hey nick, congrats to pulling de trigger! (if your 1-mode version (AA only, no 14500) doesnt satisfy you for whatever reason, you could always return the product for a full refund, so you're not risking anything except for the shipping costs.)
meanwhile i have revised the text (OP), included a few more relevant links, etc. To me, getting the 3-mode version (AA and 14500, with 180 lumens!) was very essential to the purchase. people who need the very very brightest light for budget money should look into the Xeno E03 which is a 2 years old model too (and frequently updated with slight revisions and LED updates from Farka E09, Xeno E03 V1, Xeno E03 V2, Xeno E03 V3, ..) and costs 3x as much as the Romisen and doesnt have the elegance and versatility of the RC-29 with mule mode ("zoom 0x"), extreme thrower (zoom 8x), absolutely perfect constant current regulation.
The Sipik SK68, which has the zoom function and price point in common, might be better known and more popular on BLF, but i continue to believe that this particular Romisen model is truely the best flashlight you can get for this money (~13$). Especially those who are non-flashaholics and have been buying and using (rather pricey!) MagLite's should check out this particular "old" Romisen [in fact, this reviewed Romisen is a recent model, and not the 2 years old 1-mode model!] and take it as reference for LED flashlights when they do more research and comparisons. They will come to the conclusion that even much more expensive LED flashlights are in many respects inferior to this Romisen (e.g. the hilariously overpriced best-selling Fenix LD10 and LD20).
If the potential buyer isnt willing to spend more money than ~20$ and he/she wants to buy just 1 flashlight in her/his life for all kinds of usage (i.e. a single all-round torch for indoors and outdoors and any situation and as replacement of an old 3-D MagLite), then this is the one to get: And that's true even at the time of this writing (November 2011!). I bought 3 copies!! i also own a 6.5x more expensive EagleTac T20C2 MkII with 720 lumens (currently on special sale for 89.90$) which is super bright and impressive on its own but honestly does in no way justify the 6.5x increase in expenses (13.40$ x 6.5 = 87.10$).
i wish i could return my EagleTac for a full refund and i somehow regret having bought such an expensive flashlight: i would be perfectly happy and satisfied with the Romisen as my only flashlight. i really like it sooo much, especially with the 14500 cells (i paid 5.50$ for 2 cells!!)!!!