I did not know what XHP32 was, turns out it is a Fenix.
to be perfectly honest, I am a not a fan of the 3x18650 side by side configuration, the light is short but huge and hard to grip. I much prefer the 2x18650 config occasionally modding it to run off 3x18650. Or 3x18650 occasionally downsizing to the 2x18650 config. I think all in all, Malkoff got it right.
One of the significant and often overlooked things about the Hound Dog, in any configuration, is that you can run it off primaries.
They do store less watt-hours, for sure. But, in an extended outage, or when you deplete all your 18650s, you can feed it 4 primaries. On low, the runtime should be tolerable.
This is important because most Malkoff lights do not run off 4x123 primaries. None of the M61 series (except for SHO IIRC as someone will be quick to jump in and point out, or maybe it was a one-time device), M61T does not, neither does M361 nor M61HOT.
M91T does and of course so do the other permutations of Wildcat, etc.
I kinda like the idea of using *either* two 18650s *or* 123s. All in the same device. That gives the device incredible flexibility.