As for whether or not its worth it, I think it absolutely is. I’ve got one of the newest, supposedly greatest, Maglites. Its a ML300LX, and its not very good. Its really underpowered for its size and the beam is full of artifacts.
Most common mods are MTG-2/XHP with custom heatsink in the battery tube, or quad XML/XPL with 4x 20mm reflector or optic, this one needs a shelf type of heatsink, google “H22A heatsinks” and “download multi-sink II”. The modding possibilities for maglite are huge because of the available space.
As far as DIY options go there are plenty of triple/quad optics and reflectors available and the shorter depth allows for plenty of additional heat sinking. You might try skimming OL’s BLF modding links thread for ideas.
Might be cheap but battery life on alkaline batteries that likely being used will be short. Lumen claim is most definitely “Chinese lumens” which can be anywhere from double to a hundred less brighter than real lumens. Any mass lumen increase requires change in battery chemistry for any kind of runtime.
I have it in a Mag 6C.A CUXM2 one mode at 3,04A Run with 4 AA NiMh eneloop pro. The only main problem is the heat dissipation. The gap in the head of the flashlight must be fill with alu or copper foil.
I use 26650s and plastic pipe. Your setup with 4AA NiMH give you enough voltage drop to get away with that setup. Tenergy 10,000mah NiMH D cells and your qlite 7135 driver would over heat reguardless of heat sinking short of liquid nitrogen.
I have some SureFires with led drop ins XML at 3A 1x18650.The P60 rolled copper tape. I have operated for one hour on many occasions. None have been burned.
It says it has copper pill but i think it will be brass
I will make copper disc that will fit tight in battery tube and drill it in the middle so pill sits tight in it , i will solder it together with pill
1 or 2 copper stars(depends on clearance ) will go inside the pill (driver side ) under the led and also solder together with pill
Led in it will be xm-l2 u4 1c or 1a , i like cold tints
Still deciding if i will keep the original switch or just put one in the tail but that depends if the reflector with pill have clearance
Will find out soon i hope
If it wasnt for CNY i would have parts home already
Hope it helps you a little with what you want to do