Crossover Recommendations?

Looking for a crossover kayak and just need to know if there any any downsides to the following. Plan to use it to camp out of.



I’m 110lbs and 6 foot tall so sizing is always an issue, I will sit in any before buying. Pretty much that will just determine if I buy a 9ft/10ft version.



I put some notes I have found on these so far.



Pyranha Fusion - seems excellent, very nimble and comfortable

Jackson Traverse - not many reviews but seems good

Jackson Rogue - Seems alright

Dagger Katana - Friend owns one, great but 10.4 is really large for me.



Dagger Approach - rear hatch leaks, lots of problems, probably stay away

Wave Sport Ethos - Don’t think I will find in my area

LL Remix XP - rear hatch leaks, people say like bathtub, probably stay away

Just some notes.

– Last Updated: May-11-16 1:10 AM EST –

They make a 9.7 katana.

On the rogue. They have stopped making it. So if you are looking for new ones its gonna be what shops have leftover. The traverse is what they are currently producing. The big shop by me has 1 rogue left. But yes make sure you sit in them. Jackson boat feel big to me even when its no bigger than the boat next to me. Not necessarily a bad thing but im also 195 lbs. When sizing thing about the biggest trip you want to take in it. How much gear are you gonna have to cram in that thing to make it. It adds up pretty fast in weight. You have a lot of room to play with at only 110.

1 more thing
Oh as far as the Traverse goes since you can’t find much on it. It’s very similar to the rogue with some minor changes. The hull shape takes things from the karma and the zen to much it a bit more manuverable than the rogue was. I believe it has a bit more volume. Other than that not much. Basically its a refined Rogue.

Clarifications and opinions
Rogue and Traverse differ in some significant areas. 1: Rogue has footpegs but Traverse has WW footplate.2: Traverse has more rocker. 3. Traverse has an optional hard hatch to go over the hatch cover. The result is to make the Traverse much more whitewater capable than the Rogue. In terms of which crossover to get, if you are going to do a lot of flatwater I think the Fusion is the best boat. If you have to carry your boat a lot, the Rogue is the easiest. I also think the Rogue is the easiest to pack for camping (no footplate, easy hatch). Whitewater? They are all competent/fun for Class III. Some more boats for the mix: Karma RG, Liquidlogic Stinger, P & H Hammer, Prijon Yukon/ Combi.

some additional thoughts

– Last Updated: May-11-16 12:09 PM EST –

xp- bath tub like but super stable- boating for dummies- meaning you tend to stay upright in rapids, seat design is comfy but promotes poor paddling posture, hatch covers were recently redesigned which is an improvement

rogue- old school feel- a point and shoot kayak that carries some speed but in ww the initial stability doesn't inspire confidence for a beginner, skeg cable was prone to failure

katana- a very popular choice right now, seems like a solid contender and "the hot boat" in my area

pyranha fusion- the ww outfitted model is well liked, it seems to fit people well, regardless of the maker the newest crossovers now tend to be similar in terms of outfitting- bulkheads and such

I'd buy used- get a decent price - live with the small differences between the makes and models and take the best deal

any of the above boats will work for camping, fill them with gear and you will find it hard to get them up to speed, once up to speed it's hard to get them to stop, you learn to come into eddys with less tilt, a bit flatter

Thanks!
Thanks everyone for the awesome information, really helped out.

Crossovers vary
How do you plan to use. There are different types of crossovers. All are an average between 2 or more types of boats (usually a mix of white water and touring and recreational), but they vary as to which parts they do better. Much depends on your intended use.

Use
I just need something comfortable that can haul some gear and navigate creeks/streams/small rivers.



I really doubt the subtle differences will be apparent enough for me to notice considering the only real difference between me in my Tsunami 145 and my friend in his Katana 10.4 is the ability to turn.



I was able to sit in a Fusion Medium and Traverse 9 today, both fit me well but the Traverse was way more comfortable. I also was able to completely rule out the Katana 10.4 and Traverse 10 since they are massive for me. If I can just sit in a Ethos 9, Rogue 9 and Katana 9.7 I should be able to make an decision which I like best. Then it will come down to if something used comes up before I save up enough to buy a new one.

Other Boats
"They are all competent/fun for Class III. Some more boats for the mix: Karma RG, Liquidlogic Stinger, P & H Hammer, Prijon Yukon/ Combi."



Thanks for the recommendations. I had already ruled out the Karma RG and Stinger due to lack of skeg on one and length on the other. I’ve never heard of P & H so I don’t think it is available around me and Prijon isn’t popular around me either.

rogue
From what I read the Traverse is supposed to be a lot better than the Rogue. If you like the traverse I wouldnt trip too much about getting in the rogue. This is not first hand experience tho.

Any flat water paddling?
If this is just mainly going to be white water you have many good choice already mentioned. If there is flat water involved the cross overs so far a really slow. I had a Fusion M, very slow in flat water. Now I have a Jackson Karma RG. The Karma RG is fast enough to go on a flat water paddle and keep up with a group of regular kayaks were the Fusion was not.



The Karma RG can still spin in place with skeg up were something like a P&H Hammer can not BUT the Hammer is faster . BUT iam no white water expert for sure. They do race kayaks like the Karma Unlimited (same as RG but RG has skeg and hatch) and Dagger Green boat in class 5 white water so I assume the Karma RG would be decent in white water class 3. I have only done class 1 with it. There is a sealed rear hatch with a fair amount of storage but the hatch cover is smaller than I like if I was going to camp out of it. Karma RG is a bit longer at 11’ 10" so if just mainly white water maybe other shorter cross overs would be better?

Weight capacities
RG has a lower weight capacity for river running than the Rogue (check the Jackson site) otherwise I would have picked it up in a heartbeat because I loved the self-rescue rigging and the front pillar setup. I got the Hammer instead but it is much heavier. My wife and I have the Fusion, the Rogue, and the Hammer. I think it takes real skill (duh) to take a crossover above Class III.

actually the liquid
logic xps are pretty darn stable and beginner friendly in ww. They’ve got plenty of drawbacks but they are beginner friendly. If I want to paddle a big yak that is stable then the xp can fit that bill and covers up a lot of user mistakes that smaller boats don’t.

Don’t want that!
Beginner friendly is the opposite of what I like. I like the super narrow kayaks. Technically if I could take a 18 foot kayak down rapids I would, haha, which is why I have been taking my 14.5 foot everywhere.

Crossovers
I started with a Dagger Approach as my first boat. I’ve owned it for several years and never had an issue with a leaking hatch. It’s a very forgiving boat (like the XP) but has a very uncomfortable seat and not a lot as far as outfitting goes.



I purchased a Rogue last year. Much faster, much more comfortable…a lot more tippy.





One thing I haven’t seen anybody mention is the Skeg Deployment method. The new Jackson Traverse, along with several others uses a String-deployed skeg. I’m not a fan. It takes longer for the skeg to deploy, and the string eventually wears out, necessitating a replacement. Probably not a huge deal if you know what you’re doing.



The one thing I like about the Rogue and the XP10 is more of a mechanical skeg deployment system. Seems quicker to me.



Just my $0.02.