On BLF you will find a large variety of people. People who are into cheap lights only, and also a good amount of people who are into expensive lights. Many of those who are into expensive lights are still highly value oriented. No matter what lights you are into, I think you can feel at home at BLF. :)
Personally I think the majority of premium lights are overrated, often overpriced, with mediocre performance. Then again, a ton of budget lights are quite crappy if you just buy random lights. This is why it can be important do do your homework before buying, or be prepared to mod. You will find a good amount of people that modify lights on BLF. This is to some extend because lots of the cheap lights come with many flaws and often not so good quality control. Stuff that can be easily fixed if you have basic modding skills. Or just stick to lights with good reviews that are more likely to not have issues with sloppy work, no thermal paste etc...
I think many people that stay around for a long time wished they had bought more expensive lights from the start. I seem to notice several people with higher post counts that have been around for some time say it. I think that is natural for most things though, as many have a tendency to get picky. Im not into budget lights because I cant afford expensive lights. I enjoy them all for what they are no matter price range. When that is said, I do find myself using more money on my average lights now than in the beginning. Many here also enjoy good deals, and hunting for the next great light. There are lots aspects with the hobby. If you join BLF and stay active here, you are probably more likely to spend less on lights, but buy more.
When it comes to single cell, single emitter lights, I personally think most premium lights are a waste and highly overpriced. Look into different Convoy lights as an example. These lights offer tint options that far exceed what you can with pretty much any premium brands while in general having good quality and costing 1/5 of many premium lights that have similar or lower performance.
As for quality. Flashlights are not rocket science. I know of just a few cases where a light with a nanjg105C/Qlite or a driver circuit with that platform have failed. These driver circuits are very popular in many lights and I would consider them to be extremely reliable if they are installed properly. In comparison, Ive heard about a lot of Zebralights, and other premium brands that fail. Ive never heard of an Omten switch that have failed with normal use. Ive heard of lots of switches in premium lights fail, even Surefire. When that is said, when it comes to cheap Chinese lights, you risk bad work/quality control, so maybe a switch is not properly soldered onto the switch board and gets loose. Quality wise, budget lights does not have to be behind if you know what to buy. Yet they can be 10 times easier to fix due to using "mainstream parts" if something should break.
I do enjoy several expensive lights. But in most cases only when there are not as good budget options. In most cases there are good budget options. Or you can get a better valued lights if you buy from a "modder" that does good work.
For many who mod, and replace and upgrade internal parts, the main thing that's different between budget lights and premium lights are quality on anodizing and machining work and threads. For many, its not worth paying 3 times the price just to know those things are top notch. Usually those things does not change the user experience when you are out in the dark and using the light.
Im a modder and I mod all lights so my perspective might be quite different compared to others.
