Why are some lights so heavy?

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

Is it easier to machine aluminum and keep it thick rather than lighter weight? Or it is considered more robust to keep it thicker? Not every light needs to be able to be dropped from a building or run over by a truck.

An example of a lighter weight light would be Zebralights or the ITP A3. There are other lights that are the same size as those two lights that are quite a bit heavier.

I just got a Ultrafire single AA light that actually looks like a Zebralight in terms of color/finish and it uses the same battery but it's an inch longer (makes sense as it's not an angle light) and feels like it's twice as heavy.

I have a Ultrafire single AAA twisty that is a little longer than the A3 and it feels twice as heavy.

I'd use my P60 sized lights a little more if it wasn't like carrying a pipe around.

I don't have a bunch of expensive flashlights so I don't know if the more expensive ones are lighter. My Surefire P6 certainly isn't.

Why don't we have more lighter weight lights?

2

More metal is always more expensive, however it depends on how its made. If the alum is from a tube, then a thinner tube will be cheaper, however is the alum was machined out from tube or stock, then a thicker wall maybe requires less machining time, and the metal has already been paid for. I guess it all comes down to which is cheaper, machining time or metal value, and the overall design criteria.