If you want something small, cheap, yet pretty bright, check out a Coast HP1 (around $10 on Amazon). I put a Sanyo 14500 840mah 3.7V rechargeable LiON battery in it and it's bright for the size! 190 lumens. Maybe too small/cheap/dim for your purposes, but for everyday use, I've found it to be awesome (have 10 scattered throughout the house, car, range bag, etc.).