I don't have both, only a BadBoy 400 (in a 2AA MagLite). But I have the PT Attitude (very similar in brightness to the Opalec).
The BB400 is a great light! Smooth, bright really kind of faultless (although, get the Kroll tailcap switch if you really want to be satisfied). However, my BB400 mostly sits in a drawer. The Attitude has become my favorite light! Partly because it is more compact and feels better in the hand than the MagLite body.
However, for my uses, the most telling part of the experience is that the light output from the Attitude (quite similar to Opalec) is "just enough". Bright enough for almost all things I ever use a flashlight for but dim enough not to overwhelm its use as a task light (reading, etc.). In some ways, the BB400 is simply TOO bright (caution...strange comment on this forum
), and, at the same time, not bright enough to throw light in any really big way (like a Surge
for example) to be worth foregoing the use for task lighting.
Like I say, I really like the BB400, its just that the light light output falls into sort of an in-between zone for me; too-bright and too-dim.
If I didn't have a bright light option (like my UK 4AA AS2 or the Surge) I'd probably use the BB400 more. There just aren't that many times I need the extra light...but the amount of light the Attitude makes...I'm using all the time.
BTW...I bought the Attitude as a less expensive alternative to the Opalec (Attitude is $16 at TTS). After I got it, I was so pleased with it I've never looked back!