-hh
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Beano, did it ever occur to you that a lot of people don't see them as shortcomings?
Everything has trade-offs.
Here, we're talking about the trade-off of if a particular capability (a storage pocket) is better to be integrated into an existing piece of gear (the BC) or if another entire piece of gear needs to be added for it (shorts)...there is no single 'correct' answer: merely a trade.
YMMV, but I see a pair of shorts (to have pockets) as one more piece of kit to keep track of and to have in my gear-up/-down routine. Given that I've seen some divers put on wetsuits backwards, inside-out, etc...nothing can be made utterly foolproof, although it is well known from a Human Performance perspective - - Human Factors and Work Taskloading perspectives - - that having fewer time sensitive tasks is generally 'better' (more reliable/robust of a process).
This generally favors stuff that can be set up in advance into major subassemblies which get checked out beforehand (reduced time constraints), and not infrequently, one approach to this is to employ one's D-rings to clip on all of those accessories until one looks like a Christmas Tree (and then of course still claim that it is a 'more streamlined' setup!).
I couldn't use the pocket on my original BC -- it was too hard to reach in my dry suit and heavy insulation, and I couldn't work the zipper with my dry gloves.
A trade-off issue which doesn't exist for warmwater divers.
I don't like weight integration. I'm VERY happy with a weight belt, especially the nice rubber Mako one I now have. I think the weights are more secure, and easier to separate from the BC.
I don't care for weight integration either.
Fortunately, I've yet to encounter any BC which can't employ a separate weightbelt...although this too is a trade-off, as some designs are susceptible to a human error, namely if its submarine strap is hooked on after the weight belt, thereby trapping it and making it non-ditchable. Horsecollars and BP/W more typically have a submarine strap, thereby introducing this sequence-of-what-goes-on-when factor for consideration.
I don't need adjustable straps....
I have, or rather: the Quick Disconnect which typically accompanies them.
I've found that for some configurations of chase boats when drift diving, being able to pop a shoulder harness(es) is advantageous in that it can make it substantially safer: you can grab onto the boat (and not get bashed by it) and then strip your gear off while never allowing anything ... you or your gear ... to get loose, where it may get lost, or worse - get pulled through the props. Yes, in an ideal world all seas are always perfectly flat with no wind, and the engine will always be totally out of gear when picking up divers to make all pickups utterly trivial...but that's not the real world all too frequently. This is just YA example of a trade-off, for where the downright minuscule risk of a QD failure (1400+ hrs MTBF) does merits consideration in its trade-off versus other objective risks.
Similarly, if one is more frequently changing levels of thermal protection, having a more adaptable adjustment points isn't a horribly bad thing.
The bottom line to all of it is to make informed decisions of the trades, based upon one's individual prioritization of what the significant factors are for one's diving environment/conditions/constraints/priorities/etc.
-hh