It seems, and I am certainly not an expert, that a particular glider being experimental or standard has to do more with the first owner's "preference" when first imported. Or maybe how the local FSDO handles things (or how much they know/care about gliders).

I once owned a DG-101G which was standard. A sister ship on my gliderport a few serial numbers away was experimental. I looked up all the DG-100/101's on the FAA web site and there was zero rhyme or reason on whether they were standard or experimental.

Within the glider community, unlike GA it would seem, there appears to be no prejudice for or against standard versus experimental. Very, very, very few gliders were hand-build by individuals which to many in the non-glider aviation realm is the definition of "experimental".

I will leave it to others to explain their feelings on the pros/cons of standard versus experimental.

John OHM Ω