Click switches are the weak points in just about all lights. Don't think for a second that jumping ship from Fenix to another brand changes your odds of a switch failure. Furthermore, many of the Chinese lights share common switch parts internally, from the same bulk suppliers.
If switch reliability is your area of concern you should look into the surefire Z41 equipped lights, or those designs that use McCicky guts. Unfortunately this will probably land you north of the $75 mark. You could probably lego a Solarforce L2 + extender + SF-Z41, and use 2AA cells with it. Seek out a low voltage drop in and you're in business. That setup should be right around $75.
You might be able to find a 9P host for around $80 on the marketplace, but you will have to budget for the low voltage drop in. This setup will accommodate 2AA.
The other affordable alternative is to stick with clickies but buy from a small operation retailer that specializes in factory support and CS. 4-7 Quark AA lights come to mind immediately. Lighthound, battery junction and shiningbeam all have a history of good CPF CS.
Or stock up on replacement switch parts. Lighthound sells Fenix replacement switch gutts, and shiningbeam sells replacement switch parts for the RC-N3. These are just 2 retailers off the top of my head. Lighthound sells
replacement switch caps for your L2D, as well as the
internal replacement part.
