There’s a definite edge in having nothing in your hands when you go for a walk.
To me, to carry things takes away from the freedom of the walk.
Occasionally, I pass by walkers with walking sticks, boots, back-packs. Undoubtably training for a big trek later in the year or something similar. Yet still, I can’t help but think of their impact on the walk experience.
In the gym, it’s possible to have all sorts of aids: lifting shoes, wrist straps, belts, knee wraps etc.
Sure, some of these make some of the lifts “easier,” just like the walking sticks, but they also intrude on the experience of the movement etc.
If there’s a true need to carry something into the experience, then sure, but when we travel light, our awareness increases as we are forced to remain alert.