So I recently bought myself an LHT and am building it up to tour on/with in Mexico this spring. That's all well and good. I'm pretty strongly set on leather handlebar tape, and had been planning to get some of the Brooks stuff in green to match my green B17. However, <a href="http://epicureancyclist.com/?p=879">this blog post</a> got me worried about the Brooks stuff. Does anyone else have experience here?

I've been using leather on my road bikes for a while now, but never in a situation where it would be subjected to the wear/weather I'm likely to see touring. Is his experience with the Brooks stuff common or an outlier? Is the VO stuff or VO elkhide sewn-on handlebar cover likely to hold up better on a 2-3 month tour? Everything else being equal I'd love to go with the Brooks for the green, but if it's going to be significantly worse wearing, I can put aesthetics to the side.