There have been three preliminary reviews on the Arc LS. It is an unreleased product, hopefully to be released with I'm sure many personal views by this time next month. I'm sure the 4AA models you mentioned will be brighter then the Arc, not sure about the 2AA. If you want a dependable light to very reliably get you out of the darkness as you mentioned in your previous post then I'm sure the Arc will fit the bill. If you want a strong light to pierce the darkness for greater distances then you will want at least one of the 4AA incadescents that were recommended.