Home Improvement → Best way to seal a picnic bench?

I got a Kreg pocket jig for xmas and plan on building something like this picnic table for my kids:

»ana-white.com/2012/10/bi ··· ic-table

I was originally going to use cedar and not seal it at all but I don't want it to get all rough and splintery over time. Is there any good "one step" solutions out there? I really don't want to stain and seal it but I don't want to leave it bare.

Any thoughts? I know they make stuff but looking for real world use feedback please.

How about making it out of teak and oil it every year.

I put together a "cedar" wood play set for the kids years back.
They liked it at first but 1 year in it started giving them splinters like crazy.

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with staining and sealing but I have lots of experience with cedar splinters in little hands and knees.

water based spar varnish is easy to use and you can put it on thick (with several coats). clean up is fast and easy - just need to rough up each coat before you lay on another.
Only better thing would be non water based spar varnish.
I have been using this on my grandfathers outdoor table i inherited years ago - it looks very nice -believe we have stripped it and redone it 2 times over 20+ years. it sits outside each year until weather turns (this week this winter).

Do you want to keep it close to it's natural color? Or do you want to protect it from graying? A sealer like Thompsons won't prevent graying over time since UV can still penetrate it, and needs to be reapplied yearly if not more. Oils are a little more natural, but aren't all that better. A stain with build in sealer, either semi-transparent with a UV blocker or a pigmented stain are your best options to keep it from graying, but then you don't get to keep the natural color. Then there is obviously paint.

I'd personally go for a stain with sealer built in.