It's a heavy gun. Even with the recent changes which shaved between 0.5 and 1 lbs off the weight from Gen 1 to Gen 2 (pencil barrel, new handguard profile, different Mlok and cutout placements) - it's still between 0.5 and 1 lbs heavier than most of the competition.
If you buy the Templar, in any of its incarnations, it's heavier than it probably should be. That said, the extra weight really dampens the recoil impulse. If you can get used to it, it's really fine.
The way I look at it, our forebears carried around rifles and LMGs that weighed 8, 9 and 10+ pounds. Yes, most contemporary rifles are lighter, for sure. I won't lie, compared to other lighter rifles, you start to feel the weight of this rifle after a couple dozen unsupported shots. If you want to count every ounce or gram on your rifle, this isn't the rifle for you.
The trade-off that Crusader Arms made for spending less money on design and development, QA, QC and reducing the overall cost was to have a heavier, slightly more prone to minor problems rifle.
You save $250-1500 ($2550 if you include the B&T APC 556) by buying the Templar Gen 2 depending on which alternative you choose, but the trade-off is weight. The BCL Siberian SRV 2 is a lot lighter and a bit cheaper, but has (had?) gas block issues. The R18 is lighter, but is more expensive by about $250 and some people say the gas system is a little picky with some types of ammo. The Raven is pretty solid so far, much lighter, but you also pay $500-750 more depending on what options you get - the first gen had BCG issues. The X95 is maybe a little lighter (though the gen 2 may be lighter now) and much more reliable, but you're spending $250-500 more. The Bren 2 is lighter and much more reliable, with better features, but NR 18.6" barrel 5.56 versions are going for $4400+. The Bren 2 5.56 restricted versions (8", 11") are MUCH lighter can be had for ~$2700-3300... but they're restricted. The WK180 has gone through enough iterations now that it's a moderately reliable firearm, even more so if you spend $300-500 on upgrades, which takes you right back into the $2k range that the Templar sits in. The B&T APC 556 is a beautiful. quality rifle that also weighs 1.5 lbs more than the Gen 2 and costs ~$4800, more than twice the price of the gen 2 Templar.
So... choose your poison. With the Crusader Templar Gen 2, you get a rifle that weighs about 0.75-1.0 lbs more than it should, but is decently reliable and has decent features, and you pay less than everything else except the BCL Siberian and the WK180.
If you want to go with the buy-once-cry-once philosophy and you don't care about Canadian manufacturers or think they don't deserve our support in their current incarnations, buy a X95 or Bren 2 NR - they are both undoubtedly better made, more reliable and generally better featured rifles with a proven track record.
I like my Crusader Arms Dual Caliber Combo (Gen 1 Templar upper) and I'll be keeping it for the foreseeable future.
[ I've previously compared all the weights of most "modern" service rifles and the various 5.56mm rifles available in Canada here:
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...pectre-LTD?p=19728248&viewfull=1#post19728248 ]
Memnoch - would you possibly be able to weigh your Gen 2 completely naked, no mag, no sight, etc. ?
I ask because CA has often posted weights which don't seem to correspond with actual measured results by end-users, and I'd like a "real world" weigh-in to be able to compare properly.
