BD and Petzl drove me to the on-line flashlight market where I was a CPF flashaholic for a spell. You can really do so much better in terms of efficiency, output, runtime, regulation, UI, tint, batteries, durability, cost, etc. For example, manufacturers use 3x AAAs with cheap unregulated PWM drivers to achieve the LED's forward voltage (3+ volts) - this saves the cost of more expensive 1x AA current-regulated boost drivers, and passes costs along to the consumer since a single AA has as much energy as 2.5 AAAs, yet cost nearly the same as a single AAA.

I'm personally a do-it-all type ultra-lighter and use a single 16650 (~9AAA equiv) flashlight for everything (bike headlight, headlamp, lantern - output ranging from 0.3-400 lms) and can run on 1x CR123/AA/AAA with tinfoil spacers, or in a pinch, any cell (eg, 9v/D/18650) with a paperclip.