Interesting that this thread came up. I've started spec'ing parts for a touring bike for my wife today and I got stuck with the saddle choice. She has little experience with long rides so she has no preference and I'm new to touring as well, my new touring bike is still on the stand being built up. Hers is coming next. We're hoping to start riding in late April.

I did centuries on different saddles with different degree of success (and pain) but I never owned a leather saddle.

I picked the Brooks narrow B17 for myself but I'm not sure what to do for her. We will do short tours in the beginning as she's not a very strong rider (yet, I hope), we're talking 2-4 day trips, 40 miles a day at most and she's like 130 lbs so I'm kind of thinking she should be OK with the B17, or any other decent saddle for that matter, but I'm a 200lbs guy with a different perspective and she doesn't know better so it's a tricky choice that I have to make for her. I want to make this right for her to avoid any injury early on and my knowledge of woman's anatomy doesn't easily transfer to this application

So, from a woman's point of view, is the middle cutout important? Do women prefer wider or narrower saddles? Should I really look for WSD saddle?

Adam