Originally Posted by deep_sky

I have not ridden any of the saddles you have mentioned, OP, but I am female and a clyde at 175, and have suffered from ladybidness pain for some time. I just recently did a 100k, and the last 10 miles I had to stand up every few minutes to ease the burning agony. After that ride I took the saddle and tossed it in the bike junk box. Took myself to a Specialized dealer, had them measure my sitbones to evaluate what width saddle I need, and I ended up with the Avatar Gel 155 (currently doing some extended testing). It is wider than I expected to need (I had thought the previous saddle was too wide), and due to the cutout, there is virtually no pressure on the ladybidness. My sitbones are actually sore and need some time to acclimate, I guess I wasn't sitting on them nearly so firmly as I thought. There are also plenty of women's specific saddles made by specialized if you want more padding. I prefer moderate firm padding in minimal quantities, and the saddle I have now is pretty close to that, maybe a touch softer.

I would first get measured by a Specialized dealer (Fizik and Bontrager also have sitbone measurement devices as well, you could look for those dealers too) and get measured first of all. They don't necessarily have a test saddle program, but if you protect the rails and don't damage the saddle at all, you can return it if its in like new condition, if the saddle does not work out for you.

I spent months on my previous saddle, trying to adjust every possible axis, and finally I just snapped and gave up on it. I was sitting on my sitbones, but I was also sitting on my ladybidness somewhat, which was causing extreme tenderness and irritation.