I have been carrying a Novatac SPL-120 for the past couple of years or so. It is starting to fail. I is going through 123A's on almost a weekly basis. I used to go months on a battery. I think the LED or something else is shot on this light. Anyway I not asking what is the best light, but rather for recommendations or your opinion on what's out there. I know that is pretty much the same thing, but I value your opinion. I want something small enough to carry in my pocket. The Novatac is about the size of a roll of quarters maybe not quite as long. I wouldn't mind something longer, but not any fatter. I like the 123 batteries and am leaning towards a light that uses 2 123's, but is just a thought and not a requisite. I do want LED with at least 120 lumen.

I use it from anything from checking the mail after dark when I get home, lighting up a dark area that I am working in, navigating to my deer stand before sunrise, to searching for a blood trail like I did last night. Sometimes it may run for just a few seconds other times it might run for 20 minutes. I don't need a light that will through a spot out to 100 yards, but I need a bright light when I need it. Most of the time I need to light in close proximity. I carry a pen light in my shirt pocket at work for medial tasks, but I don't carry it as EDC, its just a 15 lumen light. My Novatac has two power settings and I rarely use low power. I will use the strobe occasionally if I am hunting with someone and am walking towards them so I am seen easier. I just need a good durable light that is at least as bright as what I have now. I have a brighter light on my AR and if I don't find anything that suites me I am going to pull it off and carry it until I do.

Surefire and Streamlight are going to be your best bets in my opinion because if you decide to get a holster ot belt attachment to carry it, most kydex/leather makers stick with the two big names for molds. That's not to say they won't carry molds for any other lights but generally speaking, you'll always find them for Streamlight and Surefire.

I prefer the Streamlight 6P LED for handheld and the TLR-1s for weapon mounted. I carry both.

First thing I would do is contact Novatac as they have a lifetime warranty on their products. From their website:

"What is the warranty on my Novatac flashlight?
NovaTac, Inc. warrants that its products will be free from defects in material and workmanship for life. NovaTac’s liability is limited to the original purchase price of the product and does not cover cosmetics, color variations, modifications or batteries."

To me it sounds like you are experiencing circuitry/regulator issue, should definitely be covered by the lifetime warranty.

Still you should have a backup light. I had good experience with the iTP SC1 R5 LED, have one for over 2 years and never had a problem. It’s a 230 lumen bulb with infinitely adjustable brightness, not preset like most lights that have high-med-low. You can lock at any brightness you want as it ramps up and down during adjustment. Pretty neat.

And you can find it for less than $40

iTP SC1 R5 LED Tactical light 230 Lumens

I'm not afiliated to this seller but have purchased from them in the past everything went smooth

I love the iTP's. I have a couple of the SC2's, one for work, the other for EDC.

www(dot)batteryjunction(dot)com/itp-sc2-r5-flashlight.html (sorry, i can't post links yet)

Comes with a holster, lanyard and spare switch assembly. Has 3 brightness levels preset, plus strobe, or is infinitely adjustable as previously stated. Can't beat the quality/performance to price ratio either.

I've been ordering from Battery Junction for a couple of years. Awesome service and prices. Their Titanium Innovations CR123A 3V Lithium Photo Batteries (1400mah) can't be beat. i get them on sale in the twelve pack for less that $1.00 each. No affiliation, just an extremely satisfied customer.

All I can say is my Surefire Defender drew blood more than once when I was a Deputy. I still carry that little light everyday at work even though I normally have someone else to do my "dirty" work for me anymore.

Well, since my Novatac has stopped performing I pulled the light off my AR. Its a nice light and I have been carrying it the past several days. It is a Brite Strike RL-198-HLS. It puts out 198 lumens on high, 90 on low and the 3rd tap is 198 lumen strobe. I haven't used it much since it was on my AR for SD use. I think I am going to use this Brite Strike as my EDC. I wish I would have been carrying this light sooner. I bought it at a military surplus store at Fort Bragg a few years ago. I got my Novatac this Brite Strike and a weapon mount for the BS for $80. The BS retails for $140. I didn't realize how nice this light is until I used it for a few days. I put it on the AR because it had the pressure switch that fastens to my front vertical hand grip. The reviews on it are outstanding and I like the way it feels.