The Hobart Hood is a new auto-darkening welding helmet from this Illinois company. The helmet's lens automatically darkens.

The Hobart Hood is a new auto-darkening welding helmet from this Illinois company. The helmet's wide-angle lens automatically darkens when a welding arc is struck and brightens when the user stops welding. This eliminates the need to flip the helmet up between welds and risk losing the welding gun's position. The lens switches between light and dark in 1/11,000th of a second-3,300 times faster than the blink of an eye.

Hobart Welders Retail Sales, 600 W. Main St., Troy, OH 45373; 800/626-9420; fax 800/424-1544.