Steve Elliott
There are a number of issues here, which I hope I can sort out.

First, for some species of wood I believe a high angle is more effective than a well-adjusted cap iron. Both Derek Cohen and I have reported better results using a high cutting angle (around 60 degrees) for brittle tropical timbers, in my case Bolivian rosewood. I don't claim to have found the optimum cap iron setting for this timber but that would take considerable experimentation, and increasing the cutting angle was quick and effective.

Second, wood-bodied planes are a joy to use due to the low friction of a wooden sole. When I started using infill planes I kept applying wax to the sole to try to overcome the greater friction of the steel sole. Now I apply wax some of the time and just live with the increased friction most of the time.

My Ulmia Reform smoother (double iron, lignum vitae sole) is a good plane but the blade is too near the center of the sole for my taste. I don't want my smoother to act like a jointer plane and just take off the high spots. Also, the throat of the plane is fairly narrow due to the mechanism to adjust the mouth. Shavings don't jam when the plane is well tuned, but they don't fall out of there easily either. Sometimes I resort to using compressed air to clear out shavings caught at the sides where there's a small gap between the blade and the side of the plane. These aren't fatal flaws, but still leave me less than completely satisfied with that particular plane. My infill planes are better in those respects.

Then there's ergonomics, the feel of the plane. I like unhandled planes because they put my hand right behind the blade. Krenov-style planes (short ones) have this advantage and Bailey-style planes don't. My low angle bevel-up smoother is especially bad in this regard and skewing the plane puts the force pushing the plane forward out of line with the blade in a way I find unpleasant.

No style of plane will suit every wood or every woodworker. I'm working on my own ultimate plane, a wooden one with a relatively low bed angle, a double iron, and an adjustable mouth. Pretty much a round-sided wooden plane shaped like a Spiers unhandled smoother with a 40 degree bed angle and an adjustable mouth that doesn't make the throat narrow. I'll post pics if I ever get it made.

P.S. I forgot the name and town part. Steve Elliott in Seattle.