I've always found it kinda strange that the tanks are part of the base backpack while similarly powerful stuff like crafting is an upgrade. I would also appreciate it aesthetically, having a way to have a tankless backpack. my friends and I don't use this function often and they just kinda look silly in a rustic context.

This feature is in progress. Along with tanks as an upgrade, few more functional upgrades are in works like autopickup, feeding, jukebox upgrade and few more QOL upgrades to backpack.

https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/travelers-backpack/files/all?page=1&pageSize=20
Released upgrades update for Forge & Neo 1.21