The 2009 EMS EXPO sent me flying all the way to the other side of the continent. More specifically, it took me to the Southeast corner of the country, to Atlanta, Georgia. Aside from the perpetually rainy weather, I was greeted with a healthy serving of good old southern hospitality and fine southern cooking (hmmmm, peach cobbler twice). I was also greeted with an exhibition hall chock-full of the latest and greatest tools of our trade. Read on to find out just exactly which made the cut to be selected as a Top 20 Product Pick for 2009.

Light for Life UC3.400 from 5.11 Tactical

   Given the 24/7 nature of our work, a certain percentage of our work days are, in reality, work nights. That being what it is, it makes sense that one of the essential tools of the trade is a good flashlight if you are going to make do in the nighttime.

   If you have a say on lighting choices, make sure you get your hands on the Light for Life UC3.400. It is unlike any flashlight you have probably worked in the past. The Light for Life shell is made of a high-strength polymer that is abrasion-, crack- and bend-resistant, as well as buoyant and water-resistant. It weighs in at only 16 ounces--about half of what a traditional full-duty flashlight weighs.

   But that's just the outside. There's better stuff inside the Light for Life. Remarkably, there are NO batteries, as the Light for Life is totally solid state and utilizes ultracapacitor technology. Even more amazing, even when totally dead, the Light for Life charges to full capacity in only 90 seconds. Depending on the mode of operation, you can expect up to 23.5+ hours of total runtime in a 24-hour period. That's a remarkable 98% uptime.

   If that's not enough, you have three operational choices: Bright setting gets you 270 peak lumens; standard provides 90 lumens; and the third choice is tactical strobe.

   Given that the life expectancy of the LEDs is 50,000 hours, that tells me you will never replace them, unless you live to be really, really old and still have the Light for Life UC3.400. With the performance characteristics of this flashlight, I'd say that is far more likely than you might imagine.

   For more: www.511tactical.com; 866/451-1726.

SmartMan CPR Skills Training and Feedback Manikin from Ambu SmartMan