Turk (a.k.a. – Ryan Miles) of ekho.info posed an important question on the Around the Campfire forum:
… when it comes to flashlights and headlamps. Wide beams, focused beams, 9 bajillion lumens, tactical lights, every color of the rainbow LED etc etc.
So here is my question. Seriously… what is everyone doing that they need so much light?
I am not against headlamps by any means. But really do you need one unless you are on trail after sun down? Or big powerful flashlights for that matter?
All I have ever used is a maglite solitare, pelican L1 and photon freedom micro. Its plenty of light for me.
So. This is not a slam to anybody with a big powerful light. But convince me, educate me if you will, explain to me … what exactly you do with that light, and what aspects of hiking life does it make better?
Whats the deal with Light? – Around the Campfire
In my defence, Turk, I do like a bright light for reading in the tent. In fact, I’ve been known to wear 2 headlamps! My eyes are not as good as they once were.
besthike.com 
Very happy with my Petzl Tikka Plus. I wanted variable brightness levels (NOT one that just gets dimmer as the batteries wear out). Works really well. I usually have it on the dimmest setting for reading. We use it mostly for reading in the tent (or sometimes reading in the back seat of a car at night). Still on the original set of batteries.