I'm sorry you are unable to express a joke in a way that others will get it. In that case, perhaps I too was joking and poorly expressed it as such. The use of smilies is crucial to communcation on an online forum where it is impossible to detect one's tone through the text.
I think I already explained what makes the light worth it to me. If it is not worth it to you, that is your (lack of) concern, not mine.
The quality of this light is impeccable. It is very finely finished and has a very lovely floody beam with a minimal hotspot. It's fantastic for reading or just walking around. It slips unnoticed on a keychain or on a neck lanyard. I do carry a normal EDC, and the CR2 Ion finely complements it. The threads are incredibly smooth and very precisely machined. As I stated before, it is also amongst the least expensive custom lights on the market and is a pretty good value at that.
I believe you are mistaken in assessing that the most popular lights cost more money than others.
Hypothetically let us consider that there are three main markets, oversimplifying the ecosystem of CPF. I won't bother with fancy naming schemes, so let's call them the low-end, the high-end, and the medium-end.
I believe that the Fenix lights seem to have the greatest market penetration amongst active CPFers and they are not expensive nor cheap. They are positioned quite happily in the middle of the road in terms of cost and are doing very well there. Let us say that Fenix represents the middle-of the road CPFer, who is looking for something somewhat better and theoretically more reliable than the low-priced stuff, but is not ready or unwilling to shell out over $100 for a light. Such a CPFer may be fairly reasonable by "normal people" standards and sees value in a light but no sense in purchasing something "outlandishly" expensive. This may also include CPFers who peruse DX first for their lights and are looking to see what all the hype is about.
There are premium lights from other manufacturers and makers. Those cost more. They have a loyal fanbase because those who purchase them feel that the increase in quality, the higher attention to detail, and the names standing behind the lights are all worth the extra cash. They don't mind that they get less value in return for their money, because they feel they are getting something they believe to be worth the price premium. Many people who of said group tend to have fewer lights but value each more.
Then there are cheaper lights. Those who buy these tend to be looking for output first and foremost. They are often looked down upon by the purchasers of more premium lights, in the medium and high end markets. But CPFers who stick to the low end market tend to be happy with what they've got and maybe even dabble in modding, which is a lot easier to stomach on a light that cost $5 instead of $50 or $500. Those who fall into the category of value-priced lights, or perhaps the less PC term, "low end," eventually tend to amass quite a collection of these inexpensive lights, and may be more interested in quantity over what they suspect to be marginally higher quality (and they are right to some extent).
But this is oversimplifying things. There are many CPFers who span the whole range of the price spectrum, with some cheaper lights and some pricey ones.
Where I am going is, the CR2 Ion falls into the category of the premium lights, as it is a flashlight that cannot fully justify its value through more easily measured things like output, but is an interesting point of entry for someone looking for their first custom light, as it is relatively inexpensive in its class and is similar in appearance to the LL-CR2, a legendary custom flashlight whom only a lucky few are 'caretakers' of, to borrow greenLED's expression. Those who prefer lights where value is measured solely in terms of output need not apply.
