Update: I purchased this light in January of 2012 and has been very pleased with it. After about 6 months I noticed that it has gotten very dim. It was getting dim gradually so I did not even notice until it felt like it was not helpful at all. After a quick battery change it is back to being nice and bright. The non-rechargeable batteries lasted 4 months of brief daily use (5-6 mins daily). Looking back I probably should have changed the batteries a month ago. I switched to rechargeable batteries, so I expect I would need to change them every few months.