Just the paint job! Enjoy!

Like anonymous said, these are light and quick. If you are the type to make 30 turns down a steep pitch instead of 3 turns, you will love these skis. There is a skin notch on the tail and it is relatively flat, so good skin hold. On durability, Atomic is the only AT/Tele company offering a 2 year warranty, plus they make 'em in their own Austrian factory - 'nuf said!
Enjoy!

I'm an East Coast skier also. These are very different skis. I ski the World Piste, Havoc and Verdict and just bought the RT86 after a demo to replace the World Piste in my quiver. RT is light, easy to initiate, very quick turning and easy to ride. The havoc is a bit stiffer, longer turn radius and a ski you need to be on top of. If you're aggressive you'll love the Havoc but it takes some energy to ride. I thought the RT 86 was a perfect East Coast on piste ski that you easily can take off piste. I think the new Havocs are wood core and the RT's are foam. Havocs will stand up better if thats true. When I go West I ride the Verdicts to get that extra float in the pow. Skins should work OK the same on both

I can't help you with all of those questions, but I can say that you sound almost exactly like me in terms of skiing habits - 80/20 resort/backcountry, a couple trips out West each year, etc. My current setup is Havoc 175s, Garmont Ener-Gs and BD 02 bindings. I'm very, very happy with the Havocs and Garmonts, not so much with the 02s. I'll probably replace them with Hammerheads when I can afford it.

The Havocs take BD clipfix skins well, but I'm not a big fan of the clipfix system - too many gobs because you can't tighten 'em down.

Overall, the Havocs have really been a great ski at VT resorts, and they handled themselves well in Utah and Jackson as well. Hope this helps.

The RT 86 is a great ski for UT, esp. if you want it for both in & out of bounds. More float than the CB, super quick with a bunch of sidecut. At your size, if you lean toward aggressive skiing, you could consider the 183 as well. Either length would be good.
Enjoy!

If this is the ski you want to go with, considering your height and weight, and that you seem like a strong/aggressive skier (since you mention skiing the backcountry), I would say go with the 176cm size. The size will be versatile for you in all areas.