My Brooks B17 was comfortable from the day one, and I rode with B17's for several years and about 20,000 km without discomfort. But after talking to other cyclists and doing some research on the subject of damage to the genital nerves, I switched to SMP Selle saddles, the TRK model currently but all the SMP Selle saddles have the same design. That Selle Italia Selle Italia Max Flite Gel Flow Saddle also has a pretty good cutout.
It takes about an hour for the SMP Selle TRK to become uncomfortable, whereas the B17 was never uncomfortable. But the discomfort (mostly under the sit bones due to restriction of blood flow there), is not unbearable by any means. For long days in the saddle, there are all sorts of aches and pains in my body. A little added soreness under the sit bones doesn't make that much difference. This soreness disappears immediately upon getting off the saddle so that the blood can flow freely again.
The two other cyclists I talked to had ridden B17 saddles for years without discomfort for years and then all of a sudden they became impotent, and the impotence took several years to heal in one case and in the other case still hasn't healed after many years. That cyclist is now determined to ride recumbent based on this experience, though I suggested the SMP Selle. Apparently, damage to the genital nerves is like the fraying of a rope made of many strands. No evidence of a problem until the last strand breaks, and then the problem becomes very evident in the form of impotence.
When sitting on the SMP Selle saddle and reaching under, it is apparent that a lot of tissue hangs through the opening, and thus that tissue would have been compressed when on the B17. Whether or not this compression caused discomfort, it might have been causing damage.
Neither of these other cyclists had prostate soreness, just impotence.
