I have nothing against Maglite. They make some fine products, but when you say “he probably means a Maglite” you make it sound like they’re the only game in town for high quality LED flashlights. Not so at all. Maglite built their business in incandescent products. They have done an admirable job of staying relevant, but I wouldn’t even count them in the top 5 LED flashlight manufacturers, though I do think they make the top 10.
Sattua, I think your husband’s opinion is dead-on. Most hardware store or department store LED flashlights are going to fall on the crappy end of the spectrum. Low quality LEDs, cheap construction, bad reflectors, etc. On the other end of the spectrum, there are many manufacturers of high quality products that focus on superior materials and construction, top end LEDs and reflectors and include microprocessor controlled regulators. These are usually found at sporting goods stores or obviously, online sources.
A regulated flashlight means that the power system is regulated by microprocessor to provide steady power to the LEDs until the batteries are dead. The light output from an unregulated flashlight will be a gradual downward slope (growing dimmer as the batteries are spent) while the light output from a regulated flashlight will be flat (constant brightness), ending in a cliff-like drop to zero power. Some regulated flashlights give you the option to gradually decrease output like an unregulated flashlight would, because some users like a gradual indication of power loss. The rest of us prefer to see in the dark and carry spare batteries. 
While it’s not true that all unregulated LED flashlights are junk, it’s a very safe bet that a regulated LED flashlight won’t be. Some are better than others and a lot of qualities that make one flashlight better than another are subjective, but I’ve never seen a truly crappy regulated LED flashlight.
Another consideration is batteries. LEDs are very efficient, but when you get in 100+ lumen territory, there are considerable power requirements. Most LED flashlights will use AA (alkaline disposable or NiMH rechargeable), 18650 Li-Ion rechargeable or CR123 lithium disposable. If you’re getting him more than one, stick with the same battery type.
CR123 batteries have excellent power capacity and a crazy-long shelf life (extremely low self-discharge) and are ideal for a device that sits for years on end without being used. They’re also expensive, non-standard and disposable so I don’t have much use for them. 18650 Li-Ion batteries have good capacity and low self-discharge rates. Their main drawbacks are that they’re non-standard size and only available as a relatively expensive rechargeable unit. AA batteries are, of course, ubiquitous. You will get better performance from a high capacity, low self-discharge NiMH rechargeable than a disposable alkaline set, but the ability to pick up relatively cheap batteries almost anywhere is a major convenience factor. NiMH used to be terrible with self-discharge, which is why you would never use them in things like remote controls, cameras or flashlights 10 years ago. Low self-discharge NiMH batteries like the Sanyo eneloop make this a problem of the past. I prefer AA flashlights for these reasons. Make sure you get him batteries and a good charger if you go with AA or 18650 flashlights.
Since you did mention flashlights (plural) you might want to consider a headlamp in addition to a hand held flashlight. They can be enormously useful for hands free use and are great for just walking around in the dark.
I just did a wholesale replacement of personal flashlights earlier this year and I did a fair amount of research before I purchased. This is what I wound up with:
Nitecore EA8 Caveman LED Searchlight. At 900 lumens, this thing is pretty ridiculous. I honestly have no earthly need of a 900 lumen flashlight, though I could argue that it makes a decent personal defense weapon by either blinding or beating (it’s pretty heavy). 5 brightness levels and it lasts an unholy number of hours on lower settings. Mostly, I like to spend money on cool shit that I don’t really need sometimes. It is a solid performer at lower light levels and damn, this is a cool flashlight! Plent of spot and useful light spill. 8 AA batteries (will run on 4). Regulated output. Runtime: 2:20-800 hours at 2-900 lumens
Fenix E25 Flashlight. Compact and eminently practical. 3 brightness levels up to 187 lumens on 2 AA batteries. Good spot and a very useful amount of light spill. Regulated output. Runtime: 2-26 hours at 27-187 lumens
Fenix HL30 Headlamp. Comfortable, lightweight, bright headlamp with ratcheting tilt. 4 brightness levels plus secondary 4 lumen red LED for preserving night vision. It’s all light spill (flood) and no spot, but with a max 200 lumens setting it has plenty of range. I love this headlamp! 2 AA batteries. Regulated output. Runtime: 1:40-140 hours at 4-200 lumens
Sanyo eneloop XX AA NiMH (2400 mAh). You could also go with the standard eneloop AAs, which are less expensive and rated for more charge cycles at a cost of capacity (1900 mAh). Runtimes above are all based on 2400 mAh NiMH batteries.
La Crosse Technology BC-700 Battery Charger. You could go with an eneloop battery plus charger combo, but the Crosse has independent battery charging and also features discharge and refresh (bring back from dead) modes. Maha chargers are also highly rated.
Maglite makes the list of high quality LED flashlight manufacturers, but they’re not even close to number one. Fenix, Nitecore, Zebralight, Surefire, HDS Systems, FOURSEVENS, EagleTac, LED Lenser, COAST and others share their company and in many cases surpass them. Feel free to post or PM any specific questions.
