Proton Pro or other flashlight for ~$50?

[kozak6]

An acquaintance of mine has a Proton Pro he absolutely loves, and I was very impressed by it.

For about ~$50 or so, is there something "better", or should I hurry up and get one already?

I'm not particularly concerned with tactical purposes, btw.

 

[stjames]

4sevens Quark mini is pretty awsome, I picked a AA model to give to a friend and decided to keep it for myself

 

[Scott Free]

I'd own a Proton Pro if you could turn it on at the lowest white setting and ramp up from there. I'm not crazy about the red led. Instead, I chose the Quark AA. I can start out in low, or I can start out it on high. My next light will be Zebralight's AA flashlight. The UI is better (for me) than either the Proton Pro or the Quark AA.

 

[kozak6]

I ended up getting the Proton Pro. I really like to be able to play with something before I buy one.

The UI isn't a problem for me.

The red LED is kind of weird. I don't know how much I'm really going to use it, but it's an interesting feature. I guess perhaps it's supposed to help counter blinding oneself with maximum brightness when the flashlight is turned on.

With the fresh battery right out of the box, it's even more impressive than I expected. Other than handling my friend's flashlight with a lower battery charge, I haven't had any experience with a modern flashlight. I had no idea such a small flashlight could be so bright.

 

[Buck268]

Had a Quark mini AA and it was completely impressive, but I just didn't need another keychain light. Right now I've fighting the urge to pick up a regular AA Quark to replace my Fenix L1Tv2.0 (another great light- VERY durable).