Oh yeah that’s a pretty solid benefit right there. I swear the oddest things will block them from cutting. I didn’t even consider the smoke diffusing the beam.

Like the most powerful laser I’ve used won’t cut through a paper sticker or even the residue but it’ll cut through .75" steel like it’s nothing.

The optics is a big deal too. On the big ones everything is pretty reasonably sized and they’re still a pain to clean. I can’t imagine what it’s like with those tiny ones. Also, those larger lasers lenses are really commonly coated in thorium and a speck gets on there it’s going to superheat and vaporize a lot of the lense. Pretty damn dangerous to be around lol!