Belzelbub
Contributor
I hear you, and don't disagree that it may be easier to do some skills in certain configurations.The "big issue" with a BP/W in an IE was it was a pain if you were the rescue victim... now I'd imagine if the skill was one where you'd want a jacket bcd you could borrow one from a classmate.
However, that may be doing a disservice to the students. In the rescue course I took, there were several different gear configurations. And we all pretty much took turns playing both victim and rescuer. I think the only thing we all had in common was that we practiced primary donate. There were necklaced octos, stowed octos, AIRs, BP/W w/ continuous webbing, BP/W with clipped webbing, Back inflate BCs, SPGs, AI wrist computers, and consoles. No doubles, No CCR, no Sidemount, and no Avelo, but I think we had just about everything else covered.
It would have certainly been easier if we were all in the same configuration, but that's unlikely in the real world. I'm glad we got to experience all of those different types in a course setting. Really helps to remind you to familiarize yourself with your buddy's gear.