Yeah, mine takes 3 minutes about every 4 months to rub on a little proofide, then wipe it off an hour later with a paper towel. Of course, it's possible it'd be fine without it too, I don't know. And I've only had the saddle for about 2 years. I'll let you know how well it holds up in 20 years or so; right now it looks exactly how it did after about a month.

However, in really rainy areas, or areas where there's a possibility of theft or vanalism, I'd probably be with you on that and go with a cheapo. The gel saddle my bike came with actually wasn't bad, I rode it for 3 years and it's still fine, the outer fabric is worn off. I just replaced it because I wanted to see what this Brooks stuff was all about.