I have four of the CE lights and all have the same problem. In my opinion, as a backup light they need to be reliable. In their present configuration, they are not! You say you would rely on your buddy. Well, my buddy is usually my wife and she has two of the unreliable CE lights, as do I. If she can't rely on her lights and I can't rely on mine, where does that leave us? I haven't decided whether to fix them or sell all four and buy scouts. Any opinions on that?