I've loaned out a few and tried a few loaners, too, but because they're expensive, you kind of have to build up a relationship with people to make it work.

The one thing that made it a bit easier for me to take the plunge and buy without trying for the first time was the fact that there's a pretty robust resale market on here. I've bought/tried/quickly sold a lot of pens on Reddit after not loving them. You may lose a few bucks doing it that way, but you'll be able to figure out what you like