I am currently selling my Apeks Black Ice and will buy a BPW.
In the BCD category, the Black Ice is great:
- Back-inflate (good for trim);
- You can add 2kg up between your back and the bladder (good for trim);
- You have releasable weight pockets that take a ton of weight (nice if you dont like weight belts);
- Pockets are big enough for a second mask in one and spool+dsmb in the other);
- More than enough steel d-rings;
However, with a BPW you can have all that and:
1) Less unecessary features (such as padding, extra d-rings);
2) More modular;
3) Less drag (the apeks black ice has way too much lift);
4) Less failure points (continuous harness vs BCD with releases).
If you want a BCD, I think the Apeks Black Ice is an excelent option but if you are open to consider a BPW, I would recommend the latter.