ABOUT THIS SERIES: At Remote Equipment, we make gear that enables people to unplug from a hardwired world. In this series, we take a deeper look at those who are creatively redefining what it means to work remotely.

Regan Danner moved into a new office recently. A 2022 Ford F150.

And you'll have to excuse the fact that Danner's new office is often pretty cluttered. As a land surveyor for one of the largest architecture and engineering firms in the Southeast, he needs to bring everything with him, wherever he goes.

That means all the surveying tools required for him to do his job, things like electronic distance measurement instruments, a GPS, and an automatic level. It also means there's an ATV in the bed. In the cab, he'll have a phone charger, a change of clothes, plenty of insect repellent, a cooler, and even a portable microwave.

"I guess I'm a remote worker by default," said the 23-year-old with a laugh. "I like to think of remote as being away from the truck, away from any amenities, and not having cell phone service. And there are plenty of days where that's my situation."

Take, for instance, a recent job that had him finding the boundary lines of an 8,000-acre Wildlife Management Area in Alabama. It takes a few hours of ATV riding and bushwhacking to get to the far corners of a piece of undeveloped property that large.

CAREER PATH BY GOOGLE

"This is what I wanted to do for a job," he said. "I went to school to be an engineer and in my junior year of school, I realized I didn't want to just sit behind a desk. So I Googled outdoor jobs for engineers or something like that, and surveyor cropped up. That's pretty much how I decided my career path."

It's a vocation that makes having a good backpack a necessity, too. Danner hasn't been on the job long, but he knows you can't just go traipsing through the woods of the south without some sort of dependable bag carrying your essentials.

For starters, said Danner, a bag has to be waterproof and durable.

"When you're hiking through a swamp or have to cross a creek, the last thing you need is to have your expensive, much-needed equipment fall into the water and fry," Danner said. "Having a waterproof bag is super important."

Equally as important is durability since the woods and wilds of the southeast are thick with a wide variety of nasty, thorny plants that seemed to have been put on this earth for the sole purpose of shredding fabric and skin.

"We've got stuff with 3-inch thorns that can destroy everything you wear," said Danner. "I have briar chaps, and I wear snake boots because some of the places I go to are just plain nasty." 

PUTTING CHARLIE THROUGH ITS PACES

Danner's been using the CHARLIE 25 on his recent excursions, an admitted step up from some of the less-expensive bags he first started with. He's a fan of how it performs on the job when he's miles into the woods.

“I’m able to say pretty confidently that the bag is definitely the most durable bag I have used,” Danner said. “We have been working pretty consistently on some outfall lines this past week that have presented it with more than a fair share of briars and a pretty good amount of swampland. It has held up not only getting poked and torn at but also keeping all of our papers and maps that we use for work dry.”

While Danner's office is a truck, and that gets him off the grid to a certain extent, there's still another level of remote to go.

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