New 3M Speedglas Generation 5 welding helmet launch

Since releasing the first auto-darkening welding helmet in 1981, Speedglas™ has emerged as a leading brand in welders’ PPE: setting the industry benchmark in vision, comfort, safety, and performance.

This has culminated in Generation 5, the latest collection of Speedglas welding helmets that showcase an array of never-before-seen features. Each helmet is designed from inception to be uniquely tailored to a specific application, from heavy-duty welding in hard-wearing environments to critical precision TIG work.

The result, after extensive input from professional welders, is an elite welding helmet range that manages to be both highly specialised and versatile in equal measure.

3M™ Speedglas G5-02 Welding Helmet: a new world standard in precision viewing

The new 3M Speedglas Welding Helmet G5-02 marks a historic breakthrough in welding helmet technology, as it features the world’s first curved auto-darkening welding lens. Perhaps the most significant leap forward since the brand released the first auto-darkening welding helmet in 1981, Speedglas Curved Glass Technology serves to maximise your natural range of vision to create a 100% wider field of view.

While in the past a larger field of view would involve the compromise of a larger, heavier, and more cumbersome helmet shell, the G5-02 lens allows the best of both worlds – wider views in an incredibly slim, lightweight helmet. The curved shape of the welding lens closely mirrors the welder’s face to increase peripheral vision, improve overall weight distribution, and narrow the profile of the helmet.

In addition to its groundbreaking aesthetic and 100% wider views, the G5-02 creates a new world standard for precision optics with the introduction of Speedglas TrueView in combination with a light state of 2.5. Literally see the difference with a view that appears lighter, brighter, and more realistic. The Speedglas G5-02 lens also delivers highly advanced electronics, with four arc sensors that will detect an arc down to an industry-leading 1 Amp. This in turn ensures the lens can reliably react to the extremely stable arcs offered by the latest high-end inverter based TIG machines.

Finally, the Speedglas G5-02 is Bluetooth® enabled, so you can securely pair your smartphone to your welding lens via the 3M Connected App. You can then use your phone to program up to four memory modes, each with its own settings for dark shades, sensitivity, and delay. This option, when combined with the more intuitive, user-friendly control panel on the lens itself, means it has never been easier to adjust your lens settings to suit your requirements. The app also lets you record a maintenance log for your helmet, as well as access User Manuals and Parts Lists.

3M Speedglas G5-01 Welding Helmet: the ultimate in heavy-duty protection

The 2017 IARC reclassification of welding fume as ‘carcinogenic to humans’ simply confirmed what was already known – welding fume is extremely bad for health and workplaces must protect their workers. Excessive exposure to welding fume can cause multiple types of cancer, including lung, larynx, and urinary tract. Action is required.

The important point to understand is that, while the risk posed by welding fume is serious, keeping yourself safe can be straightforward. This is where the Speedglas G5-01VC Flip-Up Welding Helmet with Heavy-Duty Adflo™ Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) comes in.

As one of the most popular respirators of its kind in the world, the award-winning Adflo™ PAPR has become synonymous with effective respiratory protection against carcinogenic welding fume. With the right filters, it can consistently protect against welding fume particles as well as a range of gases and vapours.

The respirator fully complies with the Australian and New Zealand standard for powered air respirators (AS/NZS1716) and offers a Required Minimum Protection Factor (RMPF) of 50, meaning it will supply a minimum 50 times cleaner air than a welder would otherwise breathe unprotected.

What's more, the Speedglas G5-01 comes standard with the Heavy-Duty Adflo PAPR: built to offer up to 12 hours' continuous protection for long shifts in harsh environments. The result is a constant flow of clean air directly into your breathing zone for cooler, cleaner, and more comfortable welding.

In addition to the state-of-the-art respiratory protection, the Speedglas G5-01 has a range of unique and fully customisable features to offer. Based on extensive input from welders working at high amperages who need to grind frequently, the helmet has been created to be adaptable to each individual’s needs and situation.

This includes TrueView in the light state, Variable Colour Technology in the dark state, Climate Control to adjust the airflow in your helmet, an optional task light, and the ability to adjust settings remotely via Bluetooth®.

Heavy-duty welders need heavy-duty protection: look no further than the G5-01.