Your making out singleply vs double ply to be a bigger difference then it is. I bet more pounds is given to me on the squat from the fact i dont have to squat as low then the fact my suit uses 2ply of material instead of 1. Lots of 2ply guys are using 1ply katanas now becuase they are better then 90% of the doubleply shirts. Even look at mark bell, hes been using one lately.
I think you opinion will change more as you get stronger simon. The throw the gear on at the end was really popular in the early 90s, but nobody does that anymore because the gear is to good. Imagine an 800lbs bencher training raw and never going above say 550lbs on the bench, then 5 weeks out putting on a shirt and trying for a
pr? disaster. very few people train like this anymore, and those that do are usually not at the top.