Thank you for the extra information ...
260g without batteries (~150g for the head/reflector assembly). ie the head assembly (less pill) of the C88 weighs much more than most P60 hosts, and nearly as much as a complete C8. The heat sinking is this thing looks capable of dealing with much higher output emitters than the XRE Q5 it comes with, but it performs so well as is that I can't see much sense in modding.
I'm with you there; I bought this light to mod it, specifically to make a 'poor man's Maelstrom' with XM-L and 26500 cell... but this light is too nice to risc messing it up when modding it. It has a tighter and brighter hotspot than my Skyline 2 on 2xCR123!
Dang... I guess I have to get a second one to mod it 
If you get two then.. you'll have twice as much fun:p with 4 battery packs / 2 spares and extra body tube and ...
maybe a neutral xml not overdriven 600lm with a sexy tint .nice driver with no disco flash or bad pwm ..
EDIT : great light .. time to buy another one.. gonna mod this one to xpg and the second one to a neutral xml and play lego with the two and their parts ..:)
Great review..
Thanks for showing the internals..
I like the screen name you'll like this light it;s a fatty .. it weighs 360 grams with batteries in it .. it's a hefty beast . I think most people who have it really like it . I 'm sure i didn't know what a real thrower was until I got this light .i'm impressed , looking forward to modding it as well.
I will try take an outdoor beamshot later 
Is the default driver in this thing regulated or DD? Thanks.
Agenthex why did you have to revive this thread I really want this light I have put it in my cart about a dozen times it would be so sweet with an XML driven at 2.8 amps.
I have modded my MCU C88 with XM-L T6 and NANJG105 driver, great throw capability, just get it and mod to XM-L, sure it will give you a smile 
this is TK567 and modded MCU C88 beamshot
Well, someone I know wanted a AA light, and I was trying to figure out if this is regulated or not, because the decent 2AA ones kind of are by default since they use a boost driver. It would definitely be pretty sweet w/ xml but they're flashlight noob so prolly makes no difference.
Thanks Handy, that thing is awesome.
Agenthex this light is the perfect one to create another flashlight enthusiast.
Yeah, if not regulated it's like a really fancy 3aaa light. :D
I've been wanting one of these to mod (XML/driver) since the original post. I think It would be great having a 3AA XML light (with the option to pull the carrier and use li-on). Add it to the list of lights I want to get. :)
There aren't a whole lot of duplicates of this light in your collection
My daughter asked me to provide a thrower for their newly acquired boat. My first choice was a HS-802 (since I like mine), but she cringed seeing the precautions I use when charging my 18650's. "That's not for us", she admitted.
Therefore, based on opinions from this thread, I ordered a C88, which arrived today. Build quality is impressive, from the spotless reflector to the smoothest among non-anodized threads. The clicky feels very nice. Current draw from a freshly charged eneloop triplet (4.19V) is 0.8A.
At 1m, the hotspot is 5cm wide (same as HS-802), but with a smaller corona, no rings and a much darker spill. Thus, a perfect reflector for pure throw. On the other hand, the C88's beam spread angle is larger, with distance the hotspot grows faster, lux falling.
Although the C88 can still bring out a white house at 400m (barely), the HS-802 illuminates it considerably brighter.
I should mention that my HS-802 (R2) is somewhat overdriven at 1.4A from battery (stock), so we are dealing with 75% more wattage supplied, not to mention the higher LED bin. Taking all this into account, the C88 performs great.
Daughter is happy.
Would it be possible to do a quick check w/ some alkalines to see how much they droop (esp. w/ time)?
Stay tuned ...
Ok, here are my results.
Alkalines Duracell Turbo (for toys etc.), expiration 2017, power-pack voltage = 4.82V.
As first switched on Hi 34600 lux @ 1m
after 5min on Hi plus 5min rest 30800 lux @ 1m
after 5 more min on Hi plus 5min rest 28500 lux @ 1m
after 5 more min on Hi plus 5min rest 27200 lux @ 1m
after 5 more min on Hi plus 5min rest 25600 lux @ 1m
after 5 more min on Hi plus 5min rest 24800 lux @ 1m
after 5 more min on Hi plus 5min rest 23600 lux @ 1m
Power-pack voltage 10min after last reading = 4.23V.
With fully charged Eneloops, power-pack voltage = 4.25V ... 30900 lux @ 1m.
For comparison: HS-802, fully charged Soshine 18650 ... 53000 lux @ 1m.
The actual measurements were taken at 5.0m for the C88 and at 7.0m for the HS-802, always max reading from scanning across the hotspot.
Nice! I never noticed this thread until now. I think I see a candidate for a BLF customization in the future....
Any other nice multiple AA lights in this category? While I am absolutely not a fan of long lights with 2xAA arranged in a linear fashion, I am much more interested in this 3xAA axial arrangement. Pretty unique for an AA light.
Would this light be compatible with 3x14500? Or a single big Li-Ion like a 32600 or something?