¡. very good run time ( few modes possible )
¡¡. good throw and flood ( throw should be prime but not a narrow beam thrower )
¡¡¡ . shall be very reliable, go for years without any maintaince
¡v . with side switch
v. within $50 - 60 .
vi . run by 2 or 3 D cells ( may be used AA with adapters if required ).
You aren’t going to find a whole lot as D batteries are kind of a rarity.
The only light I can think of is the Fenix TK70 (and TK60), which are monster search and rescue lights that use 4 Ds. They arent exactly everyday lights…and cost 200 bucks.
But they definitely meet the other requirements of side-switch, 4 modes of brightness plus hidden strobe, very reliable, etc.
Your only other alternative is to get a Maglite and then get a “drop in” module for it that replaces the crappy emitter with a good XM-L or equivalent. That will get you within the price range needed.
Really though there is no need to use D batteries unless you really WANT a giant club. A 2xAA light can hit 200+ lumens which is plenty bright for most purposes. They can be gotten for 40-60 bucks which is on budget and a side-switch is doable though more rare.
Plus with AA batteries you can use rechargables and not need specialty batteries and chargers. A universal charger is like 25 bucks and charges AAA thru D and is super handy around the house, especially for toys.
I would recommend a Flood to Throw light actually. The floody area is great as a worklight with no distracting hotspot, and you can adjust it to give higher throw as desired. You can get a 3xAAA for about 20 bucks. Id recommend shiningbeam romisens. 2xAA might be doable though more rare. However, a side-switch is going to be a problem since almost all F2T lights are tactical endcap switch only.
There is this light, that is available at your local Home Depot, when in Stock. Everyone here is quite impressed with it — should fit you needs, and is a good buy for the money. Read this thread for more information: