Photonboy- you still get to vote on products even if you're not in on the R&D... when they come out, you either buy them or you don't. Don't get me wrong here- I love to be in the fray with R&D projects- in the end you feel like you're getting exactly what you wanted; frankly it makes it easier to justify spending $100+ on something like a flashlight....
Getting back on track with the thread:
Experience has taught me that when you see a cheap knockoff that "seems to do exactly the same thing" it's usually cheap because the manufacturer cut corners in materials, workmanship, and solid design. In the end you get exactly what you paid for.... Junk.
High end flashlights are a VERY narrow market. Two main classes of folks will buy them- flashaholic nuts like us, or people that may have their lives depend on an operating flashlight (Police, cave explorers, etc).
Concerning the "public R&D" of the Arc4....
The ARC4 looks like a great light, and I enjoyed reading the threads about the R&D... of course I didn't realize just how close it was to being produced when I first saw the threads... I really don't think people were "in on" THAT much of the R&D... but it sure got people excited enough to spend $185 on a flashlight. (sorry, I'm not one of them). Peter listened to all the posts and made exactly what *he* wanted... is there anything wrong with that? Of course not. I think Peter makes a great product, but the Arc4 is priced out of my reach.
I can easily justify $50.... heck, I don't have any other vices... Don't smoke, drink, do drugs... don't care about sports.... so $50 on something "just for myself"... not too bad. $100... well that becomes a very infrequent special purchase... I usually say "this is my Christmas gift ok?". And I have to think I will get a lot of use out of it (like carrying my Arc LSH every day). But $185... sorry... I'll have to pass on that.