Is this why bsdtar is popular, even on Linux systems that otherwise use GNU utils? I have often wondered why bsdtar is chosen. You see it in the AUR for example.
Bsdtar certainly has additional features over GNU tar.
I have switched to bsdtar many years ago precisely because I have discovered that at least at that time it was the only Linux utility that could make exact archives for the backup of my filesystems.
I make extensive use of extended file attributes. For instance any file on my filesystems has a hash stored in an extended attribute for detecting errors/modifications in its content and for deduplication (the hash is updated whenever the file is modified intentionally).
When I make backups, I always store at least two copies on different media and it is essential that the file hashes in extended file attributes are preserved by the archiving/backup program, so that I will be able to detect corrupted files if I try to restore them. If some file is corrupted, I can retrieve it from the other backup copy. This has saved me several times with archives stored for many years, because neither HDDs nor any other available archival media are currently reliable enough to trust them for long-term storage without errors.
Like I have said, for modern backups one must use the pax file format. GNU tar, and also other "tar" programs have made some custom non-standard extensions to the standard "tar" file format, in order to be able to store some things not allowed in standard tar files, but those workarounds are inferior to what can be done in the more recent "pax" file format.
