God, these things get uncomfortable after a bit. And they smell. We would pull them of the rack and they would still be wet with the previous shift's sweat.
I used them when I worked in warehousing in recieving and in picking. They also had a scanner module that was worn on a finger and connected to the device. They were neat at first but they never cleaned or replaced the straps and everybody sweats.
You guys were doing it wrong. ¯\(°_o)/¯ We had these devices in hip-holsters that would attach to a belt, which of course had a few of its own caveats, but it was free-swinging at all times. Plenty of airflow. No smelly, sweaty equipment except for possibly the handheld scanners that went with them.