I bought an old Brooks B15 Professional for £10 .... this one is as hard as a plank and I have fitted it to my daily commuting bike . My LBS has my bike as he is fitting new brifters (one stopped working (internal gears messed up) so I'm having a new set fitted).

He tapped the saddle with his knuckles and said that it most probably had water damage in the past and advised me to add lots of proof hide (top and bottom) a few times, and it should sort it after a while (with perhaps a bit of tensioning)

Hope that it works out, as it looks good on my roadbike and it was cheap