Am a big fan of my lanyard. I bought it but it's on the low end of the price scale. It holds nipper, tab of chamois to dry flies and hold forceps, clip so can clip it to shirt (keeps the lanyard in place when I bend over), tippet mtl, floatant bottle, drying powder, little fabric piece to wipe off glasses, line/leader straightener. I'm going to add a whistle now b/c of Greg's post. Critical feature for me is that the lanyard break apart if pulled on hard enough. Not interested in death by hanging... Threw the vest away and have almost exclusively fished with lanyard for about 15 years. Found that I filled it up with stuff I never used simply b/c it had room for it. Then wondered why my shoulders hurt at end of day.... Carried a couple heavier things (scissors, small flybox) on the lanyard early on but they either made the lanyard unbalanced or they strained my neck. The Simms G3's along with a fishing shirt hold all the other gear, generally speaking.
Grassman