Sebago Meet 2008

[J-sews]

Well I must say this last weekend has been one of the most enjoyable in a very long time! What a great get together we had in the beautiful wooded countryside of Maine. Good friends, good times, good food, and lots of things both sharp and shiny! What could possibly be better than that?!

But throughout it all there was plenty of drama as well. Starting with a some bloodshed and a deal with the devil on Friday and a near drowning on Saturday, it all resulted in at least two Multitool.org members in handcuffs come Sunday morning.

Ahhh, but I get ahead of myself....


I arrived in Portland on Friday after an uneventful flight, fully rested and ready to go. Ahhh, these modern airliner seats are sooooo comfy. However, when my driver arrived in his nimble yellow chariot there was nothing but grousing and grumbling, something about a 14 hour workday followed by a 10 hour drive from Nova Scotia, blah blah blah, I'm not really sure what else as I soon stopped listening. In any case I'm sure this had something to do with why we were at first unable to locate one another, even though we were standing no more than 30 yards apart, each wearing multitool teeshirts, while speaking to one another on cell phones!  

But join up we did, and after hearty greetings were exchanged and luggage stowed, Def and I hopped into his Jeep and headed into the Maine hinterland towards Sebago. The countryside in this northeasternmost state is very much like that of my native Michigan, with a pleasing mix of wooded hills and rolling farmland. Rocky outcroppings and fast flowing streams oftentimes define the borders in between.

Arriving at the campground a short drive later, we were thrilled to meet up with the next two members of our multipurposetool crew, JoeBW and his lovely wife Hillary. Despite some traffic snarls they had arrived shortly before us, and after a brief round of introductions all hands joined in to transport food, gear, and show & tell items into the cabin.


YAY! WE'RE HERE AT LAST!

Now at this point the polite thing to do would have been for the four of us to wait until Hawkchucker arrived before breaking out the sharp shiny stuff. After all, this meet-up location was his suggestion. But......given that he called us and reported that he wouldn't be there for another few hours.......and us being the tool fools that we are.......I think we showed incredible restraint by holding off for nearly 15 whole minutes before cracking open the gear boxes!!


DEF PERUSING OVER A CHAIR LOAD OF TREASURE BROUGHT BY HIMSELF, JOE, AND BOB


MORE GOODIES


JOE'S ELUSIVE PURPLE P4


I'M NOT WORTHY!!!!!        


BOB'S TRIFLING PITTANCE

Okay okay, more pictures in a moment, you get the idea. It was wonderful to sit around the room and have a first hand discussion about the gadgets we all know and love, and to hold and experience so many for the first time that we would not have been able to handle otherwise. Not being a very fast typist myself, I was able to discuss more in an hour of talking than I would have been able to in a week of forum posting! It was great I tell ya!

And it got even better a short while later when Hawkchucker arrived! Wow, despite the unavoidable anxieties one has about meeting people off the internet - we've all heard the horror stories - I'm thrilled to say that everyone I've ever met from this forum has been absolutely top notch! Even though we've technically only just met it seems as if we're old pals, and the conversation flows freely and naturally.

Of course it helps when the subject matter of that conversation is knives and tools!


DEF'S CRUNCH


HAWKCHUCKER'S TWO MINIS. (COMPLETE WITH MUCH-SOUGHT-AFTER MINI SHEATH!)


THE MULTITOOL.ORG SIGNATURE COLLECTION

It was at about this time, with tool talk flowing hot and heavy and sharp things being passed around the room in a frenzy, that the first of two bloodlettings took place. Victim #1 was this J-sews fool (lord knows how he can function in the real world without training wheels and a rubber helmet) somehow managed to stab himself with a Leatherman Genus blade.



Judging by the howls and screams he let out the pain must have been excruciating. Fortunately for everyone else in the room that angel of mercy Hillary managed to sooth the poor fellow's nerves with some kind words and stem the blood flow with a band-aid. Thanks to this quick action a call to the 911 emergency response team was avoided.

Later on in the evening though there was another bleeding, this one during a round of product developement testing. While putting it through a series of blade open/blade closed trials, Hawkchucker discovered a rather serious design flaw with the Leatherman Skeletool. I will leave it to him to describe the particulars, but don't be surprised if future offerings from Leatherman don't come with a "Knife Blades Are Sharp" disclaimer, similar to the "HOT" logo we see molded into the styrofoam coffee cups from McDonalds.

But despite the score being Leathermans 2, Multitool.org Members 0, we threw caution to the wind and pressed on with the show and tell session. No further slashings or gashings were recorded. (Whether this was due to lessons learned or pure luck we cannot say!)




JOHN ADMIRING DEF'S M.A.K.-1

Eventually though all good things must come to an end, and as the hour got late it was time to finally close up shop. Joe and Hillary had to head back home early the next morning due to a devilish arrangement they had made, Def was running on one hour's sleep in the previous 24, and I was about ready to turn back into a pumpkin. We all shook hands and headed our seperate ways, but not before getting together for one last group shot.

[WhichDawg]

great story telling Bob!

excellent pictures (I want more!)
it's great you all got along like old time buds

[prime77]

Great write Bob and pictures too. Sounds like you guys had a great time.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Bloody excellent write up Bob, certainly put my efforts into the shade

Looks like you fella's had an excellent time . Meet up's really are great, I don't know why there are so few of them

Anyway great work mate

[Roadie]

Most excellent write up Bob Looking forward to hearing more

[Neil]

Glad you enjoyed yourselves folks and my sympathies to the wounded

Can someone give me a link for that M.A.K.-1 ?

Neil

[Tarrodemierda]

Mak 1 is way cool in my opinion too.

damn i wish i could join to all these meets across the uk & usa,someday
 

[Neil]

Mak 1 is way cool in my opinion too.
...

  link please

Neil

[Tarrodemierda]

Mak 1 is way cool in my opinion too.
...

  link please

Neil

pokey pokey

http://www.agrussell.com/product.asp?pn=CL-2050&bhcd2=1221558295
http://www.agrussell.com/product.asp?pn=CL-2050&bhcd2=1221558295

[Neil]

Thanks, off to drool

Neil

[DaveK]

Great write-up Bob - keep 'em coming.

[Teofilo]

Mak 1 is way cool in my opinion too.

damn i wish i could join to all these meets across the uk & usa,someday
 

 

[Benner]

Bob, superb write up.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and seeing the pics. 

Looks like you all had a great time.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Actually, I am pretty certain it was all three of us in handcuffs, as I'm pretty sure I remember John complaining that his were too tight! 

If you saw the scene at the airport baggage carousel in a movie, you would have sworn it was staged.  I was pulling into the airport when I got a text message from Bob saying his plane had touched down early.  Since I decided to hit the airport early and wait for him, the timing was absolutely perfect.  I swear, that was one of the few things that went right this weekend!  I pulled into the parking garage and found a slot just inside the entrance, which is perfect because we won't have a hard time finding the Jeep when we come out, right?  Then, I go into the terminal, which is not terribly big, grab the first uniformed person I spot and ask where the baggage section is, as that's where Bob and I agreed to meet.  He points off to the right, where this HUGE billboard sized sign that you can see from either end of the airport says "BAGGAGE."  Score one for me for not noticing it myself, me being a trained observer and all....   

I take a quick walk around the three carousels and don't see Bob, then I look for which carousel is marked for passengers from Michigan, and I don't see it.  My phone rings, and it's Bob, saying he's in the baggage section, and where am I?  I take a quick glance around, don't see Bob, and tell him I'm in the baggage section as well, and start wondering if there's a second baggage area.  Thinking it out carefully, I read off the cities listed on the carousels in front of me to see if they correspond to the ones Bob is looking at, and he says he doesn't know because he's just stepped outside.  So, I walk outside and still no sign of Bob... just this Bob-shaped guy on a cell phone with his back to me about ten feet away....   

I swear, we must have passed within a few meters of each other when walking around the carousels, looking for each other!

We then grabbed a bite to eat at the local Denny's and headed off to the campground, where we checked in, and before visiting our mansion for the weekend, decided to get some supplies down at the local grocery store.  "Supplies" of course being a euphemism for beer, hot dogs and pretzels!  By the time we got back to the campground, and then to the trailer, there was a much nicer Jeep sitting there with Joe and Hillary in it- we'd luckily had the foresight to let the campground owners know they were coming for a visit and to please let them in.

Despite being somewhat "out of it" and having some cold/flu related problems, I soaked in some amazing information from Joe and Bob that evening.  As great as this forum is with pictures and movies, there is no substitute for being there.

John showed up later, and as you can see, inspected each and every toy present, and we had a great chat about what we liked, what we didn't like, and the inevitable "what I would do if I ruled the multitool world" discussion.  Unfortunately the world didn't stop around us, and Joe had to be on his way shortly after John arrived, which I'm sure Hillary probably appreciated, not having much of an interest in multitools!

A few beers later I was just about ready to pack it in, and John headed off to his trailer, two sites over, and all of about 30 feet away.  It was nice to have him local as there were things we'd forgotten, needed or wanted to ask about, and John did a great job of babysitting us the rest of the weekend, and I'd like to publicly thank him for taking us strange internet guys into his private world for a few days.  I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to next year, and not just because of Natalie's cooking, which as far as I'm concerned is worth the trip all by itself! 

Def

[eodtech]

Sorry I missed it - I'll be at LL bean in Freeport Maine and the general New England area for a week from 24th to 30th.
Maybe next year

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

More pictures

[hawkchucker]

Def your comment on her cooking just made her day! But remember I weighed 180 when I met her!!!! Now I got to snag some of the homemade donuts she just did.

[J-sews]

Def your comment on her cooking just made her day! But remember I weighed 180 when I met her!!!! Now I got to snag some of the homemade donuts she just did.

Natalie does donuts? Lemme at 'em! 

[Leatherman123]

How did you guys like Bob's Camo SURGE?

[hawkchucker]

The camo Juices were a lot cooler. I have never seen any of them in person, and never mind every variation.

[hawkchucker]

And yes she does donuts. I will have her make a ton for the next meet up. Crunchy on the outside warm in the middle.

[Anthony]

Wow sounds like a great time, glad everyone made it there and back safely.

What's this about MT.org members under arrest?  

Anyone make the news wearing a Multitool.org tshirt?

[hawkchucker]

No arrest. Def gave my kid a lesson in Handcuffing, She can really Jack criminals up now.

Now I got to teach her to give a perp a "cage ride" in the cruiser!

[Grant Lamontagne]

You are never too young to learn proper handcuffing etiquette! 

Def

[hawkchucker]

Yup and now she has to teach everyone!

You created a monster. I actually found her eyeing my S+W  cuffs!

[J-sews]

Speaking of camo juices and handcuffs, I'll need to be restrained if I'm ever within grabbing distance of those beauties again. Weren't they the greatest? I sure am glad Joe brought them along.

[Leatherman123]

Those ARE gorgeous!

[edap617]

Hmmmm, hmmmm.

[hawkchucker]

You take great pics!! However It is a shame people could not see them in person. They are absolutely astonishing!!

I just wanted to grab them and run, but Hill. would have caught me!

[J-sews]

You take great pics!! However It is a shame people could not see them in person. They are absolutely astonishing!!

I just wanted to grab them and run, but Hill. would have caught me!

Well actually Def took those pics. (My hands were quivering too much to hold the camera steady!)