Well, if you're a fan of the nickel, you might be in luck depending on the look you want. I went with the Grainy Print (with soft gold) which comes in nickel. After scouring the forums and finding some remarks on soft spongy and grainy print, the latter sounded much more my style. Seeking something chic and durable, holding its shape (I put my bags to work!).
I would say Natural/NVT is the middle-of-the-road overall favorite on tPF. People both love/hate the Soft Spongy vs. Grainy Print depending on personal preference as they are quite different (light, slouchy, delicate vs. heavy, structured, durable) but both more elegant leathers than NVT.
As I sit here waiting to the delivery man to arrive with my new bag, I'm too excited to think about anything else! So here are some comments I'd found and complied regarding the leathers (some out of context regarding colors and not all print-leather comments specify if they mean Grainy Print) hope no people quoted mind:
Soft Spongy: A thinner more delicate leather, quickly becoming slouchy, very light weight.
"I also tried the Soft Spongy which was the lightest one they had and the finish of the leather is just gorgeous but it might lose shape easier than NVT, it's more delicate and apparently wouldn't age nicely." - Melu
"It is durable but [more] prone to staining and slouchiness than the NVT. You can stop the slouchiness by stuffing it when not in use and using bag liners/organizers to hold the shape." - steph22
"Mine seems to be holding up nicely. If you don't like smooshy bags, she will not be for you unless you use a bag liner/organizer." - Addy
"Warning - Ellie is going to be brutally honest here ......... SSL is basically a split leather (the hide thickness split) - basically its the equivalent of veneer rather than solid wood. The process of tanning desiccates leather, the thinner the hide the greater the risk of drying out which invariably leads to splitting, cracking, peeling. No amount of polish/moisture from above will resolve this because it is the hide surface moving off the thinner membrane. Im sorry to be blunt but to say I am not a fan of this leather is an understatement." - Mulberry Ellie
Pics of Soft Spongy leather found on tPF: black bayswater - CookyMonster; black mabel hobo - shopaholicmum; chestnut bayswater - Mooshooshoo
Grainy Print: Most structured & durable, also makes for a heavy bag, more sturdy than NVT.
"My bays in flame (grain print) is much more durable and doesn't need babying as much, ive found the grainy leather comes up thicker and more sturdy, so might not be as unstructured." - Donna.west44
Note: Donna also went on to debate selling her Oak NVT to get a grainy print b/c she liked how sturdy it was on her flame Bays.
"I saw a oak printed alexa! Oh my goodness she was so sturdy and the leather so thick, perfect for casual but the printed adds a little something so it's brill for smarter days or work too so she was bought immediately!" - Donna.west44
"I love printed in oak but I sold my black printed east west for the normal NVT one. I did feel printed felt too formal but this was black printed." - CPrincessUK
"I have an oak printed and really love it. It's a bit more unique and more structured than everyone else's nvt oaks. It might be a little heavier than nvt though?" - Saltyseabiscuit
"I have a chocolate printed east west bays and the leather seems to be indestructible. It has been out in 2 winters without even a coat of colonil, although I have treated it now. Not sure if oak printed is as rugged, I am much more careful with my oak nvt bays but prefer the softer leather on the bigger bag. I think the oaks printed bays is very structured and quite formal, depends on what you use it for." - stopmenow
"The printed bayswater is so beautiful I wasn't sure about her at first. But the more I carry her the more I love her. And I don't have to worry about the marks and scratches. So treat yourself to the printed oak or maybe even the black printed which looks so sophisticated." - Sydee
"I have owned both chocolate and black printed Bays in the past and found I made very little use out of them as they seemed too stiff and structured to go with my casual clothes, so I was only really wearing them at work." - Onebagtoomany
Pics of Grainy Print leather found on tPF: black mini del ray - thelittlestar; deer brown del ray - bagcrazy123
And deer brown bayswater - Rhirhi3; deer brown bayswater - dilsta