Things I use, that other people have become curious about!

Flashlights                                                

Semper Paratus (Always Ready) (You don't need to wear a uniform to "Be Prepared". Just don't get caught in Earthquake Country without a flashlight!)
Surefire E1E-HA [3volt Lithium] with KL1 LED Conversion. Constant Carrry.  Surefire makes some of the most rugged and dependable flashlights in the world.
Photon II Micro-Light Keychain LED light. (The Mark III model is much too complicated for me!)

At Bedside.
Surefire C2 Centurian Intense light in a hurry. [3volt Lithium battery]

In The Car.
Surefire M3 Millenium.  Beware of flashlights that require a heatsink on the bulb!  Sure the batteries only last 20 minutes, but used in momentary mode, one thousand seconds goes a very long way. [3volt Lithium]  Spare lithium batteries tolerate long storage in the car trunk.

Skylite is a color selectable (red or white), adjustable intensity  LED lamp.  Useful for sailors, astronomers, and others who need to read maps in the dark. Intensity can be varied over a very wide range.  [Requires a 9volt "transistor radio" battery; like, when was the last time you saw a "tube radio"?]

Astronomy Star Pointer, BTG-6p, a truly bright green laser.

Light Flare Nighttime replacement  for fuzees and road flares [AA]. These were fun, but no longer available.

PALight  Long life adjustable LED lamp with one neat feature; it's always on. (How else are you going to  find your flashlight during a complete power failure on a moonless night in a strange hotel room?  I mean, not everyone sleeps with their flashlight, or do they?)  (9volt transistor radio battery)

In the Briefcase
INOVA 5X Five bright white LEDs.  Was a really neat gift and indestructible to boot. [3V Lithium]

Just for Fun
INOVA 5X- Ultra-Violet  [3V Lithium]

First Aid and Callout Bag
G2 Nitrolon   Non-scratch, non-conductive construction. [3volt Lithium]

Portable Area Lights
VersaLux 10 LED module The unit works fine; but the package is so terribly awkward that I haven't yet found a permanent home for the silly thing.

Flexcharge "Night Stick"  12V Compact Fluorescent Lamp - great for wide illumination, however, without a shield of some sort, the bright side of the bulb can blind you when working up close.

Wish List - Untested things that hold promise.

Shorelite Vx2  (Didn’t pan out; the buttons were too awkward for regular use.)
Action Light - (incredibly expensive, high reliability  multi-LED lamp. No longer available new.

EDC Pocket Flashlight - (expensive, computer controlled, high brightness pocket lamp. Manufacturing is switching from HDS to Novatac. See above link for preliminary info.)

Batteries                                          

Surefire You have to keep the Lithium flowing somehow.  Buy in Bulk.
Power Pole Connectors At home or in the car, anything powered by 12v DC gets one of these connectors. I subscribe to the following polarization convention. Check out the RigRunner distribution box.

Knives                                             

Aboard Tall Ships
Search & Rescue Knife (SRK) by Emerson Knives This is my emergency knife when working aboard ship. Totally blunt end.  Lots of handle contours make for a really secure grip. It survives a few days each month in the salt-air environment without rusting (with no fresh water rinsing).

Good Backups
Spyderco serrated Rescue Knife This looks kinda promising, but I don’t have one yet.
Benchmade Rescue Hooks Sometimes you need to carry a knife that doesn’t really look like a knife.

Worth a Look
Boye Dendritic Cobalt Boat Knife

Pocket Knife
Spyderco Cricket Knife  This is my constant carry knife. Sure it looks strange, but the shape has proved very comfortable and effective. Mine has frp (fiberglass re-enforced plastic) sides, right now, it only seems to be available with stainless steel sides Stainless Cricket.

Desk Knives
William Henry Amber Series Mine is customized with an ancient mammoth tusk inlay

Allen Elishewitz Damascus Blade Folder. This one almost looks like an unfinished prototype. Its decorated with coarse milling marks and only portions are Blue anodized. Black carbon composite handle inlays. Photo1, Photo2.

Whistles                                            

Whistles - Fox 40 International  When it comes to making noise, size is the ONLY thing that matters.

Pocket Pen and Note Pad                                      

Bullet Space Pen  Constant Carry.

Rite in the Rain pocket note pad Those with a plastic spiral binding gradually break down, getting slowly shorter and shorter, but they seldom cause damage to clothes or furniture. Some have metal flexible metal spiral bindings that are very durable, but occasionally snag on fabrics. Several of my pads have survived a full run in the washing machine.