I have to take issue with this. Flashlights are as variable as knives or any other piece of equipment.

If you're happy with a 2xAA Maglite as your survival light in the woods, more power to you :), but I'll take a regulated, variable output light that steps from 10-200 lumens, preferably with a strobe, 3 to 50 hours run time, with an aluminum reflector and UCL lens any time. I'm also very particular about the balance of throw to spill and the size and color of the hotspot in my lights. (Most white LEDs are anything but white.)

And it makes all the difference in the world if you're using it indoors, outdoors, in pure darkness, in mild illumination, in fog, under/near water, near hazardous fumes, etc.

If you think all flashlights are the same, you may not know enough about flashlights...

Fitz -- a flashlight geek