Skis 4 progression -- winner: Gotama!

Don't put him anywhere near the Heads -- in my experience, they're WAY too stiff for him to enjoy. If you could find a pair of K2 Work Stinx, they'd be great -- 90 in the waist and fairly soft, so pretty easy to ski. A lot of the skis on your list are stiff-ish, I think. But the Mantras might do nicely, so another vote for them.

It ought to snow a foot in Whistler over the weekend, so therefore on this trip there is an enforced demo policy.

Mighty friendly, that.

ski more powder days, ditch your partner if they can't figure it out.
Nobody learns with silk mittens. Bring exta goggles for the wipe outs, and tylenol for the ride home

I knew you guys would say technique is the issue, and it certianly is an extent it is.  But JibberD definitely confirmed that skis can make a difference (and heli outfits, who don't have time to a lot of teach technique, put intermediates on fatties for a reason).

SO I promise to buy him a book about how to ski.  In the mean time the Volkls -- any other votes?

I've always liked Volkls (Prestos, Snowwolfs) but haven't gotten the Mantra cuz I don't ski lift served much and they are slightly heavy for the bc, but the Mantra now has a lower weight cousin -- the Polar Bear (also the M Rock I think)--lacks some of the metal, would be a little softer. That ski and the Manaslu are the two I like to try for a bc fat ski.

Gotamas 105mm is my vote especially since you seem to be talking about in-bounds skiing. Until the recent spate of superfat skis, many considered this the " go to" powder ski and I have heard nothing but good stuff about them.

The fat skis will give him/her more confidence and allow him/her to concentrate on technique.

I'd say Mantra, and find an older pair in good shape to avoid reputed current quality control issues. I would think that going from his current ski to a 105 underfoot might make things a little unpleasant on anything but deep snow. You have to have better technique to get a ski that wide to turn comfortably.

Every strong skier I've ever spoken to who rides the mantra says it's one of the easiest and most versatile skis they've been on.