I found that using a cheater lens make me a better welder. Not that my eyesight is going, which it may be, but that I can see the weld puddle much better and that makes for a better weld.

But, the di-polar lenses gave me a headache. They just made me go dizzy. And I wanted something a bit more powerful than what is available. So I tried something else.

I went to the local Office Max and they had a pair of 3X reading glasses so I got a pair. 3X is higher than most clip in cheater lenses. Put them on and man, what a difference. No more headaches and I can really see the puddle now. My tungsten contamination has dropped to nothing as I can now really see how close I am to the puddle.

The only problem with them is that everything out of the focus area (about 6 inches to two feet) is really fuzzy and so looking at anything else is not possible. But for close work like tigging, migging or even gas welding, those glasses are the cats butt!