I picked up some Lezyne Macro Drive 800XL (800 lumen) from Pro Bike Kit when they had a sale going, quite happy with them. Worked out to be about $100 each. I run one on my helmet and one on the bars, plenty of light even at 150 lumen. Bump it up to 800 for nasty sections. Unlikely to blow up “4 inches from my crotch” either, which is worth WAY more than $18 to me! 
He’s right, though; set your expectations at the right level for the $18 light and you’ll likely not be disappointed.