I also took the AA apart tonight. the hairdryer trick worked. Clamped it in a bench-vise and vise grip pliers. dang that glue in there STINKS. I doubt its RoHS compliant... pretty toxic:sick2: (speculating)
There is a black plastic funnel inside the head that absorbs any side throwing lumens from the emitter. I took that piece out and it made more flood, as side projecting lumens reflect a little off the shiny aluminum. Its not a lot moreflood, but anything is better than nothing at this point. Its an ugly, ringy kind of flood though so... pure-ists will :green::sick2::mecry:.
Its a very well made light, thats for sure. The threads are cut super clean and the o-ring in the head and lens engage very well to keep out water.
I bet you can replace the aspheric with a nice reflector and glass lens. There are a LOT of wasted Lumens from the emitter that spill onto the sidewalls inside the head.