this probably isn’t what you’re looking for but it has the same functionality in a form of a flashlight.
https://darksucks.com/products/maelstrom-mxs-standby-26650
It's surprising that just the pressure of being in your pant pocket and sitting down could break it, but that spot is indeed the thinnest part of the light. I'm curious if whether the break was because the bore was off center and left one side of the wall extra thin or if the bore was just too...
Until recently, I had a red, amber, and YG. Red and amber were the earlier versions where you had to pull on the head and twist to change modes. The YG was the newer one where you didn't have to pull and twist. Just twist.
None of the ones I had exhibited the flickering that you mentioned...
There's no doubt the design cues were taken from Surefire, but this has been going on for the longest time. I guess JetBeam thought enough time has passed that they can take the styling cues of the protos and use them without stirring the pot too much with SureFire.
My original xtar vc4 charger was buggy and a bit frustrating to get working. I want to replace it with something reliable, and it seems like the VC4SL is NOT the replacement I want.