In this analogy, the Hydros is a pimped out Toyota with blinking LED lights, pumping bass woofer and heated bucket seats with massage function clad in snakeskin leather, and the streamlined BP/W is a stripped down rally car.
IMO that's a bad analogy. I've got two stripped down race cars (84 mustang, 71 dart) that see road use, they are not something most people consider 'enjoyable'. extremely loud (pre axle exhaust dumps), cantankerous when the weather changes, and they'll rattle your eyeballs out at 65mph. not something you'd use as general purpose transport. i'd have gone with Hydros => Mercedes/Cadillac, BP/W => Bare Bones Silver Sedan (take your pick of brands); they both reliably get ya from A to B, keep ya relatively safe, but one costs 2~3x as much. If you really want to toss that rally car into the mix, guess that would be monkey diving?
wife and I both dive steel BPs with 25lb wings. if we didn't dive cold as well, would have gone with an 18lb wing. they flat pack down nicely, clean up easily, and still fall within travel weight limits. if i remember correctly, my rig weighs around 11lb dry (FCP), and her's sits around 13lb (OMS plate + STA). full gear for two fits in two checked bags and a carry on. 2x plates, 2x wings, 2x fins, 4x lights, 2x bail out bags (DSMB, reel, jon line, snorkle) and a save a dive kit fit in a single checked duffel bag, and clocks in at 49lbs. suits and clothing went in the other checked bag, and regs / masks / computers were in the carry on. when we were using SP knighthawks, they weighed slightly less, but bulked out larger and had to be split between two checked bags.
i know a few people that have the litehawks, and have been very happy with them. both demo hydros ive seen on the rack have already shown fatigue in the rubber, with small tears around the collar strap.