About

Hey there, fellow welding enthusiasts! Welcome to ProWeldingHelmets.com, your one-stop destination for expert insights, actionable advice, and in-depth reviews of high-quality welding helmets and hoods. Here, you’ll find everything you need to protect your eyes and face from sparks, fumes, and flashes.

Meet Hernan Donahue

So me? I’m Hernan, Hernan Donahue, a mechanical engineer with a CWENG certification and over 20 years of experience in fabrication. My journey into welding began with my family’s business, Donahue’s Welding, which my father started when I was just a child. While he introduced me to this field, the long hours and tough working conditions didn’t initially ignite a passion in me.

Despite this, my interest in machinery and automation led me to pursue a MECHANICAL ENGINEERING degree at the University of Utah. It was during my time at university that I began to see the potential for innovation and creativity in welding.

After graduating, I joined a startup FABRICATION company and worked there for 3 years. During this time, I had immense learning opportunities and absorbed everything I could. With my experience and degree, I became a Certified Welding Engineer (CWENG) through the American Welding Society (AWS), which gave my career a new direction. This certification further fueled my dream of upgrading my family’s business and running it alongside my father.

However, I needed more experience and to learn different types of welding. So, I took on more challenging welding engineering and inspection jobs at big companies like Honeywell and Caterpillar. Over the next decade, I mastered Arc, Stick, TIG, MIG, SMAW, FCAW, and Plasma welding techniques.

A Welder’s Journey

In 2012, when I was ready, I took a leap of faith and left my job to pursue my ETERNAL DREAM. However, by this time, my father had retired, and the old welding shop had been shut down. Undeterred, I purchased modern fabrication equipment for welding, cutting, grinding, and other processes, and restarted the business from our garage.

Now, I have a dedicated team of 16 professional welding engineers and technicians working with me in our 2000 sq. ft. workshop. We have a strict no-compromise policy on quality, ensuring that every project we undertake is executed with precision and excellence.

My father’s retirement and the closure of the welding shop were pivotal moments for me. His dedication and hard work inspired me to strive for excellence in everything I do. His support and guidance continue to drive me forward as I follow in his footsteps.

Passion for Welding Helmets

Among all types of fabrication gear, I have always been particularly fascinated with welding helmets. When I started welding in 2002, I could only use fixed-shade lenses. However, as technology advanced, so did our equipment. Now, we work with a range of helmets, from auto-darkening helmets to smart camera hoods and even respiratory helmets.

Driven by my passion and my father’s teachings, I’m excited to launch ProWeldingHelmets.com. This platform will be a real resource for fabrication enthusiasts, providing expert tips, insightful guides, and detailed reviews of professional welding helmets and hoods.

Core Values Of ProWeldingHelmets.com

1. Authentic Guidance

At ProWeldingHelmets.com, authenticity is our hallmark. We are committed to providing you with genuine, unfiltered insights into welding helmets and accessories. Our reviews are based on extensive hands-on testing and real-world use by experienced welders, ensuring that you receive authentic and practical information that you can trust.

2. Accurate Information

Accuracy is fundamental to our mission. Every piece of content on ProWeldingHelmets.com is the result of thorough testing, in-depth research, and verification. We cross-check all technical specifications and performance claims to deliver content that is not only reliable but also actionable. Our dedication to accuracy helps you make the best-informed choices for your welding needs.

3. Maximum Welding Protection

Your safety is our top priority. We focus on identifying and recommending welding helmets that provide the highest levels of protection. This includes evaluating helmets for features such as auto-darkening filters, high-impact resistance, and comprehensive face and neck coverage. By spotlighting products that excel in protective performance, we aim to help you stay safe in all welding environments.

4. Compliance With the Best Standards

We hold the products we review to the highest industry standards. ProWeldingHelmets.com rigorously assesses helmets for compliance with safety certifications like OSHA, AWS, ANSI Z87.1, EN379, and other relevant standards. This ensures that the gear you choose meets or exceeds the required safety and performance benchmarks, providing you with equipment that you can rely on.

5. User Experience

Providing an exceptional user experience is a key focus for us. We design our website to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy for you to find detailed reviews, buying guides, and safety tips. Interactive features such as comparison charts, user polls, and expert Q&A sessions are incorporated to enhance your engagement and ensure you find exactly what you need efficiently.

Our Team

I lead a DEDICATED TEAM as director in my workshop to test welding helmets and analyze and record the results. With my background in engineering, along with work experience, I ensure that our informative guides and product reviews are nothing short of excellent. For this reason, I have chosen the two finest persons from my fabrication team with a wealth of knowledge and skills.

Oliver Freling, a skilled Welding Engineer with CWENG certification serves as our Workshop Manager and Support Analyst. With seven years of experience, Oliver ensures that every aspect of our testing process is thorough and precise.

We also have Liam Clyborne, a Certified Welder with a decade of hands-on experience at our workshop. Liam’s practical knowledge of welding techniques adds a crucial perspective to our evaluations, making our reviews not just technical but also very helpful.

Together, Oliver, Liam, and I form a dedicated team committed to providing our readers with the most RELIABLE and INFORMATIVE tips, guides, and reviews of welding helmets possible, based on real testing and research. Our passion, combined with our expertise, makes us a trusted source in the community.

Join us on this adventure as we explore the world of welding helmets together. Contact us if you have any feedback- you’re MOST WELCOME!

See You,
-Donahue and Team