I understand your point but if batteries are cheap, why not stockpile some extras? I wish it could all be AA. However, Photons are great sources of emergency light that you can stash almost anywhere and with their lithium batteries (10yr. shelf life, cold tolerant) they work when you need them. Sure I could stash a bunch of Fauxtons but they're not water resistant and only have one mode. And then there's my watch (CR2025) and the smoke detectors (9V), and before you know it you've got an assortment of spares. There's also size and output to consider. While I don't like CR123's, I love my Surefire E1L outdoorsman and consider it a great emergency light. Single AA lithiums/rechargeables just don't have the juice (yet) of a 3V CR123.