Lendal Storm Story: water in the shaft

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I've been on an interesting little journey with my new Lendal Storm paddle which I thought I would share.

First things first though. Storm owners had been lending their paddles to me at various times over the years, trying to proselytize me and convince me of its superiority. I wasn't sure about the feel of the paddle at first, and didn't like the lock-and-key shaft-joining mechanism (I knew I would lose the key) and probably my skills just needed to grow before I could appreciate it. I think Kyle and Icelandic guide Gudni were among these Storm Preachers. Then in the fall of 2021 I was out paddling with Andy Schoeck and managed to destroy my Werner Cyprus in a rocky misadventure, whereupon he lent me his Storm for the remainder of the paddle. By the time we got to the takeout I was hooked and did not want to give it back to him. It was just such a crisp and exact feeling and it engaged the water so decisively. The shaft indexing was aggressive and I always knew how the paddle was oriented when rolling. The Cyprus now felt mushy and uncertain. It was hard to go back to it.

So I ordered a Storm the next day. The waiting time was listed on the Lendal website as 4-6 weeks. Little did I know that Lendal was about to unexpectedly lose access to their factory space due to damage by their landlord's non-permitted wildcat renovation. They then ran into materials and labor shortages due to the pandemic. The wait turned out to last 7 months. Ugh.

Fast forward to June: I finally got the paddle — and the wait was totally worth it. I LOVE this paddle! I feel like I am in touch with the water on a whole different level, the "road feel" of it is like a BMW compared to an Olds. They have redesigned the shaft joining mechanism to use a lever that simply grips one tube inside a fitting on the other tube with friction. There is no button to get sticky and stop working. There is no key that you have to stash somewhere. I did get some new calluses in different places due to the indexing, but no big deal.

Except... except... the interior of one of the paddle shafts slowly filled up with water. It was not draining out or going away. It could not be shaken out or vacuumed out. It took me a while and some correspondence with Lendal to figure out what was happening.

I had kept aggressively shooting fresh water from a hose into each end of the broken-down paddle after each use, just like I had with the Werner (to keep the button from sticking). It was a habit that had bad results in this case. With a Lendal, the bulk of the shaft is not sealed off as tightly from the ferrule as on the Werner, and water can get into the shaft more easily, by leaking past a 2" foam plug that sits inside the shaft. Squirting the water in had also forced the plug way down in the shaft where it was not reachable with any normal tool.

More correspondence ensued. Lendal were happy to ship the paddle back to them at their expense, dry it out in an oven, and replace the foam plugs with more robust ones. I did not want to ship anything anywhere and quizzed them about temperatures and durations. Today being a nice hot day, I made a cylindrical solar reflector out of kitchen foil and laid the paddle in the center of it in direct sun. Several hours later I returned and the plug had popped out from the water vapor pressure inside the shaft—just like Lendal said it most likely would. The paddle is now drained dry, finally.

So. That's my Storm story. I am expecting to get a more robust plug from Lendal sometime soon. In the meantime, if you paddle with me and you do not have one of these paddles already... I may  just encourage you to try it.

J

[pitt16]

Joe, I wanted to purchase a Lendal Storm paddle badly. I hesitated back in 2020 because of the steep price. Lendal wanted $495 for the black bladed paddle. More for the checkered color paddles. In 2021 the price of the Storm increased to $555. “Holy-Hurt!!” That of course is a $60 increase. Last year whilst paddling I decided to not be ‘cheep’ and treat myself to the paddle I have wanted. I would bite the bullet cost wise. While on the Lendal website in January of the new year, much to my dismay this company raised the price of the Storm paddle to $610.  Are you kidding me. Another $55 dollar increase. A $115 increase over 1.5yrs. What is Lendal’s justification for this? I have e-mailed them and received no answer. I would guess that the company would inform me because of the Covid-19 pandemic prices for material have increased and it is difficult to get materials. Ok. But if that is the case why did Werner paddles made of the same carbon material as Lendal paddles only increase the price of their paddles—Ikelos/Cyrprus by only $10 over the same time period? Anyhow, I wish that I could purchase the Storm paddle. I’ve been trying to contact Lendal for some time and determine if perhaps I can purchase a blemished paddle for a sale price amount. Any thoughts? Have you had success contacting Lendal? 

 

[Joseph Berkovitz]

Of course, I can't explain anything to do with their pricing. They are indeed expensive paddles. I know from talking to Lendal that they really believe in their product and its superiority to Werner paddles, and in their mind the higher price is completely justified. They have also been through some difficult times with the pandemic, they lost access to their factory in late 2020 due to a building safety issue caused by their landlord, and I am sure their space and labor costs have gone up like many businesses. But I don't know the inside story of these recent increases.

I do think the paddles are worth it, though, in terms of the experience they offer a paddler. Besides the blade shape grabbing the water very crisply, they are definitely not made of the same material as Werner paddles, they are very noticeably stiffer and harder (perhaps this is the resin, not the carbon fiber). 

As far as communications go, I have emailed them at their regular contact (sales@lendalna.com) and gotten responses, but sometimes there's been a delay. Going through a dealer might be a better way to get attention. A dealer may not want to (or be allowed to) sell blemished product though. Many high-end manufacturing companies don't want blemished product out there in the world as it can damage their brand, since they only compete on quality not on price.

[Jeff Charette]

I believe the first price increase was when Lendal upgraded from the Paddlok ferrule to the Leverloc system. In my opinion the Leverlok is definitely worth the extra money. I’m not sure how they justify the second price increase. I agree that they are very expensive. Wether or not they are worth the price is a matter of personal opinion, but I agree with Joe, the Lendal Storm is a great paddle.

[Marshall]

Joe, great review.  Welcome to Lendal (North America - not of the old Scottish era brand)

If you would like a Storm or a Cadence in 2 days rather than 7+ months, there are some in stock.  No,  Demos and my personal paddles are not for sale.

 

[SeaKayakNE]

For those who want to give a Lendal a try I will have a whole demo fleet very soon!  This will include the storm, cadence and cadence x each in various sizes and straight or bent shaft!

[josko]

I had one; filled up with water; got rid of it and went back to Werner. 

[Dan Foster]

Since others may end up in this thread someday searching for solutions to water in the paddle shaft, I'll share my experience.

I had a Werner Ikelos that would slowly take on water. It took some time to determine where the leak was. What worked was to exploit the change in pressure when a cold paddle with some water inside was taken outside into the hot direct sun. Smear some dish soap on the first place you think it might be leaking (butt of paddle shaft, or the blade/shaft interface), and then watch for a drop of moisture or a bubble as it heats up in the sun. Next time out, flip the other side up if you don't find a leak or a bubble. In my case, I found a hairline crack right where the paddle joins the shaft. It took a few days of inside/outside transitions to drain all of the remaining moisture out. I gave it a light sand and added a drop of super glue, and it's been dry ever since.

I hope that saves someone the hassle of a warranty return someday.

[Karen Volkman]

As  a "not Dan Foster speed" paddler I really liked the Cadence when I borrowed one from Todd during Rendezvous. It made me look almost competent at the small tide race at the mouth of the Kennebec and I didn't swim.

I wish I had purchased one from Jonathan last December. 

[prudenceb]

1 minute ago, Karen Volkman said:

As  a "not Dan Foster speed" paddler I really liked the Cadence when I borrowed one from Todd during Rendezvous. It made me look almost competent at the small tide race at the mouth of the Kennebec and I didn't swim.

I wish I had purchased one from Jonathan last December. 

The paddle wasn't what made you look competent, Karen.   It was the hard work you've put into developing skills that was responsible.  Don't sell yourself short!

[SeaKayakNE]

41 minutes ago, prudenceb said:

The paddle wasn't what made you look competent, Karen.   It was the hard work you've put into developing skills that was responsible.  Don't sell yourself short!

I agree with this wholeheartedly!

45 minutes ago, Karen Volkman said:

As  a "not Dan Foster speed" paddler I really liked the Cadence when I borrowed one from Todd during Rendezvous. It made me look almost competent at the small tide race at the mouth of the Kennebec and I didn't swim.

I wish I had purchased one from Jonathan last December. 

There is still time to order!