I've never seen a Fenix light other than on the internet.
www.lighthound.com.
www.4sevens.com. 4sevens markets a number of lights including the Quark.
Not affiliated, just a customer.

My most used light is an internet acquired Fenix LD01, single AAA battery, three levels of light. Worn on the keychain, it is right there when I need it, the most important consideration. The next most important feature is that it turns on when I need it. A nice simple twisty with enough friction so as to not screw on or off inadvertently, the LD01 measures up here. Everything else is just details.

I load mine with a primary lithium battery which lasts at least a year in my normal usage pattern. I routinely carry a spare battery, meaning I could hike all night long for at least a couple of nights, using nothing but this light.

More and more, I prefer electronic items which can interchange batteries and which can chow down on alkalines, rechargables, or lithiums, whichever is at hand.

REI is starting to carry some Fenix's.

At least, online they are!

Impact Guns carries them, for those of you in Ogden UT.

I agree with Art that if you've got a bunch of mini-mags the Niteize 1W upgrade is an inexpensive and sensible upgrade, and I recommend them to anyone who wants to get better performance and run-time from the flashlights they already own.

Nevertheless, I think you're selling yourself short if you don't investigate the better purpose-built LED lights currently on the market. In addition to about 1/2-dozen mini-mags I've upgraded with Niteize, I've got a Fenix L2D on my BOB, a Fenix L0D in the sheath of my Leatherman Charge AL in my EDC bag, and a Maratac AAA on my mini 'biner with a Leatherman Micra and my keys, all loaded with Eveready Lithium batteries. I also gave away Fenix E01's as gifts this Christmas.

Finally I've got two Petzl Zipka Plus 2 LED headlamps, (one in my BOB and one in my EDC bag), and two Coast dual-color LED headlamps with my camping gear.

Fenix L2D: Exceptionally bright (180 lumens) for a 2xAA light. Wish low was much lower, like 5 instead of 12 lumens, which would give a run-time of over 100 hours instead of 55. Complicated user interface: would prefer low-med-high-turbo without the blinking modes. Expensive at $60 at Amazon.

Fenix LD01: Amazing brightness from a single AAA (80 lumens) or over 8 hours at a very usable low (10 lumen) range. Simple twisty switch with med-low-high modes (no flashing modes). Frequently available for $36 from Amazon.com.

Fenix E01: 21 hour run time at 10 lumen (same brightness but 4x runtime as Niteize) from a single AAA. Simple on-off switching. $12 with free shipping from Amazon.com makes it only a few dollars more than the Niteize upgrade. But I don't like the stiff twisty switch or purple light output.

Maratac AAA: My absolute favorite. 1.5 lumens on low for 50 hours, 18 on medium for 4 hours or 50 minutes at 80 lumens on high. Easy to use twisty switch. Smallest light of the bunch. Low mode is great for seeing where you're walking, search through drawers/packs, reading menus. Best of all, at $22 it's very affordable. Only available on-line from countycomm.com.

Petzl Zipka Plus 2: I like these because they have good brightness on high and usable brightness but long run time on low, and they pack very small and light because they use a retractable cord instead of elastic band. They are reasonably comfortable and secure using the cord instead of the band, and I've used them during strenuous outdoors activities for hours without problem.

Coast Dual Color Headlamp: My first good LED headlamps bought at Costco (no longer sold there, I believe). I've had one for four years and it's still running great on the original set of batteries. I went diving with one once in an emergency, not deep -- 5-10 feet and only for 15 minutes -- and even though it's not advertised as being waterproof it worked fine and suffered no noticeable ill effects.

The L2D is a very nice light. In the 2xAA form factor I would recommend the Quark AA^2 from 4sevens.com -- it uses a more efficient emitter, it's a little less expensive, has a lower low and a higher maximum. While I don't own an L2D or a Quark AA^2, I do have a bunch of Fenix and Quark lights and the quality is much more than you might expect from a budget-priced LED made in China.

For a AAA light I'd suggest the iTP A3 EOS Upgrade from batteryjunction.com. iTP makes the Maratac AAA -- the two lights have the same emitter and slightly different bodies. The iTP version has a more robust lanyard/keyring attachment point. Most of the feedback on the Maratac AAA has been that the attachment point is fine, but my personal experience was not so positive.

My 1xAAA light of choice is the IlluminaTi, a titanium version with a different body and the latest emitter. It's also more than twice the cost of the Maratac or iTP.

Also, be advised that the Maratac AAA and iTP A3 EOS Upgrade both start at Medium output, then Low then High. My preference is L -> M -> H. While I use Medium the most, I don't want the light to come on in Medium and potentially compromise my night vision. The IlluminaTi has a L -> M -> H user interface.

Both batteryjunction.com and 4sevens.com are great vendors that I've ordered from a bunch and I like a lot. I have no affiliation with them other than as a customer.

I'm thrilled with my LED Lenser H7R headlamp, a Christmas present to myself. It is rechargeable (NiMH) but you can also use regular AAA batteries. It has *continuously variable* brightness and flood-to-spot controls! Claimed 139 lumen brightness. I like being able to use it as much as I want without having to conserve battery life. I also like its simple separate controls rather than reusing the same button for a multitude of functions. It is electronically regulated for relatively constant light output as the battery discharges, and the regulation circuit does not switch the LED off-and-on rapidly (I hate that strobe effect); it at least appears to stay on continuously. You can recharge from either the wall charger or a computer USB port. It tells you when it is charged (a blinking green LED becomes continuously lit). As for gripes, the main things I wish it had are: a red auxiliary LED for preserving night vision, an emergency flash mode, and more detent positions in swiveling up-and-down. And while it has a good-quality white light, I'm still waiting for true continuous spectrum white LEDs to become the new industry standard. It is also relatively expensive, about $65 - $70+ USD. Now that I use a headlamp almost exclusively it feels limiting to have to hold a flashlight in my hand. Sorry this sounds like a commercial... no commercial ties, usual disclaimers, etc. If you order one online you may want to be careful to get the latest revision of this model that is available. Older ones apparently don't have the USB-bus-compatible charger cable, and I've seen references to what may be an even newer revision than mine, which has a 160 lumen max brightness, but I can't confirm that.

Steve

I own Fenix L2D CE, Fenix L1T and Quark AA2 lights. They're very similar in fit and feel. Although their internal design looks like they came from the same production line, parts like tailcaps are on a different diameter -- the Quark is bigger. Both are waterproof to IPX-8 standards, both came with spare O-rings. The Quark light has a newer Cree LED, but that's to be expected since it's a later model.

As a flashaholic, I can never resist responding to these threads.

My all-around favorite light is still the Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA, Luxeon version. Even though the technology is several years old, the brightness, throw, and beam quality far surpass other lights I have which are technically much brighter, such as the Fenix P3D. It's also extremely durable, has great runtime, uses cheap AA cells, and is dirt cheap at around $25-$30 online.

For hiking/backpacking use, I've switched to carrying the Fenix P3D and a zebralight headlamp, because they're both much smaller and lighter, and use the same lithium CR123 cells which have a much higher power:weight ratio, and better cold weather performance.

The 4AA ProPoly is still a favorite of mine, too, both the Luxeon and the multi-LED versions. The Lux version's overall light output is meager compared to the latest and greatest LED lights available today, but that deep reflector really does make the most of the light it produces and shoots that tiny hot spot out there. I really wish Streamlight would upgrade the LED to something more modern, as it has in its other lights. Doesn't have to be the latest and greatest, but I'd appreciate it if they took advantage of the better technology available. They may have to redesign the reflector, get it re-certified for hazardous environments, etc. but I think it would be well worth it.