This story about the MS5308 needing all sorts of batteries keeps surfacing - IT DOES NOT.
The MS5308 ONLY uses 8 AA cells (my two-year old instrument is still on the original set). True, the case moulding supports a small flat "6F22" 9V battery, but there are no connections to it; this is only used when the case houses a different type of instrument (a precision current/voltage source, I believe).
Current draw from the battery is 20mA, 25mA with the backlight on. The unit times out after a few mins, so battery life of those AA's is going to be good. Though if it were powered by the MUCH smaller 9V flat battery, 15-25mA would see one of those off in just a few hours. This then, really puts in perspective the problem with the mains power supply. Yes, it is a P.o.S, but I've never even needed to bother with it. MAYBE if you were measuring components on a production line for hours a day, you would need a mains supply, but then in a professional production environment, you probably wouldn't be using budget Mastech equipment.
Would anyone recomend the MS5308? Well that, of course, depends entirely on what you need it for. For me, it works fine, but the massive form factor is (to MY mind, maybe not yours?) overkill. Other manufacturers have meters with the same chipset that have proved you can get the same functionality in a MUCH smaller form factor. This MS5308 is a bench hog. As a paperweight, it's brilliant.