Could you expand on what you features CO has that makes such a difference ?
I'll try, I did explain what I do on the recent thread that discussed LR History vs C1 Variant/Layers approach, but I will try and give more detail.
First: a new variant, either an unedited version of the original file or a clone of the variant you are currently editing, can be created by pressing a single function key. I know its not much but its easier than pressing two keys in LR.
Second: the viewer window in C1 allows viewing and editing, this is crucial.
From the browser you can cmd+click on any variants and have them all viewed side by side in the viewer. Once in the viewer you can remove one by cmd+clicking on it again.
All the variants in the viewer can be enlarged or scrolled in sync, by holding down the shift key to keep them in sync.
I find that controlling the variants with a function key and key plus mouse click, allows me to very quickly create variants and control their number I without thinking about the mechanics of creating them
For example, if I'm not sure of an edit. I can hit F3, click on the new cloned variant to open it in the viewer, and view both variants at the same time in the viewer.
I can then edit the cloned variant while directly comparing it with the original variant. Clicking on a variant opens up the relevant tool panels so I can see how the settings differs between variants. And I can synchronise any inspection of the two variants.
F3 and a mouse click will add a third cloned variant to the viewer, where I can add further editing for a third comparison.
After working on, usually up to four variants, I normally delete the three "helper" variants, and carry on editing with the fourth.
If I feel I have reached an important "step" in the editing. I will sometimes clone this fourth variant and leave the "fourth" clone as a snapshot, before continuing editing with this newest clone.
The important thing for me is the speed that I can do this, I like the sided by side comparison and that I can edit any of the clones while comparing them, and easily see the settings of each option. And I like that its easy to create a snapshot by simply leaving a variant behind.
I hope that makes sense, its actually easier to do than explain, and now that I've got used to it, I find it an incredibly useful and easy to use workflow tool.
Cheers,
Graham