It might be time to let fond memories of the old flashlights with two or three D cells and a slide switch go?
A decent LED lamp with a one or two small 18650 Li ion batteries is a fraction of the size, far brighter, and lasts hours longer. Cheap ones can be had under $10. Decent ones around $20-25. And very good (and also very high margins) with some of the better Fenix, Olight etc. models. There are plenty of options for single handled operation from either near the bright end or at the end of the cap.
I probably have over 50 of them from "free" to $100 in cost -- we use various models of them on stands as stereo microscope lights and as LED replacements in higher power compound scopes. The cheapest Chinese ones are prone to failure. Around $20-25 and up you can start getting ones that have multiple modes, on-board chargers, even dimming -- and are brighter and last far longer than any of the old 2-3-4-5 cell Maglite's that used to be the gold standard.
Another plus is that good Li-ion batteries rarely spill their guts and destroy a flashlight. The exceptions are the many cheap Li-ion and counterfeit models coming out of China. I bought (and returned) one batch that turned out to be counterfeits with a tiny cheap watch battery inside. Maybe 1/40th the stated capacity. Other rechargeable ones lack protections and, combined with cheap chargers, pose a charging risk.
I suspect many of us had Maglites that sat a bit too long -- and ended up with cells essentially locked in a gooey mess inside the flashlight. Pretty sure there are still threads here on various heroic efforts to restore them and complaints about how all the AA, C, or D cells guaranteed not to leak still leak after a few years. Today, some Li ion batteries have a 20 year shelf life. At my age, I can put them in electronic instruments and consider them a "lifetime" replacement. And even 20 years from now, they're not likely to leak.
Perhaps the biggest problem in finding a good, cheap modern flashlight is how manufacturing has changed. With so much now built in China, the market is weighted to near-anonymous brands you've never heard of at the low priced end (some decent, some not) and over-priced (IMO) but better-known brands like Olight and Fenix marketed at the high end.