I'm looking to buy a new flashlight, solely for draining, and I'm not going to be using it for photography. Currently I have the black diamond icon, and I'm not looking for a light to completely replace it, just a light to illuminate everything when I need to. Size isn't much of an issue -- it doesn't need to fit in my pocket, just my backpack. Finally, my budget is about $100. Less would obviously be better, but I don't want to scrimp on quality.

A LED Maglite will do you well, or a simple LED headtorch. I use both.

Do you have a battery preference?  18650, AA, AAA, CR123A?

Posted by ExplorerLoki A LED Maglite will do you well, or a simple LED headtorch. I use both.

I'm looking for something with more power, I've got a good headlamp, but it's not nearly as powerful as I'd like.

Posted by rob.i.am Do you have a battery preference?  18650, AA, AAA, CR123A?

no preference.

thanks for the help so far

Posted by Dick Winter I'm looking for something with more power, I've got a good headlamp, but it's not nearly as powerful as I'd like.

My 3Watt 4 D Cell Mag is heaps bright bro.

Posted by ExplorerLoki My 3Watt 4 D Cell Mag is heaps bright bro.

But it weighs a ton.

I tend to buy all of my lights from Deal Extreme so I'd probably go with something like this. It has a lot of power and throw, uses common AA batteries and being a Fenix, is built like a tank.

There are tons of other lights that would meet your needs. Meta will weigh in soon.

I've always liked the Fenix PD30/LD20 lights for draining - they have a good balance of throw and spill, and they're small. Also, Fenix make that nice headband to make you look like a dork, but a dork with a functional headlamp.

Of course, The Quarks would be worth considering as well, being much the same lights, with some slight differences

At the $50 level you get some excellent options. The romisen RC-N3 from Lighthound gets good reviews; as would an (upgradeable) Solarforce P-60 type light. I'm a huge fan of the 4sevens Quark 2AA, but it only hits 200 lumens.

Look beyond lumens (which don't count much, even if they're real) and consider output pattern, control interface, and build quality, possibly in that order. The newer Quarks use the XP-G, giving more light in a wider patter...great for walking, poor for looking down tunnels.

I'd suggest thr throwier Fenix line, even though I haven't used them they are good lights. If you go with 18650s do research li-ion maintenance.

PS: mag lights are good for non-photography lighting as they dim within seconds from poor heat management. LEDLenser makes solid nonregulated lights that are suspiciously expensive. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's much appreciated.