The Rapid 3 light is not as bright as newer models from other companies. Their using less then 1 watt total light output while there are other lights that use 1 and 2 watt led's.

I own a Blackburn Mars 4 and it uses a 1 watt main LED plus a regular LED on each side of the light for side illumination. This light is very bright and can be seen in broad daylight, but the battery life is way shorter then Blackburns claims...about 75% less! But I knew this buying it and knew that AAA bats were not going to power it for that long, so I carry spare bats just in case and use rechargeables for my main bats. This light is inexpensive at around $21.

The other even brighter light then my Mars 4 is a Cygolite Hotshot, this thing uses a 2 watt LED and comes with a rechargeable battery and charger, but it cost more at around $40. Side illumination is not as good as the Mars 4 but it's a lot brighter from the rear.