[vash]

money no object? surefire V2 vampire. two settings...bandito frying 100 lumen on high, and for reading maps, you can heat up the sheets with 10 lumen. there isnt even a price yet. i bet north of $350.

second choice. surefire kroma. about half the power of the vampire. $250? the batteries dont fade. i have a "defender" for san fransisco jogging, that i just drained the 5 year old batteries. if i ever go hunting in Alaska, i would buy a kroma. when you need light desperately, you want it to click on...and be 100% dependable. running from a grizzly, slapping your maglight, trying to convince it to light up...no way.

your run of the mill duracel cant do that...i hate maglights...to bulky.

again, for a travel flashlight. you cannot beat the G3 nitrolon. $60 bucks or so. same guts as the high end stuff. they even have the LED version now. but all housed in a plastic indestructable body. small enough to be stuffed into a travel backpack. coupled with my petzl headlamp, there isnt a situation i cannot handle.

once coming down an elevator at my wife's high rise, the elevator blacked out. no emergency lights at all. i had my defender on me. i lit up the darkness, and everyone thought i was a hero. the blackout lasted about 30 seconds, so my hero status was short lived. another 30 seconds later, i was the dork that was scared of the dark and had to carry a flashlight. LOL. my wife has a G2 nitrolon. (one less battery). when she worked in a high rise, i gave her the light, a pocket knife. i had a hardhat in her desk, with gloves, and boots. in an earthquake, i wanted the best odds for her to get out.