You missed the point of the question. Here it is again:
"What makes SureFire so good that it is so expensive? I'm sure there must be a reason, but I don't get it."
I wasn't saying the $20 light is as good as the SureFire. I assumed there must be a reason why it is so much more expensive, I just didn't know why. People that answered the question, instead of calling me a "derp," understood that. They pointed out things like R&D, service after the sale, made in America, etc. Calling somebody a name because you thought their question was stupid totally defeats the purpose of this forum. Attempting to alienate somebody is the exact opposite of what we try to do here. Is your purpose on this site to help others learn, or do you just want to ridicule everyone that doesn't know as much as you?
To answer helpful questions, I'm only planning on having it on my home SD gun and taking it to the range every now and then to make sure I understand the different feeling of having a few extra ounces on the front of my gun.
I have no misconceptions about durability. I don't think that SureFire has somehow duped intelligent shooters into buying an overpriced product that performs no better than a $20 knockoff.
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The bit you hit on does make it sound like a stupid idea. For a self defense gun. Is it likely to just die on you when you need it the most. Probably not. Not a risk I'd be willing to take at any rate. SD also means there is a chance it is going to get bashed somehow, and you'd probably want it to keep working then.
Just to take to the range or a night light for long walks on your property are both pretty good ideas for a cheap weapon light. Self defense isn't.