Hi Rider,
Just posted in another thread following Ubulele, and I’m doing it again. First: be warned that if you like the instrument, UAS is bound to follow (Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome). I counted the other day because my wife was giving me some hassle over the number of instruments in our instrument room, and I was shocked to see that I currently own 24 ukuleles...26 if you count the two cheapos that I have for my six and nine year old. I have also sold or given away four more...so 30 instruments over the past two years, not counting the more than 150 ukuleles that I have purchased for my school (in waves).
I started off with sopranos because I wanted to see what ukulele was about for schools. My first purchase for myself was a Makala MK-CE [Concert], which I still own (and is currently strung with DR Multi-Color Strings so I can make ukulele tutorial videos). My purchases since then have been all over the map with everything from sopranissimo (Ohana’s new TT pineapple) to a cheap Lanikai Baritone that I found on eBay for $40 shipped (Gambler’s special).
All that said, the size that I find myself coming back to the most is Concert. I do think it is worth having a smaller scale (e.g. soprano or smaller) around, as you can travel with it easier, and practicing on the smaller frets builds dexterity that absolutely transfers to larger scales, too.
I should add that I wear men’s size L gloves, and have a ring size of 10.5 to 11 depending on the ring.