I recently bought a BP/W and have been using it for wet suit, single tank diving for a few weeks. I've used various jacket Bc's for 15-20 years, I have NOT found a huge benefit, nor any increase in comfort. In fact, the straps dig into my chest muscles when I bend over and load the bands of my speargun. Sometimes I might do this 20 times on a single dive.
I'm still hoping it was worth the change strictly for the supposed benefit of increased streamlining. However, I'm beginning to think it is very difficult to objectively detect a relatively small decrease in drag without some kind of controlled test.
One thing that was a little strange for me was how dependent I had become on the "comforting" squeeze of a BC, especially on ascent. I can judge my ascent rate pretty easily by the seat of my pants, with minimal checking of the guages. I make most all my ascent without swimming and use positive bouyancy to slowly float me up. I found that a considerable portion of my ability to ascend "by feel" was related to the onset of the BC squeezing my body on ascent. (As soon as I begin to feel a squeeze, I dump a little air) Without this tactile clue, I have to pay a little more attention to my ascent rate.
The wing was also not near as useful on the surface. I drift dive and when I hit the surface, I hope to see that the boat has been following me and my float for the last mile or so drift. When it is rough, I like to fill the jacket BC completely and this gets my head a little higher to see over the waves and also holds me vertical, The BP/W did not roll me face down, but I could feel that the tendency to roll me over, face down increased as the wing is progressively inflated to its capacity on the surface.
