Just a couple of observations building on what FPrice queried. Outside of the gun culture, few people probably have any idea who Royal Robbins is and what is part of their tactical line of clothing, such as 511 vests, shorts, shirts, pants, etc. The pants are actually a variant or repackaged product from the climbing/outdoor line of clothing.
Where there is often the claim that a cargo vest, or in this case, a 511 vest, screams GUN to those in the know (other gun folks), people outside the gun culture are clueless to the use of such products for concealed carry. Even many of the folks in the gun culture who are not apart of things like IDPA, law enforcement, etc. have no idea about the vests screaming gun.
Keep in mind that part of the reason that vests are thought to scream gun is because the wearer usually isn't using the vest as anything other than accessory clothing. Cargo and Royal Robbins vests work great for carrying a bunch of stuff, only most folks carry nothing but their keys and maybe a cell phone in their vests. So, they show no functional reason for wearing the gear and that gets noticed. On family outtings, mine gets loaded down with accessories for the kids. My "tactical" vest gets further camoflaged by being the snack, toy, juice, diaper, wet wipes, etc. mobile platform.
Similarly, gun culture folks often think a fanny pack screams gun. As with the vests, it only screams gun to those in the gun culture. Regular people are clueless and don't even recognize the presence of the additional zippers or openings as being associated with opening the pack rapidly to get to the gun. They just figure those things are like other pack gear and loaded with pockets.
I used to claim that within the fanny pack lines, the packs that mostly screamed gun were those that were overly large, leather, butt ugly boxy, and usually black or brown. These screamed gun, I claimed, because none of the regular, non-gun carrying tourist/hiker types carried fanny packs like that. They gravitate to the nylon versions in various configurations. After going to the Texas State Fair earlier this month, I am now sorry to make the correction that butt ugly boxy fanny packs are now in regular circulation with non-gun carrying normal people. No guns are allowed at the Fair and everyone gets gone over with a metal detector. I saw lots of people with fanny packs and a lot of them were the leather versions, only I never saw any with the telltale extra zippers or rip cords. So the ugly leather fannypacks are no longer just a gun thing.
Keep in mind that fanny packs, like vests, tend to look out of place as people carrying guns often do not use them for any other reason. I like to play "Spot the Gun Carrier" at the mall. The easiest to spot are the fanny pack carriers who have a wallet in their back pocket, phone and keys hanging off their belt, sun glasses on top of their head, and check book in a shirt pocket. If they have all that stuff everywhere but inside the fanny pack, then what is the fanny pack being used for? The don't use it to pack normal gear they carry, just their gun. As such, it looks out of place.
