Re: I don\'t have a Princeton Tec
Two of the least expensive and most "cool" (IMHO) are the Attitude ($16 @ TTS) and the Rage ($9 @ TTS).
They are both bright, compact, easy to carry and highly durable. The Attitude has become my favorite and "workhorse" flashlight. Bright enough for most uses while dim enough not to overwhelm its use as a task light (try using a Brinkmann LX as a task light and you'll go blind). Since it is unregulated, it will drain every last electron out of the batteries and last a really long time. For routine use I use NiMH and just recharge them when I can see any loss in brightness.
The Rage is just plain cool 'cause it is so small and compact and yet puts out a REALLY BRIGHT and smooth beam. I don't use it as much 'cause the Attitude fills so many of my needs. But... I keep one in the car for an emergency light (along with an Infinity Blue-Green on lithium for long life). The only weak point of the Rage is that it gives only about an hour of that REALLY BRIGHT light per set of 4 AAAs. Although, I have NiMHs on hand, so if I ever use it routinely...the cost for batteries will be very tiny.
Another nice thing...if you have them both, they share all of the components except the light head (the heads are interchangeable). You can use the mostly spent AAAs from the Rage in the Attitude and still get more useable light from them.
So...if you want to amaze your non-flashlight friends, pull a Rage out sometime and they won't believe how bright a really compact light can be. It blows away a 2AA MagLite and virtually all flashlights that most people have ever seen from a drugstore or Walmart.
And...if you want to amaze yourself, use an Attitude for your other flashlight needs and be pleasantly surprised how such a small, inexpensive LED light can do such a great job in a such wide variety of usages.
Plus...buying these two in a single order won't break the bank!
