There's a big dividing line in LED flashlights, and it's the presence or lack of electronics, basically being a buck/boost power supply.

Remember from our LED discussions that LEDs have a voltage drop across them, so they totally quit when the voltage drops below that value.

If a flashlight is just a stupid set of batteries and an LED, it will quit when the voltage reaches about 2.5. If this flashlight has two AAs or AAAs, it will quit or limp when the batteries are at about 60% (a guess) of full capacity. Those are the dollar flashlights.

A flashlight that's got a converter in it, usually referred to quite mysteriously simply as "technology," then that circuit supplies a constant voltage and current to the LED unti the battery is really really depleted.

It used to be that the "technology" type LED flashights were about $30 and up, but there are probably ordinary ones in that price range now. They just run down in a few hours, then you have to throw out batteries that would still be plenty useful in a flashlight with an incandescent bulb.

Look for the description to mention technology or some other such thing. And remember there are still rechargeable Mag and Streamlights that are just batteries and a light bulb.

I'm not giving you an actual model recommendation as mine came from Tech Tools, and when I inquired recently about addition batteries, they said they had none as this was a short-run product and replacements don't exist. I guess you should try to avoid that, too.

Oh, yeah, in the process of looking for lights, many people said that a "tactical" flashlight has that name for no reason at all. Tech Tools finally clued me in -- a tactical flashlight has some kind of sharpish edges or other feature that makes it a MEAN weapon when jammed sharply into someone's eye socket. (Mine makes a nice hexagonal scar on, say, a forehead, too.) After hearing that, I see it clearly on every one named "tactical."