Thank you Wesley for the detailed response.
One good thing about the Covid lockdown (if there is such a thing) is I've been paddling more that ever (almost 1000 miles, since January). The bad thing is I have too much time on my hands and I'm obsessing over moving on to a more advanced ski. There are a lot of great intermediate options out there like the Think Six, Epic v10, and Vega flex. The problem for me is there are very few options when it comes to checking out or paddling surfskis. There are no "stocking" dealers near me with any brand of skis. We have a few Epic "experts" who may have a ski or two to demo (which is why my sole experience is with the Epic brand). I'm hoping once things return to normal and the racing circuit picks up I'll be able to talk to folks about their skis and maybe try some other brands.