I believe I’m quite late to the party, but I work in a bike shop and I’ve tried a LOT of saddles. Not only that, I also have incredibly narrow sitbones (90mm) and struggle immensely to find a comfortable saddle. The following are my observations, and although they are completely subjective, many customers in the shop have had similar experiences.
In general, all 3D printed saddles are more comfortable than “normal” padded ones. The softer areas are placed around the place where your sitbones and perineal nerves interact with the saddle, and this seems to relieve pressure quite effectively. So, regardless of what saddle you get (assuming you get the width right), the 3D printed ones will likely provide more comfort across the board. Below are my experiences with specific saddles as well as customer input.
Specialized Power Mirror - By far the most popular model on the market for 3D printed saddles. Personally, I don’t like the shape of the saddle, and I find that the short profile of the saddle makes the shift from the wide part to the narrow part too “aggressive”. Thus, there is only a very small optimal area on which to sit comfortably. That said, not a bad saddle, and most customers are very happy with it.
Specialized Romin Mirror - Much too often overlooked for the Power in my opinion. The Romin has a more classic shape to it, and I like it more than the Power. The downsides are that most riders on the heavier side of the spectrum tend to find that it places a bit too much pressure on the perineal area, and the soft 3D printed material does not seem to solve the issue. If you like the Romin, you’ll love the Romin Mirror.
Fizik Antares Versus Adaptive - Best saddle I’ve ever tried, absolute 10/10. Similar in shape to the Romin but a flatter profile. Since it’s a more traditional length saddle the margin for error in terms of fore-aft seating position is a bit larger, and I find that I stay comfortable even when shifting around a bit on long rides.
Selle Italia SLR Boost 3D - Polarising saddle. Those who love the SLR Boost swear by it and will never ride anything else, and those who don’t like it tend to hate it. I find that, again, this saddle only has one very specific place on which to sit comfortably, and unless you dial in the position of the saddle and reach to the millimetre, this may cause some issues.
Fizik Vento Argo Adaptive - No, just no. I don’t understand who looked at this saddle during production and went “yeah, that looks right”. It’s a weird shape, I can’t comprehend where I’m supposed to sit on it, and it’s not nearly as supple in the padding as the aforementioned saddles. I suppose people with really wide hips may appreciate it a bit more. This makes some sense as the only people I see riding it are women, and women tend to have wider hips than men. Anyways, I can’t recommend this saddle to anyone with the other great alternatives out there.
The main takeaway from my experience is that 3D printed saddles are, in general, a more comfortable version of whatever saddle they model. If you like the Specialized Power, you’ll probably love the Power Mirror. If you like the Fizik Antares, you’ll probably love the Antares Versus Adaptive, and so on. The shape and width of the saddle will always be more important. 3D printing does not make up for poor shape and fit - it enhances a saddle that already suits you.