Thanks for all the commentary; most helpful.
I searched far & wide on the web to find a place in Massachusetts (or anywhere) that had the Karhu boot, or even the Garmont Excursion. The Karhu only showed up in limited remainder-bin sizes; it seems to be gone. I could repeat the story as I heard it, but it may be hearsay, so I'll leave it alone. At any rate, the closest thing I could find on the light end was the Alpina BC 1575, which doesn't look beefy enough.
I finally called The Mountaineer (in Keene Valley, New York) and discussed options versus likely uses. I ended up telling them to prepare me a package of Garmont Excursions, Karhu 10th Mountain skis and the Voile Mountaineer 3-pin bindings (very simple). I'll try 'em on when I get out there (not this weekend, but next), and if I like 'em, they'll immediately be run out to Santanoni.
I would have preferred to start out with a leather boot (put my Limmers on a pair of skis), but there doesn't seem to be anything beefy enough to transition to crampons or keep warm overnight. The plastics have liners and are (or, as FZ would say, are purported to be) comfortable to wear.
It's a lot of dough, but, if done right, this set-up could be the only arrow I need for quite a while. My skinny touring skis are becoming a bit rocked-out from the hard use I give them (like skating across pine roots in the streams below Livermore Pass, oops) and I'm hoping these new ones will be a little better targeted at what I'm gonna use 'em for.
Looking forward to checking them out; I'll let you know.
Thanks again for the beta. Getting to know which stores really have it together makes a HUGE difference when you want full retail. I'd forgotten about Ragged Mountain. And thanks to IndianChris for letting me (outright) hijack his thread. I hope it's beneficial info for others.
