I put a Brooks on mine as they were very cheap via Thorn when purchasing the bike. I thought I would give it a go as I knew I could easily get the money back by selling the saddle on if it did not work out. I understand your reasoning on not wanting to chance it and I found it did take some getting used to. I did not find it exactly comfortable out of the box, but 50 mile trips were usually bearable with no saddle sores. The only time I got a saddle sore was when I completed a 75 mile ride. I had no real problems on the JOGLE as I had already completed a thousand miles on the saddle before leaving. Although the Brooks saddles feel hard to sit on, they don't seem to feel any worse after 50 miles than they did at the beginning and because they have the "slippery feel" to them there is less chance of friction.
As far as keeping the saddle nourished and protected, this is no problem whatsoever. Just a coating of proofide on top and underneath when new, then it only needs doing once or twice a year after that. I always keep a plastic bag or a shower cap with me to protect against the rain and this is not needed when riding the bike, just when stood outside.