and I couldn't help but chuckle when I unboxed it as I thought of all the comments regarding how hard a Brooks Saddle is and dang if I'm absolutely convinced they are cause mine was hard as a rock...for about the first 30 minutes...and now I'll explain.
First let me say I have a modest amount of experience and knowledge about leather and I don't know if it's how Brooks pressure molds their leather or maybe the dying process but the leather was like a camel 10 days out from the last oasis and drier than dry which?...is why it was so dang hard...almost like petrified leather! LOL!
As I unlaced the unit (so I could gain full access to it's oh so dry underside) and began to squeeze out the stingy amount of Proofide?...I gasped as before I could spread it over all the underside surface?...the dry leather drank it up like pouring water on sand!
Luckily?...I know a little something about leather especially the high dollar stuff like my Ledrie Saddle Bags that came with a product much like Proofide called "Ledrie Leather Grease" which is used for waterproofing their expensive leather saddlebags and this Brooks saddle drank up about 1/4 can of it along with the Proofide.
The only way water can damage leather is if the leather has been left in a state that allows it to ABSORB the water...which is why I continued to slather on the conditioner (massaging it in) until it reached what seemed to be a "Saturation Point" and by the time I did my fancy two-tone lacing job?...even the final thin film of conditioner that resisted absorption had all but saturated into the saddles leather underside...but it will need repeated application as the conditioner migrates deeper into the leather.
It was because of ^^THE ABOVE"^^ that I shook my head thinking (re: knowing) that Brooks probably gets a bad rap with all these "Rock Hard Saddle" & "Painfully Long Break-in" comments because of the sparse amount of Proofide Conditioner they initailly supply and then add in a light body weight rider?...and yep....there's a killer recipe for poor reviews.
Profile Wise?: There's a couple pix of my size155 Specialized "Toupe" saddle sitting on top of my conditioned and tightly laced B17 and is eclipsing the Brooks in a nearly "Line-On-Line" fashion (perimeter wise)
A short ride proved that even brand new out of the box and tightly laced?...my 200lb butt says the B17 Imperial offered up a cushier ride over surface irregularities as compared to the Toupe saddle it replaced (despite zero break-in)
But?...the big take-away I got from the short first ride?...came when it was time to "DISMOUNT"....where the Full Bodied, Smooth Leather B17 didn't even think about snagging my clothing as I able to executed very smooth dismount and this alone was worth the price of admission because my Toupe Saddle?...not only had thin outer edges but it has these winged cusps that roll downward in a "HOOK YOUR SHORTS" fashion at the saddles widest point which always caused me anxiety and some very ungraceful dismounts...thanks to the B17's full body contour?...those days are over.
There's some poix of those Hooked Cusps I speak of on the toupe but bottom line?...I love the B17 and it ain't even broke-in at all yet...my only regret?...I should of bought one long ago!
