Originally Posted by
themp
The leather saddle folks also have to worry about rain. Riding no problem, but when they dismount for whatever reason for a period of time they have to put a cover on the saddle(if raining or might rain). For touring I would find that a worry I do not need to deal with.
Riding through an all day shower it's possible to saturate a leather saddle, so it can be a problem even riding. Put on a decent saddle cover (I've use the Aardvark successfully) and it's good to ride on, and protects the saddle when I'm off the bike. It takes a bit of thought and preparation, but the brain power saved by not obsessing over "Ouch! This darn saddle!" while riding a leather saddle more than compensates for it IME. YMMV, of course.