A breakdown of a recently purchased utilitarian vest.

I recently began working at a summer camp for kids with special medical concerns as the camp Photographer/Videographer. As such, I was carrying a bag containing several cameras, chargers, batteries, rain jackets, towels, flash attachments, etc. The bag was easily in excess of 100 lbs, all things told. The bag is a kind of cyclist's bag which slings over one shoulder, and hangs on the opposing hip, crossing the neck and chest. This is normally a non-issue, but at this weight, the strap had begun to dig into my neck and decrease comfort and blood-flow.

Being a photographer, I decided to look into an outdoorsman's vest to help more evenly distribute said items and weight, and relieve my neck pains. After some searching, I found this reasonably priced vest at a website called Sunny Sports (here). It is a vest made by the people at Humvee (the brand mostly associated with all-terrain vehicles used in combat).

It features 14 pockets. Six of them extrude from the front of varying sizes, from large matchbox-sized to pockets large enough to fit several hardbound books on each side of the zipper. There are twi easy access pockets, with no zippers, in the usual place you might find pockets on a jacket for immediate use. There are two zipped pockets on the inside of the jacket (on either side of the zip). Several others as well. There are two small plastic loops to hang items on, and two shoulder straps held together by velcro and brass buttons. It also features a pocket on the back in which you can fold the vest into itself for travel transport.

Of note is the mesh-woven fibers that make up the areas that are not pocketed. This allows breathability in certain areas, such as the bottom of the ribcage area. In Florida summer heat, this can be important.

As I stated this was a reasonably priced item at roughly $30 before tax and shipping. I only received it two days ago, but have come to enjoy it. A drawback to be considered is that sweat will make vest smell very bad (like most clothes) so emptying of pockets and washing is necessary. Also, the neck liner irritates the back of the neck somewhat.

Here is an image of me wearing said vest:

As you can see, it is large enough fora sizable person like myself. Here are the contents of said vest, itemized.
pocket #1: Three sharpie markers (blue, red and black)
pocket#2: Flip Video Camera
pocket#3: Rain Jacket
pocket#4: GoPro HD Hero2 Video Camera and headstrap
pocket#5: Battery for Canon 30D DSLR Camera
pocket#6: Folding pocket notepad, with attached Prismacolor fine-tip black pen
pocket#7: Tic Tacs
hook#1: Camp walkie-talkie, placed close to ear for convenience
hook#2: Camp-required nametag, wooden, roughly 2"x4"

As of yet, the other pockets and features are unused. I submit the following questions:

1) What might I place in free pockets (something of use in the field of childcare and/or photography, or otherwise something useful)

2) What sorts of vest purchases have you made, and what were the deciding factors in this decision?

3) a)What sort of utilitarian clothing have you purchased/used,
b) what tasks were you performing with said items and
c) how did you utilize it's unique functionality?