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Dear Julianne,
I have tried the Ampersand panels and found them too hard for the way I tend to work. The amount of give you like, and the way you work has everything to do with whether a surface is right for you.
I have been working on Wallis paper mounted to board for years, and it's definitely the surface I like best, since it lends itself to underpainting without buckling or getting its tooth filled up.
Recently I have been using the same ground for oils, and love it. You might try the thread that Sharon Knettel's started on Substrates here
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Because I work so large I have been forced to investigate other substrates.
I recently finished a large pastel (53"X 69") on DiBond, which is primarily used for sign painting. I had been having MDF panels made but they were really heavy, 38 lbs. unframed. My client had to hang it on a supporting wall of her house. The DiBond, weighs about 21 lbs.
I had a sign company bend back the sides an inch so I could screw my plexiglas cover to the sides. I thought it looked a little tinny, so I had some panels made out of Sintra, an expanded PVC, another outdoor sign material. It is a little heavier, but it is black and quite elegant.
The rest of the procedure is the same using the Golden Acrylic Gesso for Pastel and airbrushing on the final flat tone.
You can just buy the Sintra; most suppliers will cut it to size. I like the quarter inch. You don't have to have a panel made unless it needs bracing like mine. The Sintra has to be coated with the same material on both sides so it will remain flat and completely covered with paint to keep out the UV rays. Otherwise PVC is completely stable and is used in underground plumbing and exterior housing cladding. The Sintra comes in qute a few colors as well.
The DiBond is thin aluminum skins with a polyethylene core. It can be cut to size.