For a rarely used back up light, I honestly like that feature. One less charger to carry. I'm not a huge fan of batteries with the charger built in, I broke one from a drop falling off the counter.
I do need to get a new charger. I have an 8-bay that I use for AAs and 18650s, but 21700s won't fit as they are just barely too long.
Regardless, I'm pretty much always going to have a charger for other stuff (like other lights and strobe batteries). For that reason, I feel like it is no benefit to me at all to have the built in charger in the light. I'd happily trade for a shorter light. Not to mention the built-in charger just seems like one more way that the light could break, and would it then drain the battery or make the light inoperable? I don't know.
I have not yet had a bad experience with the 21700 cells with built-in charger. But, if I do, then I would have no real issue with just buying ones without that and using an external charger (that I'll have with me anyway).
Trying to find a good replacement. The CX2 is a bit long, but I do have just enough room on my harnesses to make it work. They turn on with a mode that is good for greater than 2 hours runtime, and is good enough to even scooter with. But it lacks a lock.
The DGX 1000-6 is compelling since someone mentioned it has a lock. But I wish I could program it to turn on in medium mode as default, that would give me the runtime I desire without having to remember to turn it down.
The 1000-6 is clinched for me now, based on the other thread I started, with the comparison.
The 1000-6 will turn off if you unscrew the tail/battery cap well under 1/2 a turn. That makes it kinda the best of all worlds, in my book. It's a twist light with a button for brightness.
To turn it off now, I will always just twist off (like I would with the DGX 700).
To turn it on, I will twist (a la DGX 700) and then press the button. And, as
@lexvil already noted, it turns on on Low. You just press it to go to Medium and then High.
The only way I can think to improve it would be to make the twist on/off be THE way to turn it on and off, with the button ONLY cycling between brightness modes.
It would be tempting to also say that it should come on at whatever brightness level it was on previously. But, I think that would likely just make it more expensive for a very tiny benefit. I really am fine with it coming on on Low. Buut, if it could come on with a twist and be at the same brightness as previous, with no extra cost or battery drain in storage or anything like that, then yeah, I would spec that change, too.
As it is, now that I know I can reliably turn it off with no chance of accidentally turning it on, this light is going to be my default light for any time I'm not using a can light (or a combo spot/flood).
