'Lumens ain't everything." Hear! Hear!

Absolutely true. When hiking at night on a trail, I prefer to let my eyes become fully dark adapted, and use a light sparingly at a very dim setting. Actually your feet will tell you when you are on the trail - the footing is quite different once you wander off the tread. Be cautious about this if you are in unknown country with cliffs around.

There is a surprising amount of ambient light available, even on a moonless night. If there is a full moon one can usually get along just fine with no light at all.

I was once told that the light from the flare of one match would hinder your dark adaptation for about thirty minutes. It does make sense to have a light that turns on to a low light level, or else learn to shut one's eyes while cycling through the levels.