A vest with a billion pockets is a very handy garment.
On some days, I empty my attache-case into my vest, and bask in the warm feeling of being totally equipped with
- notebook
- camera
- pens
- mints:
- handkerchief
- pocket knife and pen
- reading material
- Palm V and keyboard
- cigar, cigar cutter, lighter
and having free hands at the same time.
When buying a vest, get one that also has a large, side opened, pocket in the back. Hunters use it for quarry, but you may find it useful for a sweater, or for some other item you don't mind sitting upon.
At security checks, it is convenient to just dump the vest and all the metal gear it contains into the X-ray machine, and be done with the stupid beeping.
Paired with cargo pants (the kind that has large thigh pockets), a good vest can turn you into a human cargo. It may also get funny looks.