I have the Blackwell ISM Race version..
which I just picked up yesterday (Blackwell has a list of local dealers). What is my impression? - all saddles should be built like this. One of my pet peeves when riding a regular saddle is that in the aero position when on the drops, I literally squeeze on that soft tissue, and this can become unbearable riding 30, 40 miles. With this saddle, the cutout at the top portion of the saddle provides a relief groove from the top to the middle of the saddle, while keeping a mechanical sound saddle support framework, and comfort at the same time. I've only ridden it for about 50 miles, but so far it's been very comfortable. When on an upright position versus aero on the drops, I especially have the feeling that I'm well planted on my sit bones (since the saddle is wider than a regular saddle, where the sit bones rest). For racing where I tend to move up forward so I'm sitting literally against the topmost part of the saddle, I don't feel the saddle protrusion against the soft tissue which I feel on a regular saddle. When installing this new saddle replacing a regular saddle, I would highly suggest a good fitting be redone, since it is a tad thicker than a regular saddle, and hence may need to be slightly lowered to get the same effective saddle height; alternatively, one can also use the fitted measurements of one's old saddle (horizontal and vertical measurements, i.e., how far the saddle is pulled back, and/or raised), and use that as the basis when installing the Blackwell ISM saddle. In conclusion, it's exactly what I'd envision it would be - comfort, relief without sacrificing performance. Here's a link to a review of 8 tri saddles, one of which is the Blackwell ISM race saddle.
