I had an Orange Crush a couple of years ago, but not great for all day riding (probably due to frame sizes jumping from 17 to 19 and I needed an inbetween). It was also really harsh on my backside being alu.
All the reviews I have seen indicate the Cotic Bfe is a good bet for what you want. Frames releatively cheap if you run a straight steerer and get the 2011 model (£300 new). Then just pick up cheap parts on here.
Or like float says just try and get a second hand built up hardtail.
Put a ‘wanted’ add here and search the usual other bike selling sites.
A few here:- http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?q=cotic&category=0&pmin=&pmax=®ion=5