Yes but does your flashlight have enough lumens to blind anyone in a 10 mile radius? Can you take down small aircraft with it? Can you perform on the spot lasik surgery? Can you point it in front of you and still shine light up your own ass? I didn’t think so… 
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Got a pair. Hard to beat for value. Don’t have money to burn.
With a high quality, high intensity UV bulb you can see bodily fluid stains on many surfaces. It is particularly effective on hotel bedsheets, but also great for tracking down pet ‘stains’.
My advice though is not to take a UV torch on holiday. You really really really do not need to know what has gone on between your industrially laundered hotel sheets.
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aaargh - this post kinda sorta makes my head feel like exploding
Surefire hasn’t been a value buy since they raised their prices across the board and instituted a MAP policy in 2001 and shut out the main internet discount sellers. I have an E2e from that time that was truly a great flashlight for the time.
Surefire doesn’t push the envelope for LEDs or other features unless you need an LEO/MIL type weaponlight.
Otherwise, as many posters have mentioned - go Fenix, do a little reading on candlepowerforums, get a great light at 1/3 the price.
You can get a single AA or AAA powered light that will do everything 95% of people will need from a light. The best light is the one you can carry so you have it when you need it. And there are plenty of 2xAA 2xAAA lights that will match or beat that SF E2D for half the price.
My favorite little carry light is a 1xAAA made by ATP (looks like they have rebranded to Olight) just check CPF or whatever is the most popular recent model from Fenix on Amazon to make sure you are getting something currently spec’d as they tend to be the best price for the $.
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This article is like telling people to by some $500 in ear monitors when they would be just as happy with Koss Portapros 
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good grief! Just go to C. Crane!
Unity flashlight.
The free one I snagged was super light and round, so I doubt it would work well as a paper weight.
I <3 my PortaPros!
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The best light I own is this $4 light from Amazon. It’s cheap, but seems decently built and puts out a good amount of light. Uses regular AA batteries. Probably won’t blind anyone, but great around the house.
And I keep this guy on my keychain all the time. So small you don’t notice it, good enough for walking around in the dark and batteries last a few hours. Have to get tiny batteries for it, but I got 10 for like $2, so no biggie.
All in, that’s about $12.
I have an awesome worklight I keep in the car for emergencies that I picked up at Home Depot. Battery powered with super long wall and car plugs for charging/using when the battery is dead. It’s round but has octaganol end caps that keep it aimed at what you are looking at. Cheap at about $25. Unfortunately, it seems to be discontinued and I haven’t seen anything that compares to it.
I haven’t invested in Fenix yet, but I have used a friends and I am very impressed. His used standard AAs, vs the proprietary BS Surefire uses.
I can’t disparage Surefire for making bad flashlights, but I think they ride on their name and are over priced.
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Cheap lights are fine for leaving around the house, but what if they fail when you need them. What if your pack gets rained on or dropped in a stream? If your light fails when you most need it, you are screwed.
I admit to having cheap lights around the house. However, if one fails, I grab another one next to it. I would not hike with a single cheap light. Heck, I will not hike with a single light in any case.
I agree that their stuff is overpriced. However, do not knock SureFire for the batteries. Simply stated, Lithium 123 batteries will outperform lights based on AA batteries easily. Awesome energy density, and they can deliver a LOT of power if needed. Really, the only down side of lithium batteries is the price, but you can get them for far cheaper if you order on-line.
From a technical standpoint, the only problem with lithium 123 batteries is that you have a hard time telling how much charge they have left since they have such a low internal resistance.
I never back pack alone. I don’t have a budget for multiple $200 lights. In 24 years of back packing and car camping, I have never been screwed because of a light. In fact, part of what I enjoy about the outdoors is being resourceful, being challenged and overcoming the unknown. I don’t replace preparedness with carelessness, but I am thoughtful about what I need and what I don’t need. (Of course if I ever find myself traversing ladders over glacial crevices on a moonless night, perhaps one of you fellows can loan me a quality light before I leave)
I think a great argument against my budget lights is product lifetime and land fill impacts. Of course who among us can’t do better in that area?
You can get some quite nice headlamps or flashlights suitable for hiking for under $40. Check out Princeton Tec and Black Diamond. They all have even some good choices for significantly under $30. Just get rid of the $4 piece of junk.
You spent $80 on a flashlight and it “only failed you once”?
I’m like “you had ONE job!”
This entire thread strikes me as: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-purchase_rationalization
see also: http://www.spring.org.uk/2011/03/why-we-buy-how-to-avoid-10-costly-cognitive-biases.php
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Ah! Well that’s about what I spend on my headlamps, I think my last one has lasted me more than 5 years now, including attic work and car maintenance etc.
The freebies I get are for around the house or stay in the cars.
Alas. I shall have to stick to HF’s power tool line, then.
Except brightness is something I can see. “Does the light show me the forest across the field? Yep, that one does and this one doesn’t.” I can really quantitate quality.
On the other hand, even if my ears can listen to a Bose vs. $$$$$ brand, in an attempt to distinguish the resonating deep timber of a mosquito farting compared to a gnat, it is not something I can feel confident in…
I’ll second the Spot–did a long hike with mine and that thing was virtually indestructible and I definitely would have been lost without it.
My only issue with headlamps is that they flatten out what I’m looking at and invariably I trip over a rock or something. They’re fine for flat ground but any hills and I end up holding them in my hand.
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