Mini album review: Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé

Going to clarify this thread by saying this is a personal opinion, because there’s no doubt I’ll be called out somehow for daring to criticise Beyoncé.

I finished listening to Cowboy Carter & struggled to do so.

Men over 40: it's time to embrace the fanny pack!

Ignore the stigma, unburden your pockets

The Bellroy Venture bag on a table next to a notepad with the words 'It's Time' written

While the world has seemingly started to accept men carrying a man bag or shoulder slings, there’s still a bit of a perception around the classic fanny pack (or waist pack / bum bag if you prefer).

I know this because since late January I’ve been wearing a fanny pack daily…and I god damn love it.

While us men are generally lucky to have most of our clothes contain pockets to store items; with some of us carrying more throughout the day, it’s useful to have a bag with some small items with you to free the weight in your pockets.

As mentioned, some have taken to carrying man bags or slings for this purpose. If that works for you, awesome. However, while I’ve tried a few of these bags, none of them have ended up in my daily rotation until I started wearing a fanny pack.

Let me go over the benefits I’ve found over other bag types for my daily carry.

Comfort

While I’ve tried some very good shoulder bags and slings, I’ve never been comfortable with carrying something around my shoulder all day. Even with a lite bag and minimal items, there is a fatigue to carrying extra weight on your shoulder/s for a period of time.

Personally, using a fanny pack and having that weight around my waist is far more comfortable. Like having a slightly heavier belt on. In addition, I don’t have the movement restriction of having a bag strapped around my shoulder, chest or back.

Convenience

The Bellroy Venture bag mounted on my waist

Yes a shoulder bag could carry more things, but they are generally loose around your body and require you to find a place for the bag when you sit somewhere. Sling bags maybe slightly better for this as they are designed to be worn tightly on your chest or back, but you are often adjusting it back and forth depending on what your situation or needs are at any time.

My fanny pack stays mounted around my lap pretty much all day. It’s small enough that I can still sit comfortably with it on, and I can (mostly) access anything I need from the bag without needing to swing it around or take it off.

There’s occasional times where I will need to adjust or remove it temporarily; but far less often than any shoulder or sling bag with my usage.

Simplicity

Like with any bag, you can go overboard with this. However in general, fanny packs are limited in size and shape. Why is this a benefit?

First, it doesn’t tempt you to take too many items apart from items you may need. With larger shoulder bags, I found myself taking stuff I didn’t really need because the space was there; but then I’m carrying around more weight and making it slightly difficult to get to items I actually want.

Related to this is comfort; the more you carry, the more uncomfortable it is. Some sling bags are getting so big you can fit laptops in them. At that point even when tightened to your back, having that weight braced on a single shoulder is not as ergonomic and comfortable as just having a small backpack.

But Andrew, it doesn’t look very fashionable?

Well, some men can make fanny packs look fashionable. Chances are if you can’t make a fanny pack fashionable, a man bag or sling will look equally as unfashionable on you.

I’m definitely not one that makes this look good, but I’ve chosen to lean into it. Wear it proudly, try golf attire (flat caps and polo shirts).

Are you comfortable? Then be comfortable damnit. Besides you’re 40 and older now, why are you bothered by the opinions of others over your style or comfort.

Embrace the fanny pack!