BDSC
Contributor
I can't imagine an experienced diver not noticing a huge difference between the two.
I look at some divemasters and dive pros that just about live in the ocean that have thousands of dives and are using old torn up jacket BC's that have turned all brown from the sun and look like they are ready to dissolve into pieces the next time they take them into the water. I'll bet most of those pros are probably better divers and have seen a hell of a lot more than most people on this board and maybe a better part of the most vocal BP/W users.
ZKY said it quite nicely.
While I can't speak about diving conditions in the cold waters of the Great Lakes or off the coast of California, I can speak about off the coast of NC and the Caribbean. In all the years I have been diving and the hundreds of dives I've done and dozens of trips I've taken, I have never, ever, seen a DM/Instructor at any of these locations wearing a BP/W. One has to wonder if the BP/W was such a superior piece of equipment, why haven't these folks, who practically live in the water, figured this out and noticed the huge difference? Wouldn't they want to make their jobs as easy as possible by diving with what works the best? (Hell, most of these folks even dive with fullfoot fins no less)
What I have noticed is that the whole "BP/W is far superior to the jacket bc and you'll be a better diver if you wear one" is more of a ScubaBoard/internet phenomenon than what you find in the real diving community.