My aching eyeballs after practicing FCAW.

I have nice, modern Miller MIG and TIG welders and can weld fairly well. That said...

If I were in the market for a helmet, I'd compare response times and make sure I bought one with the best available.

I also wear a blue Miller welding jacket, always. Not so much for burns, but to avoid the 'secondhand' glare that will come under the helmet if you are wearing a light colored shirt. The reflected glare is quite capable of doing damage.

I also have gotten to where I will weld when I need to...but I don't go looking for excuses to weld. If I have a job that needs especially good looking welds, I often take it to a local welder and have him do it. That's because there's no way to do a really good looking weld without looking deep into the puddle....and I don't wanna do that. I run on 12 or 13 shade and let the weld suffer a little if it needs to.

I also never weld then run out the door...I always stick around at least 5 minutes to make sure nothing has started in fire. That's not eye safety, but it's another rule I follow when I weld or use torches.

My friend above...he also told me a simple fact - your eyes only have a certain number of cones and rods, and when they're gone, they're gone. There is no reset button you can push to start over.