I hope I don't offend anyone here, but...
Anything that says Maglite on it is going to be incredibly tough, rugged, solid, and reliable, but absolutely pitiful as a source of light, by today's standards.
I own 4 Maglites of various sizes, and I can appreciate them for what they are. But the technology inside of them was surpassed about 15 years ago.
For $50, you can do very well these days with a compact, extremely bright, well-made flashlight. Just a few quality brands that make models in that price range, in no particular order: Fenix, 4Sevens, Nitecore, Jetbeam, Eagletac, Streamlight.
Some things to consider:
Batteries - AA batteries are much cheaper and easier to find than CR123s, but typically don't last as long or give as much brightness in a similar sized light. For a light you will use every day, that will go through a lot of batteries, I would recommend a single AA light. You will sacrifice runtime and brightness, though. The maximum brightness for single AA lights these days is somewhere around 135 to 160 lumens, and in a single CR123 light, you can reach 270 or more. If you don't mind ordering CR123 batteries in bulk online, you can find them for less than $1.50 per battery, and you won't go through them as fast as AAs.
User interface (UI) - For EDC lights, I prefer forward clicky switches. Twisty lights are typically more durable and reliable, as they are missing all the pieces of a clicky switch. But clicky lights are usually a lot easier to operate with 1 hand. Forward clicky swicthes allow a momentary flash of the light without turning it on. Reverse clicky switches don't turn on until you fully click the switch on and release. As far as mode switching, I like my EDC lights to cycle through modes by soft pressing the switch, and reverting back to the first mode when the light is off for a few seconds. This way, you always know exactly what mode will come on first. If your light cycles through modes high->medium->low, and you want low without blasting high, just hold the light bezel against your body and press the switch 3 times. This is a little more difficult with a twisty light.
Beam shape/tint/temperature/quality - This took me a long time, and a lot of trial and error with many flashlights, to understand. I prefer a warm temperature (3300k to 4500k), soft white tint, and floody profile to my beam. Some people prefer throwy beams that light up a small, tight area at farther distances, but aren't great for close-up tasks. Some people like cool white tints/temps that look brighter, but don't render colors as well as warm white beams. It's all personal preference, but it's hard to decide what you like until you've used dozens of different flashlights. A light with a 300 lumen beam may have rings, a donut hole, a blue or green tint, or other nasty things, while a 100 lumen light may have a perfectly balanced spot-to-flood beam with no rings or artifacts, and a pleasing warm white tint.
Value - I really believe that with flashlights, you get what you pay for. Some people scoff at the thought of spending $150 on a Surefire or Ra light, then go buy a $20 Maglite at the hardware store, and they're perfectly satisfied. But I'll bet that if that person was given a Surefire for free, and asked to use it along side their Maglite on a regular basis for a few nights, you'd have to pry that Surefire out of their hands.
Be careful once you enter the world of high-quality, compact, modern flashlights...it can become very addictive.
Oh, and for MUCH more information than you could ever possibly need, go check out Candle Power Forums.
Amazing for such a small light. 
