Buying a hardtail, where to start?

[Taff]

I'm thinking of getting rid of my road bike and replacing it with a hardtail, it'll mainly be for taking away on the weekends, doing mostly road, gravel, byway and if I find some, a bit of single-track.

I had a great couple of hours out yesterday in Somerset and remembered why I enjoyed road riding when we lived there, but there was a few places where I spied off road tracks that I just couldn't explore.

I've never bought a hardtail before and I'm a bit bewildered by the choice and filtering out the 'junk' with drivetrains made of cheese and suspension forks that are just garbage.
Budget will be whatever I can get for the roadie (carbon Argon 18, krypton with 105 groupset in great condition) or a straight swap.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

It's like buying any bicycle, decide what you want, how much you want to pay and find what has the best spec for that price.

Definitely get the one with the best forks you can afford, it makes a big difference

[Taff]

Yeah, that's where I'm failing straight away, 'decide what I want'

[Mr Moofo]

What's its main use going to be?

[Taff]

What's its main use going to be?

Road, gravel, byway and the occasional single-track, mainly places that I'm not familiar with

[Mr Moofo]

Okay - so you don't need mega travel at the front. Steel is more comfortable - as it's non suspended. How much?