no-Gi > Gi

When it comes to BJJ, I have a strong preference for "no-gi" (as most commonly practiced by MMA gyms) over standard uniformed or "gi"style practice. Here's why:

1. Ergonomics: from death grips on the uniform to taking twice as long to escape from positions, gi practice seems to be harder on the body than no-gi.
2. Synthesis: with my background in a wide variety of martial arts, no-gi's techniques seem generally much more compatible with what I already know than with gi practice. Just for example if I want to stick to an opponent with my palm but without a strong grip for a few seconds like I might in Tai Chi, that's much more viable in no-gi than with gi, where instead everyone is yanking each other around by their clothes for the duration of sparring.
3. Concise: there will always be new interesting ways to tie up people in knots using their clothes. However no-gi keeps grappling as succinct as possible, focusing purely on the body's shape and not elaborating on the many variations of things that happen with clothing.
4. Application: in many circumstances, in a real self defense situation gi-specific techniques will come in handy. However, in many other circumstances gi-specific techniques will not work. If you are in a grey area with heavy clothing shaped very unlike a gi, or very light clothing not nearly as sturdy as a gi, it is the no-gi techniques you will wish you had focused on.
5. Pretense: if I have to choose between doing martial arts of any kind in a uniform or not in a uniform, I will ditch the uniform every time. Belt ranks may be nice for your ego and help you understand who has the most technical expertise in the room, but outside of class they are basically only a legal liability. And heaven forbid you should ever have to walk home in a martial arts uniform because of an unexpected transportation issue... you will look like someone who doesn't realize it is not Halloween.
6. Bootstrapping: if you want to get a new grappling practice group together, the gi is another significant barrier to getting started. With no-gi basically all you need is mats, willing and able sparring partners, mouthpieces and disinfectant.
7. Universal: the gi forces inherited technique from judo. Without the gi any grappling technique that can be executed safely from any grappling system can be explored.