Back-coating vs using thicker paper

[machina]

I recently saw a topic in which the poster mentioned backcoating origamido/ogami paper for a model and it led me to thinking about the difference between backcoating paper and simply using heavier paper (in the case that heavier paper is available) - for example unryu and many other papers are available in various weights so does backcoating 2 25gsm sheets together give the same result (both technically and end-result) as using a single 50gsm sheet?

[GrossMichael]

Back coating allows you to have duo paper (colored diferently on the two sides)

[ginshun]

just because two papers weight the same doesn't mean that they are the same exact thickness, nor does it mean that they are going to fold the same. So two sheets of 25gsm tissue MC'd together are not going to be the same thing as a piece of something else that weighs 50gsm. Not necessarily anyway.

I have found that two pieces of 25gsm unryu bonded with MC folds pretty much like a single piece of 60gsm lokta that has been size with MC. I haven't measured the two with a caliper or anything, but I would guess that the two sheets MC'd together are thinner. The double sheet is better for more complex models in my opinion, as the layers seem to pile up better.

That's my take on it anyway.