Pure anecdotes, but I have noticed the rise of vests in outdoor activities this year. Of course there are hydration vests. These aren’t new, but they seem to show up everywhere outside - runners, hikers, and cyclists (though mostly off-road since they surely aren’t “aero” enough for roadies). I get it; you don’t need to carry a bottle or figure out where to shoehorn one into your full-squish mountain bike, and you can usually tuck some snacks in the included pockets as well. It’s just interesting to observe what appears to be a surge in popularity.
I’ve also noticed what seem to be weighted vests, surely for general strength and speed training? The first few times I saw these I wondered why some runners were wearing bullet proof vests jogging on the James River trail. It wasn’t until I passed closely that I realized they were covered in many pouches of uniform size, full of some sort of weight (sand I suppose?). These also make sense to me if somebody is working on strength training, and for speed it reminds me of using drag chutes to add resistance. Again, I’m merely wondering why I’m starting to see these all over the place this year…and seemingly coincident with the rise of hydration vests.
Maybe it’s just that I’ve noticed something novel and now my attention is heightened about these things. Or maybe a variety of manufacturers have decided that vests are the hot new trend in physical fitness :-P
What other types of useful vests are out there (that aren’t simply outerwear)? Cooling? Impact detection?