I had been using an old 3M Speedglas 9000x that was working fine but getting pretty beat up. A really nice lady welder I know that works in a large production facility asked me if I wanted a welding helmet. She said they were upgrading safety equipment at work and they were issued new gear and told to toss the "old" stuff in the dumpster. She brought home 2 and offered me one of them for free!
Best part (no, maybe FREE is the best part) is it is a BRAND NEW as in UNUSED Speedglas 9002x with flip front grinding feature and she gave me a big handful of spare lens covers and batteries! The digital controls are nicer than my old helmet. same light weight and comfortable headgear.
Not a bad day for me! I came home all giddy and my wife thought I was acting too excited until I told her its a $500 helmet.

Now I gotta think of something nice I can do for the giver in return.
Best part (no, maybe FREE is the best part) is it is a BRAND NEW as in UNUSED Speedglas 9002x with flip front grinding feature and she gave me a big handful of spare lens covers and batteries! The digital controls are nicer than my old helmet. same light weight and comfortable headgear.
Not a bad day for me! I came home all giddy and my wife thought I was acting too excited until I told her its a $500 helmet.

Now I gotta think of something nice I can do for the giver in return.

