I couldn't imagine my life without this flashlight (and a Leatherman). When I work as an occasional camera assistant on commercials and films, the maglite is the perfect size for checking the gate, cleaning equipment, or even walking around in dark forests looking for the leading actress.

I will take some paper tape and wrap it around the tail end of the barrel providing a soft grip that my teeth can sink into. All too often I'll be in an awkward position, reach back with my right hand to the holster, whip out the torch, twist it on, and stick it into my mouth in one smooth motion.

Each torch comes with its own replacement bulb, conveniently "hidden" in the tail spring. It's so well insulated that dropping the maglite onto hard rock while running won't break the spare (though the current bulb may not fare quite so well).

There are also professional (and online do-it-yourself) conversions to replace the bulb with a gallium-based LED bulb, the kind that never burn out, are thrice as bright, and use half the battery power. You can use the standard white color, or red or dark green LEDs for "night-vision." I haven't done this yet myself, although there's no fear of making a mistake. I own a silver, blue, red, forest green, and dark blue AA lite, a mini-Mag AAA for the house/car keys, and a D-cell large maglite for checking around the house, or keeping in the car on long trips.

You can twist off the head, exposing the bulb entirely while it's "burning." This is called candle-mode. By hanging the light from the tail loopholder, you can have an omni-directional light that's bright enough to put away equipment under. Several of these strung about brightens the room even more so. If you're into focus pulling, I use this for critical focusing, should the need arise. Have someone hold the torch in candle-mode by the subject, and you can focus on the filament for a precise setting.

These things are heavy duty and aren't made of joke materials like plastic and rubber. The Mag is the way to go.

This is a very fine flashlight. It puts out a surprising amount of light for its size. The beam is adjustable from wide and diffuse to narrow and focused. You can also remove the lens and it becomes omnidirectional, perfect when you're in a tent. The holster keeps it within reach at all times, instead of feeling around on the ground in the dark for it. I use it a lot more than my larger maglight for just this reason. The batteries last a lot longer than in other brands of small flashlights, and you get considerably more light as well. A must own for any outdoors fan, and a bargain as well.