there is a mod to the foam that makes it easier to use ..i think match posted it on here ..maybe someone knows what it is ..i thought it was cutting little slits in the foam ring ??? I've never tried it but hear it helps .
Thanks Boaz. I’ve just spent about an hour reading that thread 
I didn’t realise the EZAA was so popular in it’s day (3 years ago), 15 pages of posts on the Other Side.
I think the mod is to trim the foam, but mine one is much worse than reported there - as I said, its a 360 degree turn, plus another 200 degrees.
That’s probably due to the small contact spring in the head not being tight enough. You can either try and press it down, or remove it first for more effect (or to put a small blob of solder under it instead). It’s just a case of making the distance between the spring and contact to the main contact through the spring shorter.
Alternatively you could of course just remove the spring altogether and get a high mode only light.
These may be early run type 1 rev 1 EZAAs, from before the long turn distance between low and high was rectified. That could be the reason we are seeing them so cheap and unbranded, as Nitecore may have sold them on wholesale to someone when they moved to the type 1 rev 2 versions.
Would cutting the foam back have the same effect? I haven’t done anything yet to try to fix it. My soldering skills are non-existent, and I imagine I would screw it up if I tried.
Took it out last night, and beginning to warm to it. It is tiny for an AA, and though I wouldn’t fancy it on a keychain, it is a handy size (so handy that I thought I lost it when I got back in - it was in my trouser pocket).
Cutting the foam would have no effect on the distance needed between it coming on in low and high. It would simply make it slightly less stiff to turn in general and possibly allow a little battery rattle if you cut it back too far.
You may find that as you use it more the spring in the head becomes more compressed and the distance needed to turn between low and high gets shorter by itself.
OK, thanks. I’ll leave it for a while. Might make it one mode eventually, but the huge twisting lark is a bit tiresome.
I attempted my first mod just now, following RedForest’s help - and help from Boaz and Match.
I now have a single mode light Better than before, and I’ll put a lithium battery in it and leave it in the car, with a headband, for emergency use.
Bottom line is that my soldering skills are such that I put too much solder on the spring. I tried it twice - first attempt reduced the turning by half a rotation; second dollop was too much. I don’t want to risk overheating it (I stuck a pair of tweezers under the spring to try to take some heat away, but I’m basically clueless.
Still, I’m happy - simple turn and I have a decent amount of light. It will be useful where it’s going.
Thanks again everyone for your help.
I cut the foam on my EZ123w to reduce the pre-load force, but RedforestUK is correct in that the low—>high distance will be unchanged because its the compression distance of the spring thats important here.
I’ve made some modding with it.
- carefully cut the foam from head
- heat the spring(at it’s beginning) with soldering Iron and get it out of head
- carefully drop a little point of solder at the center of circuit board
- mount spring back using soldering iron
- mount foam back(by the any way you want)
If you’re lucky like me you’ll get ~30 degree turn between 2 modes.
But you should be VERY CAREFULL doing it.