I hated horse collar BC's! Bought a SP BCP my 2rd year of diving (77) and never regretted not using one ever again!
I think it was 77 that I bought Scubapro's first wing. Of course they did not call it that. Blow molded plate, single cam band and talk about taco! But it was a revelation compared to anything then available. Pro Diver in Fort Lauderdale refused to allow me to use it. Yeah, and they also refused trim weights, all weights had to be QR! My, my, how things have changed, imagine if I had shown up with a steel plate that weighed 12 pounds!