There are quite a few things to talk about. Some have been well addressed already in this thread. I'll just mention a couple more. There's more to it than just what's been said and what I'm going to touch on.

I did not understand this before I had experienced exactly what I have. I assumed the exact same things you did, I'm not any smarter than you, I just learned from the experience of what I did. If you understand what I'm saying and take it in without having to experience it, you're probably smarter than I am. I hope I'm not preaching. I'm trying to make it easy to understand, that's all. Maybe someone out there is trying to decide to buy a HID or not, by reading this. I try to learn about potential purchases this way.

For riding in a place where you want to see a person, a bottle, an animal on the pavement at medium speeds the Metro will work. If you have sturdy tires and don't run over any glass you will be fine. The price is a bargain too, for that kind of use.

If you want to ride a fast bike with high performance tires, and miss every little small piece of glass, the Metro will not work. I did not say " Inexpensive lights are no good" I did not say "expensive lights are better" nor will I ever. In that situation the metro will not work. I have tested a Metro for a bike shop for a couple of weeks before they decided it was a product to offer for sale.

For the past two years, more than once a week, I have been riding four hours and longer in the dark to return home at the end of a 100 plus mile ride. I need my four hour run time from the HID light. You get
a longer run time from the same size battery, not just high power. If I remember correctly the metro goes 1.5 hours on high and 3 on low. I might be off, Is that about right? So 3 hours on 6.5 watts? Even if my memory is not exactly correct , you can see my point, I can't get 4 hours on high. This is fine for lots of uses, not for the scenario that is my favorite ride. On some hills I go down every single time I ride, I go about 35 mph or more. I would be over driving the Cygo, I will not be able to stop fast enough on my 23mm wide tires on that particular bike.

To follow the light makers instructions you point the HID light straight forward, not down at the road. This prevents a bright spot on the road in front of you and you can see better. You don't aim this thing down at the ground and blind yourself. Forget about night blindness from that situation. The beam is so wide that even when you look well to the side the light is there anyway.

My old Nightrider classic halogen was 32 watts on high, it's powerful. It only went about 50 minutes on high. The Nightrider HID light I own is brighter, I ride beside my old halogen Classic every single week with the present owner. The HID weighs less, is brighter and goes four (4) hours. If you think that weight does not matter on a 120 mile ride, you should try it a few times and compare different weight bikes, before you decide.

The classic was about $350 to $ 375 the last time I carefully read the price in a catalogue. The Nightrider HID was about $ 389 ish with tax it was $400. Not a lot more. I experimented with all sorts of dive lights, Flashlights, etc, I built a 50 watt halogen light for about $50, I tried everything I could think of to NOT spend $400 on a light. I spent a year experimenting. I spent over $100 learning what does not work.

My digital pro 6 Nightrider is 6 volts and 15 watts halogen on high, it is plenty bright enough for most of what I do, but it only goes about I hour 20 min. on 15 watts. It's nice and light too. It was my only light for about 7 years. In this example for this amount of ride time, I am in total agreement about what you said about 16 watts, you are correct if you do not consider the run time of the light or the size and weight of the battery. If you do consider these things everything changes.

In the middle of the summer this year I was Mountain biking a new section of the Rhode Island North South trail (places unfamiliar to us, and using maps and blazes on trees to not get lost) (much)
almost every weekend. We would ride all day and come back at 9:00 or 10:00 pm exhausted. Going fast down hills in the woods and over rough terrain requires much better vision that road riding. When one is exhausted, seeing better in the woods is safer and easier too. And A lighter bike (headlight) is less
work. The Merto is not suitable for these conditions.

When I got to the point, where I was using all the four hours on my existing light and coming home on a back up light, every single week I decided to do something. As I did my research I learned about a light that is made for the stress of professional Off road riding. The winner of the national 24 hour MTB races said it was the best money he ever spent for an improvement in his racing. Makes a lot more difference than, a $900 frame upgrade, FOR HIM in that particular circumstance. This light will go 5 hours on high and 8 hours on low. I paid $899 plus tax. I will use this once a week for at least five hours, and once a week for about a half hour home from a club ride, and most of the time one more night ride every week.
It's made my riding much safer and easier. I will more than get my money out of it at about a minimum of 175 miles a week. I have run the old Nightrider HID that frequently for three years so far. OK $400 three years.. So what? About 133 bucks a year. so what? A minimum of about 6300 miles a year.

Is this $900 light better than the Cygo for a 1 hour commute on a hybrid without much glass to run over ? NO. it's too expensive. It would be a waste. Is a guy with a $900 light for a 1 hour commute a smart cyclist? I don't think so, it seems like too much money for the light.

Will the Metro do what I like to do, No way. Is it worse? NO just different. It does what it is designed to do. Meet a price point for a certain type of riding. Would I try to sell you a $900 light for a short commute? Of course not. I would try and stop you.

Is $900 pocket change for me?.... I researched this light for well over a year and saved for it. I was petrified when I bought it. I was still a little unsure, but the on line owners reviews and actual usage by others is convincing. It was a huge decision for me, the most expensive thing I have bought in about two years. It was well worth it for me, every single penny. It fits some situations, not others. If you have not walked a mile in another mans shoes............................Or, if you have not tried it, be careful what you assume. One thing that took me a long time to lean about bicycling is, that there are so many different conditions, or variables for bikes and gear, that unless I know a lot about the intended use I can't recommend anything for someone. Every one is different, every situation is different.

I'm not smarter than you, I just was exposed to so much of this type of thing that it sunk in. It's very interesting to me so I study this stuff by a lot of reading too, just because I like it. It's my favorite pastime.

I remember when I thought any cyclist who owned an expensive bike or any expensive gear was an idiot.
It took me a decade of riding 3,000 to 7,000 miles a year, and working part time in a bike shop for a few years to realize that this is not usually the case. In nine times out of ten you get what you pay for.
It took owning 15 bikes and a lot of gear to be able to compare a lot of things side by side to see what is better for what application.

I do not think that you are out of your mind or a freak just because you think an expensive headlight is too much money. It's too bad some people say these things in forums. It's stops a meaningful exchange of information sometimes. It's ok for you to disagree with me, I don't think it's helpful to call HID light owners Freaks. Let us call ourselves freaks and out of our mind, that's a lot more fun. OK........ I'm a freak and out of my mind, just don't tell everyone OK?....please?

Here is a photo of my three year old Nightrider 10 watt HID at midnight on a bikepath.