I think part of what determines what we value is simply how much we use it. I use a flashlight almost never during the course of a normal day, and I keep a very, very bright light- a 4 AA StealthLite, hanging by it’s cord from a push-pin in the back of my nightstand for emergencies. This flashlight is so powerful that you can’t buy bulbs for it, you have to buy the entire reflector assembly, which is ceramic, to withstand the heat. You can actually feel the heat of the beam as you play it across your hand.<br><br>So, since I almost never use a micro-light, for me it’s really an emergency device (I have been caught in windowless offices and subway stations during power outages). As an emergency device, I value it’s tiny size and light weight, because the smaller and lighter it is, the greater the chance that I’ll actually have it when I need it. This was a lesson drummed into me as I slowly transitioned from notebook computer to Apple Newton (ugh) to Palm- if it’s not small and light enough to take when you DON’T think you’ll need it, it probably won’t be there when you do. This applies to anything, and is the main reason “Rambo” knives are so out of favor now. Obviously, Doug is very aware of this principle- I had never seen useful survival kits this small until I found this site.<br><br>Speaking of the StealthLite, that brings up something else I’ve really wondered about. One of the big reasons that I picked that particular light is that it has a real switch, which is unusual in waterproof flashlights. Doug rather prominently features one-handed operation in fire starters, but he barely mentions the issue with regard to flashlights, and I think that’s a startling omission. The military has rejected an entire generation of lights on this point- you simply cannot afford to carry a light that takes two hands to turn on and off if the reason you need to turn it off, NOW, is that it's being shot at in the dark. Hopefully that won’t apply to any of us soon, but still- if it takes two hands to turn it on or off, what else are you going to have to drop to do that? Not to mention that the USAF survival folks have always made a huge point of the prevalence of hand injuries in crashes…<br><br>Of course the Photon does operate with one hand. Another thing I do like about the Photon 3- the “rear” switch can be programmed to two stages of “dim”, as well as flashing. Especially in red or green, the dimmer light can be a great aid in preserving night vision. (For those who know enough about LEDs to be skeptical, no, it’s not really “dim”, it’s flashing too fast to see.)<br><br>As for the ARC being waterproof- you might want to take a look at the Photon 3. They’ve gotten rid of the slider switch that was used on the Photon 2, so it’s pretty well sealed. I think it might stand immersion to 3 feet- but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ARC did better.<br><br>Neither of them is up to the standard of waterproofness that we’ve come to expect from Mag-Lite, but we have to remember that solid state lighting is in it’s infancy. When I started backpacking in the late ‘60s, there simply were not ANY small waterproof flashlights. Period. You picked the best of what the drugstore or hardware store had to offer. Anyone remember the Mallory? <br><br>So, why haven’t we seen an LED from Mag-Lite, anyway?<br><br>Sorry for the long post.<br><br><br>