The Carmel is literally slop lmao. Aside from brand name it's hard to find a compelling reason to go for it. It's been around for years with very little government user adoption to show. It has very little user feedback and promotional presence, even through iwi channels. Makes you wonder if stock we're getting is being dumped for a quick buck.
The bare 16" Carmel is like 8.125lb with no accessories, no optic, no sling, and no magazine. With a Canadian NR barrel and fully configured with accessories and a lightweight optic, it'll be pushing 10lb before you even insert a magazine. That's retarded for a 5.56mm gun. It's non-trivial if you try to do any practical/dynamic disciplines or carry it inna woods.
For context, an AR with similar light profile barrel, like the BCM® RECCE-16 is 5.8lb LOL.
A Makasi with 16" M4 profile barrel is listed at 7.0lb on the manufacturer website. That actually makes it competitive as a MSR for serious use. Part availability and modularity is much better, ergonomics are much more familiar for most users. The Makasi problems (handguard bolt, gas block pin) mentioned in this ITT thread are not insurmountable. Whereas the Carmel's problems are inherent to the design.