Best under $30 gift flashlight

my sister's birthday is coming up, and i figured i'd try to get her a decent flashlight

the primary criteria are;
$30 or under (in a pinch i *could* go as high as $40, but that'd be pushing it)
durable construction
able to be "ignored" until needed
uses common, easy to find batteries
LED based (hence my posting it here, rather than in General)

preferably available in the local brick-and-mortar stores

and no, Fenix cultists, i won't be getting her a L1P, for a few reasons;
it's too nice, but she'll probably just end up ignoring it, and since it uses a AA, it won't have the shelf-life of a 123 powered light, besides, *if* i was going to purchase an L1P, it'd be for *ME*

so far, the early contenders are;

Minimag with Nite-Ize upgrade kit and an Energizer NIMH battery charger kit, a good "load it and forget it" light setup

Dorcy 1-watt Luxeon 3 AA, not familiar with Dorcy as a brand, to me Dorcy means cheap plasticky flashlights, but i know their high end stuff tests well, and the 1 watt Lux seems to get good reviews...

Inova X1, this might be the best bet as she could keep it on her keyring or something, and it uses a single AA, it gets her hooked on "better" lights for limited cash outlay on my part, plus it gives me a reason to buy one for myself first to "field test" it....

Inova X5, i own one myself and love it, however this one's borderline on price, and sis may not be familiar with the 123 batteries or know where to get them, she also may not want to spend retail price for batteries, however, the 123's do have the "toss it in the glovebox and forget about it" advantage, and with a 10 year lifespan, she may not use it enough to exhaust a set of batteries for it...

any other suggestions? (other than a Fenix L1/L2, that is )

Though I don't have one the Streamlight Pro Polymer Luxeon 4AA has been getting good reviews and comments here on the board for a while. The Fenix seems to have stolen a little bit of its coverage, but not by much. Loaded with Lithium AA's you could leave it alone for quite a while.

Same idea for the UK 4AA eLED though it doesn't put out nearly as much light as the Streamlight.

The Dorcy Metal Gear 3AAA at Walmart is not a bad light either and the Dorcy 3D 1 watt is a great light and has that full sized form factor that most people are used to.

These are just few in that price range. All are under $30 and some are right around $20 or less. I'm sure others will chime in soon with other good ideas.

Get her one of these:
http://store.advancedmart.com/chbr5waposil.html
Runtime is 6h 22m to 50% of max brightness on one CR2 battery. Radio Shack has the battery if she doesn't shop on the 'net.

Stream Light ProPoly 4AA Luxeon. Put some Lithium AA's in it, and it's good for a shelf life of 10 years, no NiMH self discharge, or alkalines leaking to worry about. It can sit for years, and be ready to rock!

Ok ok, no L1P ..... just get the L1...hahaha
So *if* you do get an L1P for yourself, it'd still be a step higher.

I wonder if any flashaholics here can bear to buy and give away a good flashlight as a gift without owning one themselves Would you at least open it up to play with it? haha... (and rewrap it later)

Streamlight ProPoly 4AA Luxeon for the reasons stated above, plus the yellow color version is easy to see and more difficult to lose.

Hrmm... most women I know really like the form factor of the Minimags so I'd suggest one with either the Nite Ize module or a cut down MJLED, modded reflector and maybe a glass lens from Lighthound. Personally, I prefer the MJLED but the Nite Ize is probably more convinient and gives a nice flood. The MJLED gives over 20 hours on 2 Lithium cells though different people report different findings on the use of Lithiums with them... they work fine for me.

I got several of these (when they were sold by Sharper Image) and they are all long running (near 3 hours to 50% according to quickbeam), well made, bright, small lights. $21.50 plus shipping.

Another vote for Stream Light ProPoly 4AA, <$30 shipped.

I saw that Target has started carrying the Nightstar CS. I keep one in my bug-out-bag. Here's the link for the review of it:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/ait_nightstar_cs.htm

Don't get her a lithium powered light if she's not a flashaholic. Buying batteries online is too much hassle, and buying them anywhere else costs too much. Don't get her a rechargeable light or light with nimh cells. First, the cells and charger will use most of your $30. Second, she won't use the light enough to benefit from recharging, so it will just be a pain in the neck, especially since self-discharge means the light won't work if she leaves it in the drawer for a while. It's even worse than alkaline shelf life.

That brings us back to the L1P. Include a few Batterystation lithum AA's if you want. It works fine on alkalines too.

Alternatively, and probably the actual best choice: Peak Matterhorn, 1 LED Ultra power "snow" with lug tail. About the best keychain light you can actually buy right now. I don't count the Arc AAA since you can't buy them at the moment--you can only get on a waiting list that doesn't seem likely to get you a light before xmas. Again, install a L92 AAA lithium if you think it's important.

How about the River Rock 2AAA .5w from the Target stores? The silver version is even kind of cute and it on costs $10. If you load it with lithiums, it will always be ready to go for her.

Second the MM. Check this one out: MM
Add a Nite Ize LED. You are under your budget and she will probably love it. The no-knurl MM's are unique and plenty of appealing colors.

Lights like the SL Propoly are great, but most women are just not going to carry one in their purse. I'll almost guarantee she will carry the one above or similar.

What's the max size and expected uses?

The Stream Light ProPoly 4AA is great, but sounds like it may be too big for her.

I'm thinking (as suggested) the RR 2AAA.

One other option is the Sears Craftsman 3AAA 1 Watt.

I would also second (or third) the River Rock 2xAAA light... *Basically* the same thing as the Minimag with the MJLED but the Minimag runs on AA cells for longer runtime and EVERYONE has AA cells around, AAA cells are just as available, but in my experience, are just hanging out in a drawer less often than AAs.

Another vote for the RR 2AAA - particularly in silver. Pop in the L91 lithiums and it'll last a long time, and when the batteries need changing, she can just use alkys.

I've got the SL 4AA Lux and really like it. It's a perfect choice for a flashlight for her to keep in a car or the house. If you go that way, take her through loading the batteries. It's easy but not as simple as the typical inline multi cell flashlights.

If it's something to carry I actually think the Dorcy 1AAA modded with a Nichia LED from Grumpy is a great choice. I find I use mine far more than anything else including the L1P and SL 4AA. It's so small, it disappears in my pocket unlike the L1P and puts out a surprising amount of light with a very nice flood. I'd guess it's at least 6-7 lumens based on the unmodded rating of 4 at flashlight reviews. It's enough light for 90+% of my needs and she's likely to carry it. I stopped carrying the RR 2AAA after modding the Dorcy. The RR has a lot more throw but the overall output difference is surprisingly small.

I was out with some friends and showed a guy the Nichia modded Dorcy. He said that's nice, his SO said, can I see that. She liked it so much I modded one and gave it to her.

Hell go $7 over your budget and get her both

My wife loves her Propoly Lux 4AA. She didn't like the Fenix, felt it was too small.

As already mentioned, if you want long shelf life consider e2 lithium AAs in a Propoly 4AA.

If the Propoly 4AA is too big, or she just likes a small penlight style, consider the Streamlight Jr. Output is about 2.5x the Nite-ize Minimag upgrade.

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/streamlight_jr_luxeon.htm

PaulR must be reading my mind because I just this evening ordered 4 Matterhorns with hi power and lug ends for gifts for my 4 closest female relatives for Christmas. I think he's 100% on in his assessment.

You only spend 30$ on your sister?