Where do I begin?? Is it with the Selle Italia Flite from 10 years ago? My Avocet O2 from 20 years ago? Or my Rolls from 25 years ago? I've been on so many saddles that they do start to blur together, but one thing is clear, though, bike seats are definitely an individual preference and it's hard to predict what will work best for any given rider. Men have different issues than women, larger riders have different issues that smaller riders, and the terrain you ride can make a huge difference with any saddle.

In the last 7 years - heck, in the last 2 years - I've been searching for the saddle that's perfect for me. I'm not sure what started the search. Maybe it was wanting something that looked cooler or maybe weighed less. I really don't remember. All I know is that I have tried more saddles, from more manufacturers, than anyone else I know. I'm 5'11" and about 170 lbs, so not particularly light, even on a skinny day, and I'm surprised what I have found to be the best seat for me. I wouldn't have thunk it. Really wouldn't have. Not with all the Body Geometry hype and sit bone this and ischial tuberosity that, but what works for you, works for you. Don't let any marketing BS convince you otherwise.

It might be skinny, but it sure is long.
Jumping to the end, I'll start with what I have found works best for me and then I'll try to review all the seats I compared it with over the years. The Fizik Arione, in any version, is the winner for me. It's odd, because it's probably the narrowest seat on the market, and I'm not a svelte guy, but it works. I used to ride the Arione years ago because it just looked cool. It was long and flat and you could sit everywhere on it. Then, I thought I needed to change, so I tried "hammock" shaped seats like the Aliante or the ProLogo Scratch. I MADE them work for me, but I don't think I was ever truly comfortable. I switched to the Fizik Antares for a few years and was quite comfortable, but always battled a saddle sore in the same area, so I decided to try another seat. 

I got into seat choice hell. The more I tried, the more neurotic I became. Then, about 7 years after this sometimes painful ride began, I decided to try a long, skinny Fizik Arione, again. I don't know why I went back to it, but immediately, I was like, "This is why I liked this seat so much." It's narrow, but it's, for lack of a better word, neutral. There is no dip in the middle. No cutout. It's got a narrow nose and a back area that doesn't seem very wide. However, when you actually compare it to other seats, WHERE YOU ACTUALLY SIT ON THE SEAT, it has a wider seating area. Too many people get hung up on the width of the saddle at the widest point. What you need to pay attention to is the width where you actually it - and that's not the back of the seat.

Here is a list of the seats I've ridden enough to say that I've "tested" them. I think I'm forgetting a few, but this is good enough for discussion purposes:

• Fizik Aliante - Super comfortable if you don't have a huge bar to saddle drop. The upturned nose keeps you comfortably in place for long miles, but for riding in the drops, the nose can create some pressure on the boyz.
• Fizik Arione - See above.
  
• Fizik Arione VS - Softer feeling than the regular Arione because of the extra padding. The channel is noticeable when you first sit on it, but I think the padding compresses and the benefit is lost.
  
• Fizik Antares - Great seat. It's wider than the Arione at the tip and a little flatter across the rear, but the contact area is actually narrower than the Arione. This is probably our number one selling traditional saddle, so it works well for a lot of people.
  
• Fizik Antares 00 - Super light, carbon rail/shell version. Less padding for less weight, means it's a "hard" seat. I can ride it and actually like it, but after about 2 hours of in the saddle riding, I'm squirming.
  
• Fizik Antares VS - Softer feeling than the regular Antares because of the extra padding. The channel is noticeable when you first sit on it, but I think the padding compresses and the benefit is lost.
  
• ISM Podium - A firmer version of the design shared with the Breakaway. It is a wide seat and not for everyone, but for those that it works for, they never go back to anything else. All the ISMs are designed to have the rider on the front 1/2 of the seat and you are supported by two "noses" under your sit bones. At first, it feels odd, then good, then maybe a little uncomfortable as your muscles and sitting areas adjust. It takes some time to adjust to this saddle and many people do not give it enough time. I'd say a minimum of 10 rides is needed to adjust.
  
• ISM Breakaway - A softer version of the Podium.
  
• ISM Time Trial - Best tri/TT seat I have found. When you switch to this seat, you probably should have a good bike fit done by a very good fit specialist. The benefits of this seat are that there is no nose and because of that, it takes some tuning to get the rider sitting in relatively the same position as a traditional saddle. If you install this to the same height and setback as your typical road seat, you will not like it and something will start to hurt. Once dialed in, you'll find the ability to ride numbness-free for hours in your aero bars and you'll be able to roll your pelvis forward for a flatter back, which takes a lot of stress off your hamstrings. To me, the ISMs are designed for Tri/TT riders and work best for them or for road riders who spend a lot of time in their drops. Florida racers, this is for you.
  
• ISM Road - This was one of the original ISM seats. A little firmer than the Time Trial mentioned above, but not as firm as the Race version. The nose on the road is also a little more square at the front tips. I prefer the Time Trial, but can jump back on a Road without any issues.
  
• ProLogo Scratch -
  
• ProLogo Nago - ProLogo makes great seats and they don't really get the press they deserve, but take a look at the pro riders who are on teams not sponsored by a seat manufacturer. Tons of them are on ProLogos. Contador, Jens Voigt, and the Schlecks, prior to the Bontrager sponsorship.
  
• ProLogo Nago TTR
• Selle Italia Flite
• Selle Italia Turbo (new version)
• Selle San Marco ASPide
• Specialized Toupe
• Cobb SHC 170
• Cobb Max
  

Why is he so grumpy all the time?
What doesn't work for me is anything with a cutout, except for the ISM Time Trial, but even too many miles on that gives me problems. What problems? Specifically, internal hemorrhoids. Yep. Not fun to talk about and definitely not fun to have, but they disappear once I get off the cutouts for a few days. I've discussed it with a couple of doctors and a some of the seat people. It guess the "relief" that the cutout provides for the prostate area can also allow blood to settle, or pool, in that same spot. Allow enough pressure to build and Voila! You got hemorrhoids. This doesn't seem to happen to most people, or maybe most people don't link the two together, but it definitely happened to me. I'm sure that now it's been mentioned, we'll here more people say that they had similar problems.

Things I have learned:
1) Anytime you change a seat, you need to give it, at least, seven rides before you can really judge the seat.  

2) Anytime you change a measurement with a seat (height, angle, setback), you need to give it at least one full ride before you judge it. Trust me on this. You can send yourself into a therapist if you don't give your butt time to adjust. Nothing will EVER feel right until you stop tinkering with it long enough for your body to adjust and it will eventually drive you crazy.

3) If you live in Florida, or somewhere similarly flat and boring, every saddle will give you issues. Because it's flat, you'll find yourself in the same position for miles and you are bound to get pressure points and hot spots. Go somewhere with rolling hills where you are shifting around on the saddle a bit, and maybe getting out of the saddle more often, and you'll find that you really don't notice your seat. An hour on the flats might give you more issues than 4 hours through rolling hills.