What can you say about a boat that really does it all?
When WaveSport released the Diesel, They called it the “SUV of kayaks.” They were not kidding either! The Diesel creeked well; it was incredible in pushy higher volume rivers; it even surfed great for a boat of that size. What the Diesel lacked was playability (that is of course unless you were brave or unlucky enough to get into a big enough hole)! That is when Team Wave Sport agreed that a river running playboat was in order. The EZG series came out of that brainstorming. And as successful as the EZG series has been, the team is always looking to do better. Bring on the new Wave Sport Fuses!
What started out as a 35 gallon kids boat has now grown into a whole family of kayaks! The various sizes have really filled a big niche (35, 48, 56, 64) in the EZG line. Having spent a whole lot of time in the EZG and the Project, I was really looking forward to testing out the Fuse. Looking for any excuse to go paddle, I spent some good time in the Fuse 56 this past week.
First Impression: A really comfortable river runner that also played like a modern play boat. I think it might just be what the downriver, play-on-the-fly, sitting in the boat all day paddler such as myself ordered. The dimensions are great. I like the length, the hull speed and the predictability. I especially liked the width–wide enough to be stable, but narrow enough to make rolling the boat a breeze.
Placement of volume is always something I really look at. Thumbs up! The placement of the volume is really great. There is a bit more volume in the stern so it moves a bit smoother through squirrely water. And a big one: plenty of foot room!
I think that the Fuse is carrying on the EZG tradition: a do-it-all boat for the do it all paddler. For the river runner, it will be hard not to appreciate the all day comfort. I feel that where the boat will really stand out for paddlers is moving downriver. Cheoah was where I tested that theory out. I felt totally in control during the bigger stuff, enough to try the harder lines on the big un and I had a blast on the waves above. The boat really shined all day, and I was comfortable enough not to have to get out and stretch or give my feet a break all day.
For the playboater in me, I went out of my way to play in several of the local spots in the Fuse to give it a run. Performance=awesome! Taking away about three inches from the length of the EZG, the length is filled out enough for the river running, but short enough for the quick response time. With a bit more volume in the back, the stern is not quite a slicey in stern squirts, but is more stable in a vertical position. And the volume in the front means looping! That was it for me. The Fuse gets the award for jack-of-all-trades and the master of them all as well. I’m sold! The only question left in my mind is what color do I want?