Mike, some thoughts are starting to gel here. A quick synopsis, if I may: max 90mm; early rise tip and softer longitudinal flex to absorb jarring on rough snow to save the knees; high torsional stiffness to give good edge grip on hard snow, increasing versatility; perhaps a binding lifter, rail binding or plate to give you more stand height, quicker edge-to-edge, less clumsy feeling; pref. adjustable binding to play w. fore-aft to find the sweet spot; longest length possible (180+) to maximize float in soft snow; sub-20m turn radius for agility; and light weight. Am I on the right track here?
A couple of models come to mind:
- Nordica Steadfast...90mm, very light, torsionally stiff, apparently excellent in both soft snow and crud, and rips on groomers, early rise tip, reviews are all A+ on this ski
- Atomic Nomad Crimson...88mm, early rise tip...I have skied the 82mm Blackeye Ti, and if the Crimson is anything like it, this may suit nicely; the Blackeye was very light underfoot, but exceptional edge hold on hard snow, a great carver. but a bit unrelenting grip in crud though, which I didn't care for, as you had to be on it at all times (could have been the tune, though); not a crudbuster.
- Dynastar Outland 87....yeah, I keep coming back to this one, but it was fun, light underfoot, damp and calm and quiet at speed, great grip on hard snow, easy to handle in crud and broken snow, very agile, just lacking some power and energy for a guy my size, but a great all-rounder.
- Stockli Stormrider XL...88mm, similar to the Nomad in feel, but more damp, hard to judge this one as the binding setup was way off for me (see my review)
Re. Head and Kastle: as I recall, the Peak 84 didn't feel especially light underfoot. Pretty solid ski; not sure how well it would do in soft snow. From what you've mentioned about the feedback on the PMTS forum about the Rev 85 compared to this, the two are apparently quite similar. Besides, it's so close in width to your Hart, I really wonder whether there will be much improvement in all-mtn. versatility that you are looking for. HighAngles makes a very valid point - adaptable and versatile is the name of the game for a mid-fat all mtn. ski. Not trying to talk you out of a Rev 85, just playing devil's advocate....
I know there are a few Kastle fans here, but to offer a counterpoint, my wife skied a couple of models last year - BMX98 and MX78, and disliked them both. She found them ponderous, heavy, tiring, lacking agility, overly damp, and just kind of dead feeling underfoot. Not pleasant to ski, just a burden, and therefore no fun, in other words. She much prefers the feeling of her Head Supershape Speed's, iM78's, and Dynastars -- still damp and stable, but much more life in them than the Kastles. No experience on the FX or LX series, so they may be very different -- I know the FX are softer and much lighter than the MX/BMX series in general, so probably more versatile for all-mtn. conditions. Perhaps the FX94 with a rail binding would be just the ticket?