I apologize if this has been asked before, and I know there is no definitive answer, but something Chicago X said in another thread begged this question, at what price point do we leave the budget realm?
To me it depends on what you are getting for the money. For example, the DRY triple xm-l packs a ton of punch for the money at around $70-$85. So its not cheap, but compared to its competitors its in the budget range for its lumen/dollar ratio. Its a budget version of a triple xm-l.
I guess I'd make a distinction between value, as in your example, and budget, which in my mind, at least, implies a low cost generally.
Yeah budget is just a cheaper version of a premium item. Tge cool thing about flashlights is that sometimes the cheaper version is also better.
For me when price starts approaching 60 percent a pro equivalent I tend to reconsider my needs. Though I'm only recently addicted.
Wow, this puts your "a bridge too far" price point pretty high, no? I mean, if the average price of a Surefire is $150, 60% of that is $90. That seems way beyond budget to me.
$40
Well in that case id prolly only buy one. winks
I'd say that I tend to agree with Jacktheclipper. Above $40, I tend to be a lot more discerning about what it is I'm buying and I start looking for value rather than low cost alone. Which is not to say that value can not be found under $40.
Is your bag on fire? That's funny as all get out. Even better than you spelling your name backwards. Seriously, that put a smile on my face.
Anything beyond the KD-C8 leaves the realm of budget. True budget is is the $3 AAA singles and DX keychain light 10-pack. 50x hosts are pushing the upper level once a drop-in has been added. The C8 is a nice light on the high-end of budget. STL-V2 and the like are luxury lights. Anything over $50 is right out. 
I agree. The answer is $40
My personal limit is $55. Made it some time back and haven't broken it, but yes, it has to be a dollar-per-lumen ratio (because the DRY and others have to be considered budget for what they offer).
As though we needed an example, I once bought a $500 '85 Ford Escort. Just saying "$500 dollars" never sounds cheap, until you consider what is being bought. A workable $500 car is budget, for sure.
But generally, with lights, $40 and under is budget and the range I stay in (with the occasional deviation).
For me it’s roughly $25 or less. That’s not to say that everything I guy is “budget”.
I go for value but sometimes that includes premium.
I only need/want 5 types of lights. I have three of those types well covered. I’m working on the other two.
I get what I think is your point though and that is that the BudgetLightForum isn’t so much about budget lights anymore. It’s mostly about getting “good deals” on higher priced flashlights.
Part of me says $40, part of me says there is no distinct dollar amount associated with "budget". My daughter just bought a new car, that I would call a budget car. But it still had an MSRP of almost $18,000; compared to the BMW's I sell, its 1/3 the price.
So if there is a fancy-as$$ flashlight that is $150, and you can buy its clone for $50, I think that is a budget light. Even the expensive Chinese lights, like SWM or Fenix, are 1/2 or 1/3 the price of their Surefire counterparts, and I'm sure if we were on CPF those would be in the Budget light section.
Maybe that is the definitive answer to the OP. If someone asks about a flashlight on CPF, and the mods move it to the Budget Light sections, we have our answer!
Upon reflection, this is the correct answer. Do we draw straws to see who has to go over to see what is on the list? Or should I just yell "not it!" and last person standing has to go?