Budget flashlights are fun!
Unlike bottom-of-the-barrel batteries and chargers, which can actually be dangerous, most cheap flashlights are just fun. Sooner or later you have to try them! Of course, most of the time, you will find yourself resolving not to do it again! Why, you will ask, do I keep hoping that a sub-$10 light will turn out to be a good one!
That said, there are a number of good budget options in the $10 to $30 USD range. The Convoy S2+ is a tube light that is similar in form to the one you linked. The S2+ model with four 7135 chips, will output something like 500 lumens. It that regard, it is probably not unlike the cheapie you found. The difference is that the Convoy is a good build. If you shop around, you should be able to find the S2+ for around $15 USD. I do not own any Convoy flashlights.
Everyone needs a good C8 mini-thrower. Convoy, ThorFire, and XinTD all get good reviews. I own the ThorFire C8. It's a great light, but one goofy thing about it is its use of "on-time" memory. When you go to change modes, the first half-press does nothing. The light blinks off, and then turns back on in the same mode it was already in. The second and subsequent half-presses take you to different modes. Odd, indeed. I have seen the ThorFire C8 on sale for around $15 USD. The regular price is $21.
For around $25 USD (including shipping, tracking, and insurance), I recently purchased the Brinyte B158 zooming flashlight. It has a solid build, features a 50mm aspheric lens, and is mod-friendly. From what I have read, it is head and shoulders above the cheap zoomies you see all over Amazon and ebay, but it is still a budget light. The driver, for instance, is a little odd. To select modes, you have to use momentary presses while the flashlight is off. When you get to the mode you want, then you click all the way to turn it on. On the B158, you can swap pills simply by unscrewing one and screwing in another. I am hoping to build (or have built) a couple of alternate pills that contain better drivers and LEDs.
Last, but not least, don't forget about the custom flashlights being put together at BudgetLightForum. The BLF Special Edition A6 ($30 USD), the BLF 348 ($7 USD), and the BLF Special Edition D80 ($24 USD with tracking and insurance) all have something to offer. The upcoming BLF Limited Edition Kronos X6 and X5 flashlight set ($85 for a pair of stainless-steel and copper flashlights, or $45 for the same two lights in aluminum) is likely to be the best of all.
Of course, I, too, had to get one of those $1.99 SiPiK SK68 knock-offs. The one I have is supposed to have a 5500K, "neutral-white" Cree XP-E (Q5) emitter. Running on a Li-ion 14500, output is advertised as 400 lumens.
I don't know about all that, because I am powering mine on an Eneloop Pro. Running on that battery, one reviewer measured 40 lumens. I believe that. Compared to my 5000K BLF 348, which outputs 50 lumens, the SK68 clone is dimmer and a bluer. Frankly, none of this is much different than I expected.
The real bummer is the user interface. It has next-mode memory! Whatever mode is in use when you turn it off, the next time you turn it on, it switches to the next mode. As the mode sequence is Hi-Lo-Strobe, that means you get to see the blinky from time to time. Turn it off in low, and it wakes up in strobe!
Man, why did I think I would get a good flashlight for $1.99?!!