A few questions...
Do you substitute equal amounts hi ratio shortening in place of regular in your recipes?

Where do you get hi ratio shortening? We don't have a cake supply specialty store where I live.

I have had two recent occasions now where my BC has drooped/pooled at the bottom and has overall not spread well. I thought it might be due to using some butter in my BC recipe but now am wondering if it isn't because of the new crisco formula...

Here's a fairly comprehensive thread on hi-ratio shortening:
(Includes, recipes, where to buy, and much more.)

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-219731-.html

HTH

I always used crisco and butter, half and half but with the new Crisco I have not been having good results. That's a whole different thread right there, but I don't have a cake store near me either to buy Hi Ratio. (And shipping charges are insane). I drove an hour to the nearest cake decorating store two days ago and Hi Ratio was on my list. I asked for it and the lady says they don't carry it. Plus, "crisco is hi ratio" is what she said. That is not true and I was surprized that she would even say that.

The recipe on the bag of hi ratio shortening says
1 cup shortening
1/3 cup water/milk
flavorings
and 2 lbs of powdered sugar....

I tried it..it works...so, the answer is no, the hi ratio whips up more and can hold more sugar/liquid....some people use equal amounts like they would Crisco. But, I would think that would be too rich and thick and weird textured! JMHO.

crisco is definately not! hi-ratio. I'd like to know what cake store tried to tell you that. We don't tell anybody to use crisco, we tell everyone to avoid it. cincinnaticakeandcandy.com sells hi-ratio in 3 pound tubs and i want to say the case is 50 pounds. if you dont see it on the web page feel free to call because we can easily order it for you, and we try to keep our shipping costs down by using the post office whenever possible.

Momo -

If you know anybody locally that has a bakery or restaurant that orders from Sysco, maybe they can help you out. Sysco offers the 50 lb box for something like $25, but you can only order if you have a business account. I've heard some states/cities do have a Sysco walk-in store (mine doesn't) , so maybe you can check your area to see if that's a possibility.

Though I haven't taken advantage of it yet, our local cake supply store is also a bakery, and they will gladly order the hi-ratio shortening for you for cost.

Good luck finding it!

eieio1234, the Baker's Kitchen only charges $14.00 to deliver 50# of hi-ratio anywhere in the contiguous U.S:

http://www.thebakerskitchen.com/cgi/cart.cgi

HTH