We first met Mike Conaway in 2024, when he was working as a timber surveyor in the Southeast. We talked to him then about using our CHARLIE 25 as he traversed the lowlands, swamps, and forests of Alabama, assessing the potential commercial value of large–and often remote–timber stands. 

Back then, his CHARLIE 25 was holding up remarkably well while he used it in notoriously thick woods, where briars and bramble can wreak havoc on all things hide and hair. He carried some tools, gloves, water bottles, and the like in his bag, using his truck as his home base when he ventured afield. "I used it hard," he said of the bag. "I was packing in tools and drone equipment in some pretty nasty places. It was great for that kind of work." You'll notice Conaway, 27, is speaking in the past tense. That's because Conaway has a new job; he's now working as a salesman for Barnhart Crane & Rigging, one of the largest heavy-lift and heavy-transport organizations in North America. These days, he spends a lot of time in offices. "Oh, I do miss being outdoors. I even miss having my arms all scratched up," he said. "But I really like what I'm doing now." 

DISCOVERING A NEW USE: TRAVEL

 Just because Conaway isn't using the CHARLIE 25 to traipse through the woods doesn't mean the bag is sitting in a closet at home. The bag, he said, outperformed expectations on a recent trip he took to Honduras. "I went to a pretty remote village and we had to ride motorcycles to get back in there," Conaway said. "We couldn't bring a suitcase, and I had a week's worth of clothes plus a lot of other gear. I got it all in my CHARLIE. That thing is a lifesaver."

Conaway said the bag was exposed to the elements on the Honduras trip in ways he couldn't even imagine while inventorying timber in the American South.

"I had close to 40 pounds of clothes and stuff that I needed in there," he said. "We rode for an hour, through the streets of Honduras, crawling over rocks and through riverbeds. That bag kept my stuff dry and clean."

The Honduran trip was part of a church mission, and others accompanied him on the journey. "The bag held up so well that one of my buddies was like 'Dude! Where did you get that thing?'" he said. When there's flying in his future, Conway leans on his CHARLIE.

"It fits perfectly in an overhead, even when stuffed," he said. "It's comfortable to carry through an airport or around town, and I love that top-part little compartment. When we visited a farm in Honduras, I put fruits and vegetables in there."

INCREASED ORGANIZATION AND ADORATION

In addition to his CHARLIE, Conaway has been using an ORG KIT for more than a year now, too, which also accompanied him on his trip to Central America. Conaway says he recommends ORG KITS to anybody who travels.

"Where I go, that goes with me," he said. "I put chargers, my phone, my wallet... whatever I need. Those little bags are so useful." As a Remote Equipment user for more than a year, Conaway had nothing to say but good things about our bags.

"I really enjoy your stuff, definitely," he said. "I didn't know what to expect when I started using them when doing the timber work, but what I know now is that those bags really do perform the way they are supposed to.

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