Strong personal opinions and a shockingly long reply incoming.
#1 is widely available, lots of ways to skin this cat.
#2 is Zebralight territory. Look at the SC53w and SC64w. You pay a premium for ZL's engineering, but no one else squeezes as much light into as little space.
#3 is well-handled by most enthusiast lights. Zebralight has a customizable UI that's a joy to use. Any light running Andúril (or earlier variations) will have infinite ramping baked right in; Emisar, Noctigon, and Lumintop, among others, make great Andúril lights.
#4 often (though not always) steers you out of performance-oriented lights and into lights that put aesthetics first. Nothing wrong with that, just not my jam. Titanium is expensive and doesn't dissipate heat well.
#5 is one of those things that sounds cooler than it actually is, IMO. I loved the adjustable beam on my Maglites ("zoomies") before I discovered enthusiast lights. Now I can't imagine ever wanting that again. With a light that has adjustable brightness levels, and the beam profile that best suits your average daily tasks (some balance of flood/throw, depending on what those are), zoomable lights just aren't that useful.
#6 is fun because many 18650 lights also offer optional 18350 body tubes. The resulting stubby form factor is great for some use cases, and looking at the lights on my desk about half of my 18650s are currently in shorty mode. You lose battery life, but not brightness.
#7 is a funny one, because most AA lights are barely smaller than 18650 lights, and 18650s give you more of everything in exchange for a nominal increase in size. Over the years I've gotten rid of all of my AA-sized lights. If I want a small light, AAA-sized works better for me; 18650 and up meets all of my other needs.
I would add a #8 to your list, particularly if you're new to enthusiast lights: high CRI (color rendering index). The higher the CRI, the more naturally the light shows colors. (
One adage is that, when hiking, high CRI is the difference between a stick and a snake.) CRI has become the property that trumps all others for me. I almost never buy a light that doesn't have a CRI of 95+.
...Alongside another addition, #9: color temperature. Cool white gives you the most lumens, but cool white light is
nasty. For an EDC light, neutral white or warm white are going to be more pleasing for your eyes, and the only tradeoff is slightly lower brightness. (
Perceived brightness isn't linear, so if CW is 1,300 lumens and NW is 1,000, your eyes will barely notice the difference.)
Any hey, why not one more: #10, moonlight/firefly mode. Zebralight is the king of sub-lumen modes, but many enthusiast lights get close. Alongside "medium" -- say 200-400 lumens -- moonlight is by far my most-used mode. It's surprising how useful 1/2 lumen of light is when you're navigating your bedroom without waking up your spouse, etc.
So! Finally, a recommendation or two.
I've already mentioned the Zebralight SC53w (AA) and SC64w (18650). Although I don't own either, they're beloved in hobbyist circles and I do own a couple other ZL torches; they're fantastic.
My daily tasks tend to be indoors and up close, so my preferred EDC light is one that prioritizes flood over throw. My two favorites are the Noctigon KR4 with an E21A emitter (neutral white) and the Emisar D4V2 with an SST20 emitter (warm white). Both run Andúril, both have shorty tube options, and both are a joy to use. The KR4 has a tail switch with an optional tritium tube, while the D4V2 has a side switch.
With the emitters I chose, the D4V2 has a turbo of 3,000 lumens while the KR4 tops out at 1,200. The D4V2 is a hot rod; it can set paper on fire. The KR4 is more efficiency-oriented.
Both also have aux LEDs, and thanks to the battery life of 18650/18350 batteries you can have them on 100% of the time -- making the light easy to find in the dark, and giving you some other cool tools (like showing the difference between a locked-out light and one that's merely off, or the battery level). It's difficult for me to buy a light without these anymore.
Noctigon KR4 w/18350 tube installed
Emisar D4V2 w/18650 tube installed
The Reddit flashlight sub is also an excellent resource. Their FAQ covers a lot of this stuff better than I can, and every light on their pinned list of recommended lights is a winner -- and all will include some guidance as to their best use cases, etc.
Happy to answer any questions as best I can, though. I stuck to EDC recommendations, but I can cover some other use cases as well (long throwers, pencil spotlights, flood monsters, head lamps). I love lights and they're a fun hobby.
Keyopp
