Wow has this gotten nasty. I will say something the classic and most jacket BC's can do better than a BP/W and that is "floating on the surface". I'm not saying a BP/W will push you forward but they just don't float you as high in the water as a poodle jacket. But with that said, we call this sport diving not floating so I vote for the BP/W. The reasons I went with a BP/W are right in line with what SeeJay said. I was moving to doubles and I don't think anyone can argue that a jacket of any style can do doubles as well as a BP/W, So where does that leave me for single tank dives? I could use my Brigade that has served me well up to this point or purchase a singles wing, STA and cam bands so that I can use the BP/W for all my diving. I went with the BP/W. Why? Because I like diving the same rig all the time, I will always know where everything is when the feces hits the fan. Yes, the cost of some of the BP/W components is just stupid in my opinion, most companies charge around $70 for a STA , $180 for a BP, $425 for a single tank wing. I say shop around, there are many places that you can purchase an entire rig for less than some charge for a wing. I'm all for supporting your local dive shop but I'm not going to throw money away when they could have shopped around and brought in the brands that are less expensive.