Its def personal pref. Some peoples' buns prefer leather (designed by god himself) to synthetics (made by man). Natural materials are hard to phase out. To find a brooks at a yard sale is f***ing treasure. There is nothing better when you find great stuff like a brooks at a sale. There are tons of leather saddles of lesser quality like middlemore sp? thats prob what you're referring to. But i digress, personal preference. No one's riding all day in the alps so its not imperative that we all ride those saddles. When treated properly a well conditioned brooks is a wonderful and unique feeling, but its also no for everybody.