I was thinking of getting this light and the performance looks impressive but like you I also don't like penlights normally. Your idea of a short tube 14500 version (or why don't they sell a short tube to modify this one so you could have it long or short?) would definitely make it of more of interest, even at the sacrifice of run time and possibly not running on a single AA in the short configuration. I already have the original TAC AA in cool white (but it's actually a kind of nice neutral white as opposed to cold white) and like it quite well for a 14500 that can use AAs also. It does have a shortish runtime though and a not so nice outer ring but otherwise very good, at least when on it's highest setting outdoors. Very fun to use. Post just arrived while I was typing this :) with a Trustfire L2 Pro and I have just unboxed it and had a quick try and it could well be a good alternative to this Acebeam 2AA and it actually has built in usb charging so no need to remove any battery! That is new to me in a 14500 light and it was very low priced but still great build quality. Trustfire have been having a nice sale on AliEx so I bought about 5 different Trustfire lights to try instead of originally going for this Acebeam 2AA and I already have the original Trustfire L2 that is still very good for a 14500 light and I use it daily and it's still a little more compact than this new Po version but doesn't have the usb charging.