As others have said, it depends on the situation.

Out in the bush, genuine wilderness, it often doesn't take much light to do simple tasks. The moonglow mode in most flashlights will last a very long time if used sparingly. High-end lights can run for many days straight in moonglow mode. Travel in rough terrain would be a daylight affair, due to the risk of injury and encountering night-travelling wildlife.

A secondary light source is my Bic lighter (usually several are at hand). I don't waste butane; rather, I simply flick the flint wheel twice and rely on persistence of vision to let me find something or move from one location to another without breaking my neck or poking an eye out. This is highly effective when it's very dark, indoors or out. These lighters were designed for lighting cigarettes, so they have a lot more flint than I need for lighting fires. I've even used Bics that were discarded on the roadside (out of fuel) just to prove the point. (Not for checking gas tanks though.)

In other situations, with more of our modern technology at hand, there's always a way to kludge something together. I like to take stuff apart, find how it works, repurpose it, find out its boundaries and limits. There's always a way.