air tight trim is a joke in my opinion.I base this on having tested for air leakage with a blower door while sealing these lights & trims. the foam rubber gasket does little to stop the air leakage from exiting the trim. the best way I've found is to use the hardcast 1402 mastic tape to seal housing to the sheetrock. similar to how supply box is sealed in pic of previous posting. tape goes into edge of housing and overlaps to sheetrock. allow 1'2" overlap as trim will cover the tape. this with the ICAT recessed light will stop as much of the air leakage as possible. there will still be a small amount of leakage, but not enough to be of concern. note this when you look at the recessed lights again: Halo's insulation contact air tight lights have two things that identify them. no holes in housing and a orange sticker inside the can that says it is air tight. orange sticker, not red. the red sticker says air tight when used with the following trim kits. deceptive lableling IMO. reading the small print inside IC cans the trim kits include, insert/baffle to fit inside the can to address holes in housing (@$14 each) and air tight trim kit, not sure of cost. as the insert/baffle would be needed at every recessed light, buying ICAT makes better economical sense. installing the baffles is a pita. so add labor for that to cost. buy ICAT, use mastic tape in place of 'air tight' trim. if you are putting IC cans outside under porches patio, unconditioned space this is what happens. as the install of recessed lights is ongoing, the electrician mixes up the boxes. some inside are ICAT, some IC. same outside. make it easy on everyone and buy all ICAT. wasps like IC, but not so much ICAT, less air movement. the cost per contractor case between the two is minimal when you compare to retrofitting each IC to air tight. best of luck.

"I would suspect that the CFLs produced 10 years ago were of better quality than the ones produced today. " Really? What makes you think so? My impression is the opposite, they seem much better today. The manufacturers have gotten a handle on spectrum colors (remember when they were all bluish?), instant-on intensity, etc. But my impression is only anecdotal as a consumer, I have no technical knowledge. Putting CFLs in closets (or, over a shower as the OP said) and other places where the on-cycle is short seems silly to me. How much electricity can be saved with something that's used 10 minutes a day?

"Anyone know of a more modern recessed led fixtures, smaller, that I can replace dim bulbs, not entire fixtures?" 1. After removing the fixture (which you've done) measure the diameter of the housing (sometimes called a "can") in the ceiling. 2. Purchase trim that fits the housing. Common housings are 4" and 6". Examples: E26 Series 6 in. White Recessed Ceiling Light Full Cone Baffle with Self Flanged White Trim Ring 4 in. White Recessed Can Light Baffle Trim 3. Purchase the appropriate bulb for the housing and trim. Example: PAR38 LED bub for 6" trim above 4. Screw the bulb into the housing. 5. Push the trim up into the housing.

Read the specs again. I pass inspection in hi rise condos with these in showers frequently! They do NOT require a can. "This Halo recessed lighting fixture features an LED driver that offers 120-Volt dimming capability. The HLB4 LED recessed lighting lens provides uniform illumination and wet location listing." Id suggest you lean on your local inspector and electrician to clear up your concerns .