Well after finally receiving both I focused on getting to the woods and figuring out all new public land territory this year so I kind of neglected this forum. This has been my first season saddle hunting, however I've been bow hunting in MI on public land for the past 15 years. Although new to saddles, the experience of hunting MI public land is there and I feel as though I have a great attention to detail and appreciate quality so here's my comparison..
Both are amazing saddles built of great quality and it strictly comes down to personal preference. You truly can't go wrong with either of these two. I have sat in a lot of this year's new saddles including the Method, XC, Phantom, Aero Kestrel Flex, etc. There was no true winner right out of the gate and I'm glad I purchased these two to compare.
Got the Latitude Method metal free version starter kit first. Just the box and packaging was a great start. Seeing that small touch always makes you feel good about the product from the beginning. I didn't let this effect my review but just a nice complement to Latitude. Not knowing much at all about saddles I was a little confused by the ropes right away but they've become my favorite rope set-up I've tried yet. And of course as all others have said, a VERY light weight saddle.
The CRUZR XC took a few more weeks to get and by this point we were already well into the archery season but I made sure to take the XC out on my next few trip to the woods. I got the starter kit here as well. This was the saddle I anticipated myself liking far more than the Method from the start. I upgraded the kit to have the adjustable amsteel bridge. The bridge rope was much bigger in diameter than the Latitude (i found it similar to the Phantom bridge) which was something I didn't like as much as the Method.
MOLLE LOOPS: I wanted plenty of molle loops for pouches and other accessories. BOTH had two rows of loops which was great. I found the Method to have smaller loops that made it harder to feed the hardware on the pouches through the loop but once through they stayed well. I ran the Tethrd HYS 2.0 and Latitude pouch on the Method. Ran the HYS 2.0 and the included CRUZR pouch on the XC. The CRUZR pouch stayed better than the Tethrd but both had tendencies to come undone and I almost lost a pouch mid-climb more than once. Didn't have that issue with the Method.
METAL FREE: This was a huge plus for both less noise and less weight and what surprised me was that the knot on the Method belt holds very well even with all kinds of weight from climbing sticks and ropes hanging off it. There has been a couple times where it seems to get a little loose by time I make it up the tree but I'm thinking that must mostly be attributed to clothing shifting under the belt. I have had the buckle on the XC completely come undone while wearing the saddle. Luckily I was on the ground or on the platform but this was a big concern. I like the idea that even if the rope belt comes loose, I still have something there. XC belt buckle seemed a little less than great quality.
BACK REST: The XC came with an included back rest in the kit. The Latitude did not nor does Latitude even offer one. Nice quality and a nice touch by CRUZR. I like to have a back rest with me on either setup for all day sits even though the upper panel on the Method can ride up to the lower back, that seemed to be a pain. It's a belt so I prefer that to stay on my waistline. I kept the Cruzr back rest.
ROPES: Latitude wins this hands down. High quality Sterling Oplux, nice small diameter and the knot system they use is genius. Both the linemans rope and tether ropes work as though they have a Ropeman 1 (or similar ascender) allowing for single hand adjustment out of the box with no metal other than the carabiners. This is a must for me. Disliked the lack of adjustability on the standard XC ropes compared to the Method ropes. Not to mention you're looking at an additional $90+ for a pair of ascenders similar to the Ropeman 1 to have the adjustability that the Method has out of the box.
Linemans rope: Worth mentioning that one of my other favorite features of the Method was that the Linemans rope has a Carabiner on each end so you're not limited to always unhooking from one side. Doesn't sound like a huge deal but even though I'm very right hand dominant, I'd say I'll go 50/50 on what side I unhook from, so this was a big plus for me.
CARABINERS: The Method came with Black Diamond brand carabiners. To my knowledge they have been working on their own line and they looked pretty sweet last I checked their site. Not sure if they are available yet. However, the Black Diamonds were much nicer than the Mad Rock brand included with the XC. BD biners had no rattle where the Mad Rock did and the BD just felt better quality IMO.
TRAVEL MODE: Method got a good couple points for having the plastic clips on the upper panel for the lower panel to clip into when traveling from the truck to the tree. This is one of my favorite features and works great. Compresses the saddle to a much smaller package that stays close to waist height when walking and climbing. I thought the clips and holes would be hard to line up in the dark up in the tree before climbing down but even with gloves its very easy to feel these pieces out to line them up. The downfall is that the clips aren't attached any more than through a molle loop with a little flare on the one end to help prevent them from slipping off. I have had a clip fall off from up in the tree and was lost. Latitude is proud of these charging $10/pair for an additional set which I had to pay. Trust me when I say you don't want to walk or climb with this saddle unclipped. The bottom panel annoyingly catches you in the back of the calves all the time.
The XC has the accordion style mesh that collapses an extra 3-4 inches pulling the bottom of the saddle up from hitting your calves to just above your knee. Not the most comfortable for walking but not bad. The leg straps annoyed me more than this. You don't feel like you have a saddle on walking in with the Method.
POUCHES: The Cruzr wins this just because the kit came with a pouch and it is nice quality. Nothing special but nice. I do prefer the Latitude pouches much more but you have to purchase them for an additional $35 (most expensive I've seen). Nicest pouches I have used, large and the mesh pocket with zipper on the outside is nice for milkweed. Most say this pouch is big enough to only need one and it is, but I like one on each hip so I got two and don't regret it. I also have a 4-step aider I shove into one so two is good for me.
LEG STRAPS: Method wins this category because they are detachable. I prefer to not wear leg straps and It's nice to have that as an option versus cutting them off a $200+ saddle. The buckles on the XC straps were preferred to what I believe are T-hooks on the Method. I honestly can't remember, I think they're still in the box, but like I said I don't use them anyway.
COST: XC is cheaper...hardly. $15 cheaper for the saddle alone (if you were to get the XC with the adjustable bridge). The XC is also $15 more for the kit if you get the adjustable amsteel bridge like I did which I don't regret; $35 more if you upgrade to Oplux ropes which is the quality of the standard Method ropes so theres your money for your missing pouch so its actually very similar.
**Looks like CRUZR now offers an upgrade to a Cobra belt buckle for an additional $20. (Might be worth it if you go with the XC)
ACCESSORIES: This is rather irrelevant while comparing saddles since most accessories are interchangeable but I'll quickly mention that Latitude accessories are considerably more expensive and CRUZR seems to have a few more options for accessories.
CLEANING: I found the Method to be easier to clean because its just smaller and without metal its just a quick dunk in a bucket of scent free detergent and dries a bit quicker. Take the clips off and you could throw it right in the washer with the camo. You probably wouldn't catch me doing that with the three metal buckles on the XC.
FIDGET FACTOR: It does exist and is much more prevalent with the 2 panel system of the Method. Takes a couple tries to get it right but then you're comfy. I felt like you could just plop into the XC and you're golden and comfortable first try every time. This isn't a huge deal to me because I adjust from a sit to lean to stand often enough regardless of how comfortable the sit is. Very nice to sit and forget with the XC though.
COMFORT:
Sitting: XC wins this. Every time its more comfortable. Not by a landslide. The Method is still very comfortable but the XC takes it here. It just cups your body from your lower thigh to lower back perfect with no pressure points. Method had a few small pressure points that just takes that little bit of fidgeting to work around.
Leaning: Method actually takes this category for me. There was too much pressure on the back of my thighs with the XC to be better than the Method here.
Standing: Well if you're going to stand the whole time, why even wear a saddle?
BRIDGE ADJUSTMENT: Like I said, I got the adj. bridge for the XC but still preferred the Method here. XC bridge only had one knot on the one side for adjustment. Method had a knot on either end which is nice for having shorter tag ends and being able to adjust with either hand.
SEAT ADJUSTMENT: Greater amount of adjustability for the prusik knots on the bridge loops for the XC to adjust the seat position for comfort. The loops on the XC are huge which allows for more area to slide the knots therefore more adjustability. I do have to say that although the XC has the upper hand here, the 2 panel design of the Method does open up the saddle a lot and being able to position the panels where you prefer lessens the need to adjust the prusik knots. Never had an issue getting comfortable in either one.
PRESSURE POINTS: None at all on the XC. Few on the Method that were only noticeable with light warm weather gear early in the season hunting 70+ degree weather. By time you put the warmer gear on and layer up they disappear. Most of hunting up here is colder weather so this wasn't a huge concern but XC takes the W here. I'll just reiterate what pressure points do exist on the Method are smaller/less than most other saddles I've tried and do not make the saddle uncomfortable.
HIP PINCH: Little to no pinch for either saddle here. Any pinch I did get was early on and can be blamed on my lack of knowledge of not knowing adjusting the saddle would fix it. (As I said it's been my first season experiencing a saddle.)
MADE IN MICHIGAN: Latitude! Not at all factored into my choice but definitely cool that The Method is, as I am from Northern MI.
FINAL DECISION: I'm sure its obvious by this point but yes I chose the Latitude Method over the CRUZR XC. Both amazing saddles. I knew nothing about either of these saddles any more than the day I ordered them (I did about 4 straight hours of reading while sitting in the airport then just pulled the trigger on the two that sounded best) and as far as I'm concerned wasn't biased in any way. I began to notice more and more things I liked about the Method and overall have sat in it much more than the XC. Happy with my decision but would have been thrilled to keep either. In the end I just felt that the Method was more innovative and the things that seemed very well thought out fit my preferences very well.
Good Luck! Hope I covered everything but any further questions fire away!
