As a flashaholic, I can never resist responding to these threads.

My all-around favorite light is still the Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA, Luxeon version. Even though the technology is several years old, the brightness, throw, and beam quality far surpass other lights I have which are technically much brighter, such as the Fenix P3D. It's also extremely durable, has great runtime, uses cheap AA cells, and is dirt cheap at around $25-$30 online.

For hiking/backpacking use, I've switched to carrying the Fenix P3D and a zebralight headlamp, because they're both much smaller and lighter, and use the same lithium CR123 cells which have a much higher power:weight ratio, and better cold weather performance.