The Sugoi is a nice short, but I hardly consider it a thick, well-padded chamois. It's one of those thin, stretchy-type chamois that the manufacturers figure is what women riders want. It's a little better than SheBeest because there seems to be a stiff layer sandwiched in under the soft top. But it seems too thin overall to provide good protection. I think the assumption is that women ride saddles with gel seats or extra-cushy padding, so they won't want padding in the shorts. And that's probably true for a lot of riders who don't want what they percieve to be a diaper-feel. I'm willing to sacrifice a chamois that disappears & is comfortable when I'm walking around for a chamois that protects me when I'm riding.

I rode SheBeest & Castelli when I used the Terry Tri Butterfly, and later on the Terry Butterfly. Once I started doing serious distance & went to firmer seating (Terry Zero, Selle Italia Flite, SLR, numerous Selle San Marco's, you name it, I've tried it), the thinly padded shorts became unacceptable. My recommendations would be Assos, the Louis Garneau shorts that come with the ErgoZone, and Etxe Ondo, which is soft up front & extra-padded under the sit bones. Pearl Izumi makes a thick chamois, but it is stiff & has rough edges. The Descente Strata might work for you, too.

My other best suggestion has to do with changing position. In addition to what you already plan to do, it helps to stand up every so often to pedal. A seated position change doesn't relieve pressure as much as standing to let the muscles straighten & lengthen a bit before you sit back down. I tend to do hill-rides, and I'm a very active rider anyway so I end up shifting my position a lot. That's one thing I really like about my long, flat saddle, I can move around on the seat a lot. Does the Selle SMP just have one sweet spot you can sit on? Or does it give you some room to move around?

I just checked on the Selle SMP site & have to correct my earlier posting. It turns out the 3 models are not all the same width, they range from 129 (Evolution) to 131 (Stratos) to 136 (Glider). That would probably eliminate the Glider for me as too wide. My current saddle is 132 & I actually wish it were a little narrower.