Which boats have you paddled or looked at 'in person'
Unfortunately few of these kayaks were available to try locally, but the Avocet LV was taken out. It was very manueverable but ultimately too small for a multiday trip plus there were poor joins between the bulkheads so that was a no-go. Others were tried that are not on this list (Boreal Eclipse, Karla, Prana LV, Sisu LV) but so far didn't feel like the right fit to justify the money - at least not yet.
Fortunately, we both have boats: a Boreal Design Ellesmere and a Seaward Cosma but it's the latter that we're looking to replace for a few reasons. We've had ample paddle opps around the Gulf Islands, Cowichan, Brentwood Bay, etc. We're certainly not suffering from lack of getting out, but just wanting to fine tune the boat choice.