I've been taking a new interest in this subject lately- which, of course, doesn't imply any expertise.

IMHO, while I respect Peak's decision (and the reasons behind it), I think the priorities may be misplaced, and I think many may end up regretting the "feeding frenzy" going on with ARCs right now.

Like most electronics, LEDs and the flashlights that use them are improving at a rapid pace now. It's very possible that trying to preserve the LED past thousands of hours will seem pretty silly in retrospect, when the new ones are twice as bright, for the same battery life, for half the price.

After decades of neglect as a cheap throw-away item with no profit margin, flashlights have caught the imagination of both engineers and consumers now, and I expect the rate of change will shortly be approaching Moore's law. As with other things (computers, consumer electronics) that are changing at that rate, I'd advise buying exactly what you need, exactly when you need it, and not trying to anticipate needs more than a year or so into the future. As much as one might regret the loss of a good company like ARC, better products are probably right around the corner.