We’ve all been there: You’re waist-deep in a river and in need of a specific tool—nippers or forceps or a hook release—but you just can’t find it. You rummage through all the pockets of your vest or sling pack, locating every other angling gewgaw but the one you require. So you trudge back to the bank, wasting valuable fishing time, to rifle through every possible hiding place. Invariably, you find it somewhere where you’re sure you already looked. It’s maddening.
The vast array of angling gadgetry required for a successful day on the water can seem daunting to the uninitiated. Zingers, nippers, pliers, line straighteners, . . . the list goes on. The fly-fishing industry has created a tool for virtually every purpose on the water, and they are all important in specific situations. Sure, in a pinch you may be able to get by with a hemostat and some sharp incisors, but if you don’t have that release tool or, more important, a sturdy wading staff handy, things could get complicated or downright dangerous in a hurry.
“It’s almost as if you think of the device you need, and there it is!”
—Alvin Dedeaux, All Water Guides
No Bad Ideas
Last spring, Orvis’s own Mr. Gadget, Will Helmetag, found himself unable to retrieve his hemostat while trying to unhook a fine Battenkill brown trout that had taken a Perdigon nymph deeply. Will finally gave up looking and managed to release the fish unharmed, but his inability to immediately put his hands on the right tool when he needed it really stuck in his craw. As he was describing the experience to his colleague Julia Zema back at the office, Facilities Manager Bruce Woodruff walked by. Overhearing the conversation, Bruce quipped, “Shoulda had your Leatherman,” and tapped the leather holster attached to his belt. Will laughed, but Julia sat pensively for a moment before turning to Will. “No, seriously, why don’t you just combine all your fly-fishing tools into one, like a Leatherman? Then you’d never have to search for the tool you need.”
The proverbial lightbulb went on in Will’s head, and he immediately began sketching specifications for what an angling multitool might include. As the list grew and grew, he became convinced that he’d need some assistance if he was going to revolutionize the world of fly-fishing tools, so he went to the source: the design team at Leatherman at the company’s Portland, Oregon, headquarters.
A quick call for advice led to a larger meeting, which led to a creative brief, an obligatory PowerPoint presentation, and finally, a product brief showcasing a new product that we believe will change the game of fly fishing forever.
Everything You Need: : Introducing Orvis MegaTÜL™
Introducing Orvis MegaTÜL™. A collaboration between Leatherman and Orvis, it’s the only tool you’ll ever need out on the water. Never again will you need to search for those nippers or make an awkward, backhanded reach for a dangling net to land your catch. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, 3D printing, and in-depth anatomical studies of how the human body moves in flowing water, each tool is easy to access, perfectly balanced, and effortless to use, to the degree that retrieving any individual tool becomes instinctual.
Whether you need the tiniest implement, such as a needle to clear the head cement out of a hook eye, or something as sturdy as a wading staff, you’ll find it in the same place. And the list of tools available—22 of them!—will blow your mind, including things you never even knew you needed for a day on the water:
- Mirage Pliers
- Mitten Clamp
- Nippers
- Stream Thermometer
- Hook Sharpener
- Release Tool
- Scissors
- Wide-mouth Guide Net
- Wading Staff
- Camp chair
- Umbrella
- Cup holder (beverage not included)
- Foldable Solar Panel
- Can opener
- Bottle opener
- Large flathead screwdriver
- Small Phillips screwdriver
- 3-inch standard-edge blade
- Spork
- Corkscrew
- Reamer
- Flask
Weighing in at just under 10 pounds (4.5 kg) and 28 inches long, MegaTÜL™ comes in its proprietary MegaSLING™, which offers easy access to everything you need, and you’ll barely even know it’s there. Utilizing Leatherman’s groundbreaking FREE Technology—a revolutionary magnetic architecture that reduces friction when opening and closing tools, which greatly reduces the wear and tear on parts—MegaTÜL™ is easy to operate, and the 420HC stainless-steel is weather and saltwater resistant.
Guide-Tested
Southeast Alaska guide Natlie Vaz of NatVenture Tours, one of our field testers, raved about the system. “When I head out to fish for steelhead on Chichagof Island, I simply strap my MegaTÜL™ on my back and my Glock 20 on my chest, and I’m ready for anything the wilderness can throw at me.”
“It’s almost as if you think of the device you need, and there it is,” said Alvin Dedeaux of All Water Guides in Texas. “Whether I’m chasing bass on the Colorado or redfish down on the coast, I only need to carry one thing—my MegaTÜL™.”
But even though all the field testers offered definitive proof of concept, there was still one person who needed to sign off on the product: Orvis President Simon Perkins. An avid angler and former Montana guide, he thought he had seen it all, until the moment Will plunked MegaTÜL™ on Simon’s desk. As he marveled at the variety of tools available, Simon remarked that, despite its mass, MegaTÜL™ wasn’t heavy at all. After adjusting the MegaSLING™ to fit over his wading jacket and inserting the TÜL, Simon took his dogs out for a long walk. When he returned, he claimed that he didn’t even realize he was wearing MegaTÜL™ at all. That’s when we knew that we had a true winner.
So get ready to throw all your fishing tools in a drawer because you won’t need them anymore. MegaTÜL™ is here!
Click here to learn more and to buy!
Credit: Source link
