Washington i totally agree that feathers look so much better then the plastic vanes, and lets me honest half the reason we choose the gun/bow/camo/truck/broadhead/whatever is because it looks kinda cool haha. Part of the reason i switched is i changed bow shops and the new guy is all about feathers but once i tried them i wont ever go back. First i think they are a little more forgiving, i shoot a whisker biscuit and my vanes were getting all wrinkled and tore up from shooting through it so much, the feathers seem to give a little going through the whiskers and aren't as effected. Second, they can take a beating and still fly as if they were brand new. you can take a pair of scissors and cut out big chunks of a feather vane and its fine, do that to a plastic one and they will make a ton of noise and fly all over the place. As far as being waterproof the only time they are effected is if its pouring rain, but i don't bowhunt in the pouring rain so it doesn't make a difference.
As far as what kind i shoot, to be honest i don't even know the brand, i just go with what my bowshop gives me. but i like the 4 or 5 inch vanes to help stablize the big cut on contact broadheads i like