I would agree that you usually need only a fairly dim light. When i am hiking at night, i prefer to hike from dusk in the night, letting my night vision adjust. If there are no clouds in the sky, or some sort of quarter moon or more, on fairly safe terrain, no artificial light will be needed at all.

At least that was the case when i was younger. More and more, I find myself reaching for a light to illuminate dark, shadowy places that didn't pose a problem decades ago....

Thinking about the whole flashlight thing, and a life of going to a lot of different places, it actually didnt matter at all ... what light i chose. i put way too much attention into choosing exotic lights.

What mattered ... was when i goofed up and I did NOT have a flashlight - when I really needed one.

e.g. descending down an unknown trail, from a mountain peak, in the dark, tired, and dehydrated. And NO flashlight. Those kinds of situations are what give rise to accidents, and rescue scenarios. i was lucky that didnt happen.

Think about where you will carry that light. which pocket of your pack, or your pants? Buy a light that fits this location.

Simple Checklist
* Flask of water
* Warm jacket
* Fleece Hat
* Granola Bar
* Flashlight

Those 5 items can do wonders to keep you out of the "I need a rescue" social group.

Pete

The flashlight that I own that gets used the most is my Block Light. It is a 6 LED light that attaches directly onto the top of a 9 volt battery. Fits easily in my pocket and is easy 1 hand use. It is the one I always have.

Just as important as the battery is its power source. I have gone to rechargeable batts wherever possible - Nimh (preferably Eneloops) or li-ion (mostly 18650s) and lithium primary batteries when long term storage is an issue. Alkaline batteries will almost inevitably leak, usually in your most expensive gear.

Whatever your choice for a light, if it isn't at hand when you need it, it is useless...

Montanero. Thanks. I might get one of those in the next couple of weeks.

OP - it boils down to a simple flashlight that lasts a long time, the ON/OFF switch is reliable, and you don't have to fool around with changing light bulbs.

Just my $0.02.

Pete

Pete, there are some different models out there, some with a sliding switch and some with a push button on the side. Sometimes they do come off of the battery in your pocket, and sometimes they do turn on in your pocket. But they are inexpensive, 9 volts are readily available, and it is no cumbersome.

I have not had one break on my or any switch failures, and I have carried one for several years.

I have one of those around here someplace. They're okay, but I prefer a 1xAAA or 1xAA light for EDC. Now that my last clock still running AA primaries died to a alkaline battery failure, everything has been switched over to NiMH, except for a couple lights that run on 18650 Li-ion. I don't have any need for 9 volt batteries, even my smoke detector runs on AA's.

For something entirely different, consider the Luci light or similar. These are solar powered and self contained. They consist of a solar panel, some sort of battery and LED lights in a collapsible, inflatable container. Unexpanded, it makes a serviceable flashlight. Expanded, it is a very nice area light (its best use). I have found these very useful when camping, and they are light enough to consider for backpacking. Best of all, they are not dependent upon the grid (though sun light is handy).

+1 -- but tie the Luci lights down; once inflated they can get blown around if left on their own. The nice things is that simply by the way they are contained, they are really waterproof and will probably float quite well.

I have a few of the Luci Lux version which are a warmer white and imo not as harsh on your eyes at night.

Another option when considering flashlights is some kind of a power bank with a flashlight attachment. Many of these are respectable lights and they can recharge your various other electronic devices like GPS, etc.

Actually, I don't think there is one do-it-all light. At a minimum I prefer a good headlamp, a variable lumen handheld that can be extremely bright, and a small key chain type for various odd tasks (like changing the batteries in the other two lights). The traditional rule for caving was three lights and that has worked for me both in caves and at night for a long time. With today's batteries, the weight of three such lights isn't much at all.