Re: what is your best \"I´m glad I had a Flashlight\" experience ?
Arrived in Munich, Germany for 2-week assignment around 8-am. Made it to office, I was supposed to have the first day to settle in. Instant crisis came up, spent full day fixing problems. Finally cut free at 2:00am, to go to my company-rented crappy cheap apartment.
Arrived, stepped inside the foyer, absolutely pitch-black. Realized that like many European apartment bldgs, the lights in the halls turn off automatically to save energy. There's a switch somewhere, but thrashing around in the dark, I'm just as likely to hit someone's doorbell or knocker as the lightswitch. I need to find the stairs, go up, locate my apartment (floor unknown, only a letter to work with), open the door and find interior lights, all without making any significant noise (Germans get mighty grumpy about late night noise).
Reach into my computer bag, MiniMaglite is right where I left it, turn it on, and I'm on my way. Found out later that the lightswitch was supposed to have an indicator light, but was burned out.
Not life threatening, but a great example of having a light turning a potentially big hassle into a no-worries situation.