Okay theres two basic types of welding helmet....ones with an automatic shade and ones without ...both are fine if you use them correctly .If it 's for his job or he is going to do a lot of welding then a good quality auto helmet is the go if it is a hobby and he doesn't want to spend a lot of money then just a basic CIG_WELD or BOC helment will be fine. I tend to run a shade 12 for most general purpose jobs or maybe a 13 if thats whats around never anything less...but then I am a qualified boilermaker and it being a bit darker doesn't affect my runs.give me a few minutes and I will look up some charts and stuff for you. If your in australia I can provide a national telephone number for BOC if not there should be a BOC or similar welding supply shop near you. **still looking for those amps vs shade charts. try this link for the shades vs amps ...only use the far right column not the minimum shade column....unless he is oxy- welding tell him never to use less then a shade 12. and if he is welding at higher amps or is tig welding to up his lens shade accordingly...\BTW what happened to his eyes can be a lot worse believe me ...it is called a welding flash and I have had my eyes bandaged for two days because of a faulty cheap auto helmet ...you get what you pay for with those... I own a speed glass but they are expensive unless your making money from welding , BOC make an excellent autoshield helmet forless then $300 Aus Dollars BOC [auto-tracker( Part Number -1000-254-01)] Like I said the old style helmets are fine if you get CIG_WELD or BOC brands and the correct shade of lens and use them properly... WHAT sort of helmet does he have at the moment BTW?