I am totally happy with current lights that take NiMh or li-on rechargeables - high lumen output, variable brightness, long run times, well designed, and quite reliable. I come from the bad old days of poor quality lights, leaking batteries that didn't put out that much light anyway, and failing incandescent lamps. In those days, carbide lamps were your best source for walking in the dark. Maglites were the first harbinger of change, but they have been surpassed by many current offerings which are generally even brighter and lighter. Yea Zebralight! Yea Nitecore (and many others)!