Optrel Crystal 2.0 Welding Helmet 1006.900

On a good day this is the best hood I've ever used. On a bad day it's super easy to accidentally bump the grind button and get "flashed" when you start (at #2 shade, it's a bad flash). There's a tiny red flashing light for when you are in grind mode, but I have never seen it until after I got flashed and pull the thing off to see WTF happened.

On a really bad day it gets tired of shading and decides to let you see your welding at the worst possible time (maybe it's broken after 3 years). New batteries made it less bad, but still bad.

This hood has given me more arc flashes in 3 years than the the 45 years of welding before that.

Point being at the 1st sign of trouble throw it away, what's 4 or 5 hundred dollars anyway.

I got this helmet based on the cost being so high, I thought it was the highest quality, which is not the case, the grind button gets stuck (on my 2nd helmet), the helmet material does not feel as durable as other helmets. The stickers on the interior are even coming off when you pull it out of the box new, says a lot about the company as a whole. Cyberweld had to eat some of the cost I believe in the replacement as I don't believe Optrel wanted to 100% stand behind their product. The helmet is great for showing off though, and it does feel cool to run around at night with your helmet on in the dark and be able to see everything. However, I find this helmet uncomfortable to grind in, as I personally like having a clear grind shield, and if you're like me, get a bigger viewing area in your helmet over viewing ability, but this helmet is nicer for light duty welding as you don't have to take it off for little grind moments. Not a lot of people like to admit they over paid for an item, but trust me, people who over sell this item as being the "best" probably can't afford to venture.