Using a BC doesn't make any body "wrong" and advocating a BP&W doesn't make one a zealot.
I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is I'm sick and tired of every single thread about a BC having at least one person claiming the BP/W is the only way to go.
If every new scuba diver had the same access to Jacket BC's and BP&W's your contention that the current high percentage of Jacket BC users validates the basic jacket design would have some merit.
The fact remains that the vast, vast majority of new scuba divers have not even seen a BP&W, have not spoken to a BP&W user, and has no easy way to try one. The same is not true for Jacket BC's. The new diver is typically "immersed" in the benefits of the Jacket BC from the moment they start their training.
Every single student I teach gets to see a BP/W setup, as well as a hybrid, as well as jackets. Overwhelmingly they choose jackets. I don't lie to them, and I'm not the one selling the gear. Fact of the matter is, for your average, one or two vacation dives a year diver, a jacket is just easier. And since the vast majority of divers are just that type, that's what they choose.
It is worth noting that there are very few divers who transition to a BP&W from a Jacket that choose to go back to a jacket. There are a few, but the vast, vast majority of divers who have the opportunity to try a BP&W stick with it.
Where are your stats on this? I personally know of no less than five divers who have tried the BP/W, hated it, and switched back to a back inflation jacket. They are out there.
You make a great product, I'm not knocking it. But lets not pretend it is the answer for everyone.