I never bought the Hotshot, but typically Cygolite makes excellent products. I bought a Cygolite Metro 8 D cell 12 watt (which I upped to 14) halogen light way back in the late 80's, I used that light up until 2005 when I got my first LED light, and that thing still works today. That first LED light I bought was also a Cygolite called a MityCross 400 OSP, I was using that until I got a much smaller one for my helmet, it also still works, and the original battery holds a charge as if it was new.
So do I like Cygolites products? Yes I do. Are they the best made lights in the world? I have no idea but they lasted a very long time for me.
The only thing about ALL tail lights is the very small batteries they use, I had a Light & Motion tail light and the battery only lasted 4 years, but my other rechargeable front lights have lasted longer maybe due to the larger batteries? The other thing is that no matter what you buy you need to recharge it after EVERY ride, those batteries don't like to be drained to almost empty, they like to be recharged after every use no matter how little you used the light.
If you can afford it, the newer NiteRider tail light called the Omega 300, this beast puts out 300 lumens, I bought one because of its brightness, and that thing shows up extremely well even in direct broad daylight. It also has really good side visibility that the Hotshot is lacking. I can't answer the durability issue yet, I've only had it for a year, but so far it working just fine.