That said, I agree with you -- I could imagine walking (or riding) with stuff in my pockets.

Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a fanny pack.

Hear me out:

Sport coats. (edit: and blazers)

Very light linen ones for hot days, which keep sun off your skin without really making you hotter. Cooler days, break out the wool.

All those extra pockets are wonderful. Grab some thin old mass-market genre paperbacks and discover why they made them that size :-)

They're like purses for men, that you can wear instead of carry, and that make you look better. Similar storage capacity to a fanny pack, I'd say. Maybe a little more.

I wear a short sleeve polyester t-shirt in black. I own a dozen of them, all identical, and wear them most days. My wife hates it.

The black is not good on very hot days. It’s surprising how much difference a light color makes. But, I can’t seem to keep light stuff clean.

I don’t know if I could stand my arms in a sport coat, but I guess it’s no different from a regular jacket in the winter.

Yes, my teenagers were shocked and appalled when they saw it, and made me promise I would only wear it while on the bike.

Biking is different, of course--you're not outside for as long (at least for a given number of miles), and you can store your water bottles on the bike itself.

[1] https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/tropos-TROPOSF19.html

With that said, the college kids tend to prefer a backpack because it's their mobile office, and they don't want anything on their bike that can get stolen.

I have 2 small kids now, and they are really not in best shape for long hikes or anything more extreme. Son on baby backpack would be 20 kilos without any further equipment/food required.

So I switched to long evening walks during work week after they go sleep. 2-3h, up to 10km. Luckily there are some nice options around me, so I try to variate things a bit every time, join things in loops and so on. Often music in the ears, very dark, walking in the forests where path surface is not really visible, rather than just very weak line and I trust my feet (and know the surface is not really tricky since I walked it 100x already).

Walking fast, as fast as my legs allow it for prolonged time (one gets this sense after some time spent doing it, pushing oneself too much is very bad idea). Also not fan of backpacks for this, rather stuffing pockets of jacket with everything required.

Its magical, clears head, tons of ideas come to me, for family, work, anything. Sometimes I struggle to write it all down and not forget anything. Sometimes smoking a bit of weed which makes this process more smooth. One activity that keeps such previously-active person as me still sane, even if kids sometimes try hard to push me the other way.

I'm a fan of the small backpack when I'm out with my kids, particularly for a water bottle, tubs of snacks, a place to put that pinecone they found, etc. But just me? A wallet and phone in my pants pockets is more than enough.

Depends on how hot and humid it is outside. Even in breathable clothing like Nike Dryfit or any of the thousand knockoffs, in 90+ degrees, high humidity weather, a backpack blocks perspiration evaporating off. It literally becomes a hot spot on your back. He did have one tip I don't entirely agree with to use Vaseline, but instead I use Glide just because I don't care for the consistency of petroleum jelly. Although he mentions long sleeves shirts and a hat with neck guard, he said nothing explicitly about skin or eye protection; people in the sun day after day should be wearing polarizing lenses and high SPF clothing along with sun screen.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21617534/

For multi-day trips I already have a small camping stove (MSR PocketRocket or an alcohol stove), and I pack instant coffee. I heavily prioritize saving weight on longer trips, so I generally drink my coffee out of the same light plastic bowl that I just ate oatmeal out of, which doubles as a decent way to clean the bowl.

For urban backpacking the more high end thermoses are really effective at keeping stuff hot once you've made it.

I have several friends that really like their Fellow Carter Everywhere mugs if you want an alternative.

[1]: https://projektco.com/products/gravy-silverado (can't recommend this high enough.)