It's not about ambition or big xc flights, though that bug will grab you sooner than you think. It's just about staying up. Every site I have flown west of the rockies involves a 20:1 plus glide from the first possible thermal location back to the airport. Finding a thermal within a safe glide to the airport in a 1-26 is a serious limitation. And handout options between the first thermal and the airport are usually not great.

Why is the canopy a big deal? Don't get fixated on small issues is a good piece of advice for glider buying.

Assembly of glass gliders, especially with a half-decent trailer, is much easier than any metal glider. Ask how many glass owners use a sledgehammer as part of their assembly kit! There is no reason on earth to want to tie out a 15 meter glider, which it can go in a trailer. And metal doesn't like being tied out either. (Nor do canopies).

Don't get me wrong, I love the old 1-26 and have great memories of flights in them. But for practical flying in the west, any first generation glass or gliders like the russia mentioned here are just way more practical.

John Cochrane