I thought that at first too when I started to read about the Ultimate seats. One ride on one though convinced me I would deal with the rain issue one way or another. The seat is that good. If you are still comfortable on the stock seat then stay with it. I made it a year and 12000 miles on the stocker and then made the mistake of trying a friends Ultimate. As reported in this thread, the seat may not be as susceptible to rain as we may think. Perhaps Ultimate is just trying to cover all bases as a responsible company should by including the rain cover. I will buy the cover and enjoy this seat as I enjoy the incredible bike it sits on.