively used by the welders worldwide. It suitable for both beginners and professional welders, and it has been the most used technique in the welding world for the past several decades.
When you have thick metal pieces that you want to fuse together, using the arc welding method is the best way to go. It offers the ability to the welder to produces significantly strong welds, all by following very standard procedure, one of the main reason why it is recommended for beginners too.
In addition to working great with thick metals, which is a huge advantage for the work of every welder, it is also one of the most stable methods to work with metal. Due its high levels of stability, welders can very easily handle metals and work effectively with dust, rust and dirtiness.
The particular method is used so widely by the professionals because the stability it offers makes it possible to work under very windy conditions without any issues. This helps handle rustic metal parts easily with average effort.
If you are a beginner, you have to keep in mind that one main disadvantage of the particular technique is that it works only with very thick metal pieces. That means that it is effective only for heavy welding operations, and it is not possible to work with it for 1/16 inch metal or under.
The Arc welding method is a bit more difficult than the MIG method. It is going to take more time for beginners to get used to the technique and learn it. This is because it takes time to learn how to be careful enough with it and get used to handling the sparks produced during the process without burning your skin.
Adding to that, it should be mentioned that in the Arc technique the welder has to change the rods regularly, while it is required that he cleans and polishes the metal after every process for better results and welding cast iron. If you are a beginner, keep in mind the levels of difficulty for the particular method and the time investment it requires.
3 – TIG welding
The third technique is the TIG welding. It is the method that is going to produce the most eye-pleasing results, while being very clean. Welders use the particular method when they have thinner pieces of metal to work with, as it is considered the most stable technique to work with.
The accuracy it offers to the welder is magnificent. This happens because in the TIG welding process, in order to fuse two separate metal pieces together, welders use plasma. After the fusing process, there is no need for cleaning, as it is the cleanest method from the three mentioned.
During the TIG welding, argon is also used in order to protect the weld from exterior factors and various kinds of contamination. Argon is used during the particular welding process as a shield gas, which is the reason why the weld stays protected.
Now, I do not recommend TIG welding for beginners, and the reason for this is its biggest disadvantage: the amount of time it takes. While being the most accurate and clean method, it takes a lot of time to weld metal with the particular method, and it is harder to learn than the other two. This is why beginners are advised to begin with Arc or MIG (preferably) welding.
If you are a beginner welder and want to improve your skills, here is a very helpful video about the basics of welding:

The welding helmets we recommend to beginners
Although there are various brands and types of welding helmets, we have gathered a list of 5 of the best welding helmets for beginners that we recommend. Most of these helmets are auto-darkening, and this because this type of welding helmets is what we advise beginners to use because of their easiness and effectiveness.
ALSO READ: Best Welding Helmets
Let’s look at the list of our recommended welding helmets closer.
The best welding helmets for beginners
Our top recommendation
1 – Lincoln Electric 3350 Series
- This refurbished product is tested and certified...
Our top recommendation regarding auto-darkening welding helmets is the Lincoln Electric 3350 Series, which you can find on Amazon. The particular helmet is one of the greatest models Lincoln Electric has ever manufactured in my opinion.
First things first, it is a very lightweight welding helmet. This means that it offers high levels of comfort to the welder and it speeds up the work process, as it sits conveniently on the head without pressing parts of the head. In addition to this, it is an extremely stable welding helmet, which leads to less distractions during the welding in order to six its position.
It is known as one of the most convenient helmets because it doesn’t require from the welder to lift it up when the welding process stop, and then wear it again. This is a huge advantage and it saves tons of time, especially for longer projects.
The Lincoln Electric 3350 Series is my top recommendation for every beginner or professional welder that wants to maximize his efforts and acquire a full functionally welding helmet. Definitely worth the money investment.
Runner up
2 – Jackson Safety 46131
- PREMIUM PIPE MEASURER: This easy to use marking...
- BEST VIEWING: This ADF helmet has a viewing area...
- DIGITAL CONTROL: With variable shades from 9 to...
- MULTI-USE WELDING: This variable auto darkening...
- SAFETY CERTIFICATIONS: This helmet provides...
My second choice, as far as welding helmets for beginners are concerned, is the Jackson Safety 46131. We are talking about a welding helmet with a shade selection of maximum easiness, even for beginners. Again, this model by Jackson Safety is a highly light weight one, making the welding process as convenient as it gets.
Although it is in fact a very lightweight helmet, it is made of high quality materials and feels very sturdy. This means that it will not get easily damaged, and it will keep the head and face of the welder protect at all times.
Adjusting the height of the helmet is very fast to figure for beginners. The adjusters are placed at the top exterior part of the welding helmet, making it easy to adjust it even during welding with simple moves. Adding to that, putting the helmet onto the head is also a very simple task because it wears pretty easily and sits comfortably on the head.
As far as I am concerned, this is a great choice. It makes the welding process a bit more easy for the owner, and it absolutely enhances the convenience during the process. You can find the Jackson Safety 46131 auto-darkening welding helmet here.
A welding helmet beginners will love
3 – Instapark ADF Series GX990T
- Solar-powered welding helmet with 4 arc sensors...
- Revolutionary new design with convenient external...
- Wide range of variable shade adjustment from #5...
- Made of lightweight, yet durable composite...
- Suitable applications include Stick (arc welding),...
Our next welding helmet is a model suitable for most beginner welders. The Instapark ADF Series GX990T is a well-designed auto-darkening welding helmet which uses solar power in order to function.
Like the modern standards regarding welding helmets require, this one is again a very lightweight helmet. Being auto-darkening, it is going to make it extremely easy for beginners to use it during the welding process, and manage to operate it even if they do not have experience at all.
In the package, the buyer will find out that the Instapark Company has included a carry bag for the welding helmet, and some lens protectors in case you need them. The helmet has all the necessary adjusting controls placed on the exterior part, which makes its use even more convenient.
The lens and shades of the helmet work great and they are full automatic, letting the user work in detail while being in the welding process and when stopping. Being such a highly functional welding helmet, I highly recommend if for beginners.
An affordable welding helmet solution
4 – Antra AH6-260-0000
- 【Safety & Protection】 Passive Filter with...
- 【Comfort & Convenience】 Very light total...
- 【Performance】 4 Premium redundant arc sensors,...
- 【Reliability】 Interference Suppression...
- 【Versatility】 A great personal protection...
This welding helmet model is a very affordable solution for every type of budget, thus for almost every beginner welder. The Antra AH6-260-0000 is a well-structure auto-darkening helmet, which was made by the Antra Company with limited budgets in mind. Check its price on Amazon.
While being one of the most affordable helmets in the market, it is completely functional and works great both for MIG and TIG welding methods. It offers plasma applications and it comes with a grinding feature, which makes the welding process even more effective for the beginner welder.
As for the auto-darkening feature, the helmet has very sensitive lens, although there is a knob place on the helmet which you can use to adjust the sensitivity according to your needs. If you are on a tight budget, the Antra AH6-260-0000 is the solution for a highly functional and affordable welding helmet.
For beginners that want a passive welding helmet
5 – Jackson Safety W10 HSL 100
- DURABLE DESIGN – Jackson Safety welding helmet...
- ADAPTABLE & UPGRADABLE – This shield is hard hat...
- MULTI-USE – Auto darkening welding helmet...
- EXTRA SAFETY – The welding mask has an extended...
- COMPLIANT – This welding hood is CSA compliant...
Last but not least, for those that are just entering the welding world and want to work old-school, I am here to talk about a passive welding helmet that is going to make the work a bit easier for you. The Jackson Safety W10 HSL 100 is one of the best helmet solutions when you want to go passive.
The particular welding helmet has a narrow design philosophy, which makes it suitable when you have to work in places where there is no much room. It was built with an extended front part, which increases the protection levels from serious health dangers, such as face burns, sparks and fumes.
If you are a beginner and you have the intention to use a passive welding helmet, the Jackson Safety W10 HSL 100 is definitely my go-to option. Regarding the price, like most of the passive welding helmet it is slightly more affordable than the majority of high quality auto-darkening welding helmets.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is my honest opinion that as a beginner you should start with a good quality auto-darkening welding helmet, as it makes both the learning and the work process much easier, more convenient and more importantly, safer.
Make sure that you determine what your available budget is, read carefully about the welding helmet you are about to purchase and make a case of asking the advise of professional in order to get to a safer conclusion.