The light is a bit heavy compared the to the Light & Motion light it replaced but the battery life is the best I've ever had on something this compact. Most of my riding has been during the day so I'm only using one of the flash modes most of the time but it's been over a month and it is still reading in the green. I might also have about an hour of use on the low and medium setting after dark so really it is very impressive, wish I kept track of the actual time. The light is solidly built and I like the mounting system, no slippage at all and I do ride on some terrible roads. It is bright enough for me, there might be some washout as the other reviewer mentioned but it hasn't bothered me at all, for the price this has to be one of the best available.
I've had this for about a month now and ridden with it at least 20 times. While I wasn't sure I really needed it when I bought it, it has become almost a necessity now that I have used it. I am a senior rider (78 years), and it is wonderful having the few seconds of extra notification of a car approaching from behind. It gives one sound when a car is approaching, a slightly different sound when a string of cars is approaching, and a different sound if the approaching car turns off at another street before passing you. It also has a graphic display on the Element Bike Computer which changes color from green to orange to red as the car approaches. We have a lot of younger (almost everyone is younger than me now days) riders who are very capable (fast) including a fair number of pros (Boulder, Colorado), and the Trackr also alerts me when someone on our many bike trail is approaching on a bike. While I always double check with a mirror, this is a necessity at my age and probably useful for younger riders. The only issue I've found is riding a bikeway that parallels a highway (such as the one along US 36 from Boulder to Denver). The unit kind of goes crazy (constant beeping) in that situation and I have had to turn it off.
I'm not familiar with other, similar units ' although there are a few. I purchased this because of my experience with other Garmin products' and it was on sale! So far, I've not been disappointed as it does everything I'd hoped for. One thing I've noticed is that if using the screen on your phone, the traffic icons are spot on' as opposed to shutting the screen off and relying on the audio alert only: in this case, there could be two cars when you're expecting only one. That said, I still use my mirror to be sure. I also like the fact that you're given plenty of time before traffic comes near you' just in case you need to do some emergency maneuvering. If you're curious about radars, definitely check this one out!
BTW: I use an IPhone 12 with the Garmin Varia app. I understand it will also work with Ride with GPS, but I haven't tried that as yet.
This is my second Varia, bought for a bike I have in a different location. I've been using the first one for about three years now, and it is terrific. The new one is the same. The light itself is very bright, and the radar works well close to 100% of the time, even most of the time when riding in a paceline, but that is the occasional time when it won't pick up an approaching car because of interference from the back of the pack. Its range is excellent, picking up an approaching vehicle from about 1/4 mile back. Highly recommend.
