correct
specifically the AA models have non removable bezels. The pill is press fit from below the glass. That means modification of the LED is not possible, unless someone breaks the glass and presses the pill back out the bottom of the head.
since you cant have a drop in, and you cant solder…
consider adjusting your dream, to include paying someone to modify a light for you
I agree btw, that the stock Tool clip is not very good, it sits too low, and it can pull off. Mascaratum showed you how he solved that.
Huh? My Tool AA 2.0 Ti has a two piece head that can be opened fairly easily, and the PCB is the same as in my Tool HM kit, it’s just on a shelf not in a pill. I swapped a 219b into my Ti and it’s my favourite light to carry. No breaking glass required.
I’ve been on a similar search for a while now, though I’m a bit more lenient in terms of maximum width. The Stainless Steel Amutorch 1xAA is an interesting platform to start on, maybe drop in a 15mm FET driver from mtnelectronics and an LED of your choice. I currently use a Convoy T2 w/ a bolted on solarforce T1 clip and a 17DDM with Bistro, however that’s closer to 20mm in width and you lose AA support. The Jaxman E3 starts from a similar position to the T2 in being very moddable, but is also on the wider side. The E3 does take the old Olight Baton S1 deep carry clips (can be bought from olight on ebay).
The Amutorch with 219c is very nice (i bought one from Neal last year or so)
No need for another driver, this one puts out plenty and it does get hot on turbo with 14500
The overall build of the Tool Ti is much better, but the parasitic drain is high and my led wires came off while doing runtime testing.
So hardware is top notch, electronics definitely needs improvement
The Amutorch had mediocre mode spacing and terrible PWM on the stock driver. The backlit tailcap in the Tool is the source of the “parasitic” drain no? It’s a mechanical clicky otherwise and should have no standby current.
DQG Tiny AA - head diameter 17,5mm, lenght 67mm. No switch, its a twistie.
Also available with 90CRI LED. It works with 14500, but the output is almost the same as with the NiMHs (barely brighter) according the reviewers.
I love those little lights. Wish they weren’t so expensive. That is pretty pricey for a AA light. I’d buy a few at maybe $20. Almost $40 is out of my range for AA lights. Maybe I can catch a sale one day.
I don’t actually recognize the second light in the line-up. The third is the Amutorch S3 AA in SS. No longer made unfortunately. It’s been my favorite AA, despite the low PWM, imperfect switch, and worst of all no mode memory.