Hi All ( Tourist in MSN, fishboat, and DJB):
Thank you so much for your comment and clarifications.
Boy, it's good to know that almost everyone wears cycling shorts for Touring as well. I thought I was a newb for having brought my cycling shorts on the Pacific Coast tour and having to clean it every night at camp since I only had two pairs. I'm persnickety about having it clean and fresh for the next day. I did have few times where it was fairly cold and wet and my shorts didn't dry overnight even after rolling it in a towel so I had to pack it sort of damp. I didn't like the thought of moldy mildewie bottoms but I think it was probably more my imagination. ;0) I guess there is no ditching of cycling shorts like I had hoped even with any Brooks saddle for extended touring . C'est La Vie.
I went to YouTube to figure out how to measure my sit bone so I can add to the discussion but I stumbled on probably one of the most thorough and technical videos that I've seen on
'How To Find Your Ideal Saddle' by
Oz Cycle. It was quite extensive and it breaks down each factor that impacts saddle selection and the different features in a saddle (10 features!!!). I've read and seen a lot of videos regarding saddle discussion but Oz Cycling is probably the most in depth that I've encountered. It was quite interesting. Rather than posting the information here, I've added a new thread in the General Discussion section on BF so anyone looking to learn more can find it easily. Here is the link if you're interested:
Bike Forum thread on How to Find Ideal Bicycle Saddle by Oz Cycling
fishboat: I appreciate the info on your GF's experience with Brooks. Another data point for me to add to my collection. Per your comment regarding her sit bone of 108 mm and based on what I recently learned on the video from Oz Cycle, you are supposed to add to the sit bone measurement based on the style of riding that one does. So if she rides somewhere between racing position (aggressive) (+10mm) and/or 'sport or endurance position' (a little more upright) (+20mm), then she will want to add about 15 mm to each side of her sit bone width. In other words, add +30mm to the 108 mm sit bone width for a total of about 138mm as an ideal saddle size. I think it is why the Brooks C15 carve of 140mm works for her. Hope I'm explaining it correctly but the video Part 2 goes into much better detail.
Also, I found it quite interestingly that my 'measured' sit bone width was about 145 - 150 mm. I've measured it 5 times. It is a huge difference than your GF even though we are of relatively similar stature and weight. Conclusion: Sit bone width can be quite different among individuals even if you are about the same size (weight and height). Also, the video Part 1 points out flexibility, imperfections or injuries among individuals can impact saddle selection which I had not considered. So my initial instinct of narrowing saddle selection by size and weight of an individual is quite wrong on my part. I guess I just got extremely lucky to have made my first saddle purchase of Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow to have worked so well for me.