I have had my Fusion for one month now. I debated hard on the LL XP 9 or the Fusion. I paddled the XP 10 and it seemed a little large for me. I went ahead and bought the Fusion without much paddle time in it. MAN I LOVE IT.
The cockpit is much more narrow than the XP 10. IMO, it is not as stable as the XP series, but is still very stable. Where the Fusion surpasses the XP is in speed and tracking. The XP felt like a big bath tub to me. The Fusion feels like a Formula 1 car. Fast and nimble and tracks great with the skeg up or down. The skeg is not as friendly to use as the XP but it doesn't take long to feel comfortable with the lift rope system. I agree with the comments about the hatch being hard to get on and take off, but that is also what helps it stay completely water proof (XP seems to leak a bit.)
I wrote this review for anyone who is thinking about getting one of the cross over yaks as there is not much info for them in a head to head comparison. Here is one review that I found helpful in my decision:
http://nocoutfitterstore.blogspot.com/2009/04/gear-review-hybrid-kayaks.html
In my opinion, if you are tired of just paddling small portions of the river and would like a true WW boat that will take you the distance without working you to death, the FUSION is your boat, hands down.
I have paddled both the small version and the standard, obviously you will choose depending on how big you are and the sort of water you will be paddling; I got the standard version first with the connect 30 outfitting as that was all that was available at the time. The quality of construction is superb with very nice cockpit outfitting, the new flip top is OK but if you intend doing any serious whitewater go for the connect 30.
The kayak is very agile and forgiving, stability is high, with the skeg down it is very easy to hold course on flat water and helps a bit when surfing standing waves. Personally I felt the kayak could be smaller as it felt quite high in volume, of course after I get the standard model they announce a small model, unlike the Dagger Approach 9 this is still a kayak most people will be able to fit into, I'm 6ft with size 11 feet and find it sill quite roomy, the volume is 250 instead of 300ish on the bigger model, the kayak is lighter to paddle, easier to edge, a bit more agile, still stable, its an inch narrower, the hatch is round instead of oval and is easier to get on and off.
Overall a fantastic bit of kit, the small version being my favorite by far.
I love this boat! This is the boat that I had hoped the Dagger Approach would be. This is the best crossover boat on the market if you want WW ability. It has lots of rocker unlike my Approach. It's reminiscent of a WW boat of days of yore, only much better. Better harder plastic, modern out-fitting and a hull that is really 3 configurations. In the Bow it is a very shallow V to divide the water when under way and to give some tracking stability. Mid ship is a narrow semi-flat hull for fast turning and surfing and the Stern is a somewhat flat displacement hull with rounded edges similar to a play/river runner for good carving and little grabbyness. Then you drop the skeg and it tracks very well.
Now I have only had this out on class 2 so far, but it is now my go to boat for those conditions. It has a feel reminiscent of my H3, but without grabby edges. On bunny waves it is a carving fiend and it punches through and over the medium waves I have put it through so far. There might be some comparison to Dagger's Green Boat, but I have never paddled that boat.
The only negative for me is the cockpit is slightly too small, but I am a large person (5'7" 275lbs) so a smaller person would do fine.