Originally Posted by bikesafer

I didn't say I would spend $70 on a light just to be seen. I said if you needed to light up the road, (like on a country road with no streetlights), that the 70 dollar lights would be my choice.
Also the problem, as least for me with the flashlights you are talking about is that the beam patteren is usually very narrow and they use batteries not easily available. If I'm commuting and one of my lights that uses AA or C cell batteries, I can stop at any convenience store or walmart in an emergency and be lit up in no time, but if my battery goes dead in one of the flashlights that uses cr123 or some other less common battery, I'm stuck.
The battery life on those lights at maximum output is also a little short. I've seen some with max life at the max output at a half hour.
Your mileage may vary.