I’m not a cockpit gadget freak. Maybe it was because I spent some time hauling freight and there simply wasn’t time to mess around in the cockpit with stuff. You got in, started up and went. Maybe it was because from the time I started taking dual, I looked at any purchase in how much flying time I was giving up rather than in dollars. Buy a flight bag? Are you nuts? An old briefcase would work fine.
At the same time, I learned that being organized when flying could mean the difference between life and death. A freight dog flying out of my airport died one IMC night when he had an electrical system failure during climbout, couldn’t quickly lay his hands on either of his flashlights and spiraled in.