September 2009
T-minus 3... 2... 1... Charge!
I am a member of an 8-student rocketry team at my high school, and together we are participating in NASA's SLI Research program, in which we design and build our own 15 ft rockets and scientific payloads. I am the fabrication specialist for the team, and I am charged with all of the most difficult and precise jobs, and my Charge XTi Tactical is always in use. Not only is it great in the shop, but it's great in the field; I have twice taken my XTi to the TARC National Competition in Virginia to use for final rocket prep, and once down to Marshal Space Flight Center in Alabama for final rocket prep before our launch in front of NASA.
However, on an afternoon in late May 2009, my team was readying for a high stakes launch when we would fulfill our project's scientific objective. The launch was flawless, as was the flight, but the problems came when it was time to recover the rocket. After several hours of searching, we discovered our 15 ft rocket spread out, parachute and all, 25 feet up in a tree. The tree was not climbable and, even with the combined effort of 8 people, we were unable to shake it loose. In a last ditch effort to recover our custom, extremely expensive NASA rocket, I whipped out my Charge XTi and began sawing away at the dying tree's trunk. In less than 10 minutes, the saw had cut fully through the 11" thick trunk and the tree fell, bringing with it our irreplaceable rocket, fully intact.
For four years, since I purchased it, my Leatherman has never left my side. It will forever be my most universal and indispensable tool. Thank you Leatherman.
Zander S.
Madison, WI
OK, you voyeur, you. Enough of reading other people's stories. It's time you told your own tale of gripping heroism or even just neat DIY'ism. We know there's a Shakespeare in you somewhere. Don't make us use the Steens to find it.