There's nothing complicated? You have to 1) #include <memory> 2) Write "std::unique_ptr<My_Foo_Type> foo" instead of just "My_Foo_Type *foo" in every definition. 3) Are required to define My_Foo_Type as a class with a separate deleter, or provide a deleter template argument at each declaration. 4a) write "foo.get()" in various places instead of just "foo". or 4b) lend around the unique_ptr in various places, breaking modularization and increasing build times. 5) Be stuck with a non-POD type that you can't just memcpy() around. 6) enjoy the worse runtime because your program has just been artifically compartmentalized even more!

Sometimes you C++ guys are just blinded by the tale of "zero-cost abstractions".

unique_ptr, like the idea of RAII in general, binds together what should be separate. Data schemas and physical layout on the one hand, and memory and lifetime management on the other hand. What you get as a result is what you deserve: The idea of "more safe and maintainable" where the "more" isn't added to the equivalent non-RAII program. No, it is added to the more convoluted, less understandable, and thus inherently less safe and maintainable program. Who knows what the bottom line is (in my experience often safety is a bit better but I pray for you if you need to debug a problem, and maintainability is much worse), but out of interest in my own sanity I know my preference.