Lendal: Song For The Dumped
October 28th, 2009 | 
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I wish I hadn’t bought you dinner
right before you
dumped me on your front porch
– Ben Folds
Have you heard all the stories? The mill says Johnson Outdoors is looking to unload LENDAL. Didn’t they just buy them? The mill also suggests the most likely buyer could be Nigel Dennis of SeaKayakingUK or possibly EPIC. Hmmm. Now the thing is, LENDAL used to be a premiere brand. Holding a LENDAL in your hand was something akin to holding Excalibur. Then Johnson took over. Our friendly reps went away and QC went into the dumper as well. Yeah, they got it under control eventually but by then everything the brand had stood for in the eyes of sea kayakers never really came back. Now I can’t help wonder if LENDAL is about to be saved or on its way to getting tossed around like a _________ , ___________. (Creatively fill in the blanks.)
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I figured JO would ruin Lendal when they bought them. JO is about mass-production and doesn’t have any interest in hand building high-performance carbon paddles. Unfortunately they didn’t realize that when they bought Lendal.
I just received a new Lendal carbon paddle. I’m looking forward to seeing how it holds up compared to my old Scot-made one.
Yeah, it’s a bummer – and my timing is terrible. I just got a lendal XPS shaft, but can’t find any whitewater blades. The well has dried up!
John F-
I’m one of those friendly reps from before the sale (at least I hope I am). I may have some WW blades in the sample pile. I’m not much of a WW kayaker– prefer the single blades for that– so if you’re interested, let me know!
I am very interested! jchf@prodigy.net
i find the SKUK rumoured sale funny, as there was a dirty rumour floating around the industry at OR (the biggest trade show in NA for outdoor sports) that Johnson had spoken with Nigel (or Nigel had spoken with them) about JO purchasing SKUK!
Johnson Outdoors is a fine example of how not to be in the outdoor industry. They really ****ing suc. The only thing they care about is the bottom line.