Questions

What is the best LED flashlight for someone who would be using it for: night hiking, trips to the desert, possible late night boat excursions, ect. Looking for something water proof and extremely durable.

I think the thing that's gonna determine what light you get is how durable it is going to be first then the amount of output. There are lots of lights that put out tons of lumens, but not all are waterproof or extremely durable. The first few companies that come to mind are Princeton Tec, Underwater Kinetics, and Pelican. They all make lights that you can actually dive with. The flashlight bodies are plastic (for lack of a better description) and I would think will absorb more shock if dropped. Yes, there are plenty of lights that will out shine any light made by these 3 companies, but I would bet they aren't as waterproof or durable. http://www.brightguy.com/ Check out this site. It has tons of lights you can look at.