I make no secret of the fact that I love tools.

I read something recently that resonated. It was a post that said “having the right gear, and using it properly is everything: with the right gear you can go to Mars or the Moon.”

For sure, having the right tool for the job can be the difference between easy and impossible.

A perfect example of this axiom is flashlights. It’s a lot harder to complete tasks in the dark.

You really can’t have too many flashlights.

Why? Well, a different one for every conceivable situation, obviously!

The following is a not-comprehensive list of the various flashlights I have in my toolbox/glove box/stashed around my home and office, and doesn’t take into consideration my collection of plug-in halogen work lights, which is a whole other blog post.

While it’s not the most bright of all my flashlights, my Stanley 3-in-1 tripod sees a huge amount of use. It’s 3-headed LED flashlight/worklight with its own tripod kickstand, allowing you to set it down and use it as a work light.

The 3 heads can be angled and rotated to both illuminate your work area, and not point directly into your face while you’re working.

As it happens I have two different 3 D-cell Maglites. One is an older, incandescent model that I inherited from my late father-in-law (along with a huge number of his other tools). The other is a new LED one. It’s as bright as the sun, and handy when you need maximum illumination.

Speaking of LED flashlights, I’ve got at least a dozen small LEDs, most the size of a pack of Lifesavers in drawers all around the house. In a power outage, why stumble through a dark house to where you keep the flashlight? Have some EVERYWHERE!

Believe it or not, I still don’t have a decent LED headlamp, despite the fact that I find myself regularly in tight spaces where it would be a big help to have both hands free to work without having to hold a light source.

Since it’s Christmas I aim to correct that shortfall in the next day or two.