There are some other posts that touch on some of these topics, but I wanted to post my observations.
I am able to get many hours out of the light when part of the network, not running in individual mode but that only happens when the ride is at a consistent light level.
The light attempts to change modes too rapidly when riding through shadows/shaded areas. The constant changeover of brightness, angle, and solid/flash modes drains the battery and is downright distracting.
I believe this is the core of the issues. If the Varia had better hysteresis algorithms this may not happen because it would both average the light levels over time and prevent rapid changes. It could also probably be easily addressed in a SW update mid-cycle. That would inherently help to constrain battery consumption because the changes are more "expensive" from an energy draw point of view than any of the modes running by themselves.
As others have said, I would also like a "medium" setting as part of the network, not just individual mode, and I believe that too can be rectified by an update.
Lastly, the battery warning should happen at a time that's consistent with the level of drain, not just a specific level. I've noticed that when flashing on high, I'll get the low battery warning and it's dead within 100 seconds, when on low/med solid, I'll have 15-20 minutes. I'd think this can also be addressed via SW.
Bottom line, there isn't much keeping this light from being great but they are big things for avid cyclists and things that should/could be easily resolved.
Thank you.
