ive had the same decision to make recently. going from an fspro i ended up with a canyon al+ Completely different bikes if im honest. I had a go on a few. Some of the expensive stuff was, well expensive and i just couldn’t justify it with my current fitness (or lack of).
The boardman is a great bike. try some other folks out first and you’ll realise just how good it actually is. However the most important thing is decide if you need something different. If you need longer travel then thats one reason. Personally i wouldnt go for an all mountain hardtail.
Oh and my wallowing 150mm AL+ climbs a lot better than the boardman but it does weigh more as well. Buy something you like the look of 🙂
Oh and i spent a lot of time looking at boutique stuff after a guy turned up on a ventana. Yea its great stuff but think that theres been a lot of development in the last 10 years so i would consider getting a more mainstream brand and more upto date kit. Just food for thought.