Bowhunt America

Article Topics

Quality Archery Designs

Producing Only the Best

By Bill & Sherry Krenz

Different philosophies exist on how to grow a company. Most center on increasing sales, although how you increase those sales is key. The easiest route, at least for the short term, is to drop prices and to some degree product quality, hoping to make things up in volume. That’s one commonly taken route. But it’s not the only way.

“Archery is our passion,” says Quality Archery Designs’ founder and President Dan Summers. “Frankly, we’re not interested in selling a high volume of mediocre products. Our goal is to produce only the best products. We even built that ideal into the name of our company.

“However,” Dan quickly adds. “archery doesn’t rule. It’s important to keep priorities straight. God first, family second, others and then sports and hobbies. I love to climb into a treestand after work and unwind as I enjoy God’s beautiful creation.”

Around 1985 Dan Summers co-founded a machine shop in Virginia with his brother. As that shop expanded and grew, so did the fascination both brothers felt for archery.

“If we weren’t working or with our families, we were shooting or bowhunting,” Dan recalls. “And it was quite natural, given our background in designing and manufacturing quality parts and products, that we would begin thinking about things we could make ourselves that would enable us to shoot and hunt better.

“Sometime in the early 1990s, I began tinkering with ideas for a better string loop. To be honest, I was sick and tired of my release gradually but inevitably wearing out the center serving on my bowstring. There had to be a better way. Eventually, I developed a prototype of a secure, metal string loop, and I put that on my bow.

“One day I took that bow down to my local archery pro shop, and the shop owner took one look at my metal string loop and asked where I’d gotten it. I told him that I’d made it myself. He looked it over carefully and then concluded that it was something that might sell rather well in his shop.

“That made me feel good, but I was already working so many overtime hours in our own shop that I just didn’t have the time to fool with it. I made a few more metal string loops for myself and for friends, and that was it.”

Within a year, though, Dan branched out on his own, opening his own laser-engraving job shop. To augment that business, Dan’s metal string-loop idea came back to him.

“I remembered what the archery dealer had told me, and I now had a couple of years of practical experience with my special string loops in the field. I knew exactly how to make them right, and I knew all about the advantages they offered.

“The first model we began producing for resale was the Ultra-Nok, followed quickly by the Ultra-Nok II. It was easy and foolproof to install and it didn’t ever slip. It was also easy to adjust up or down for tuning purposes. And there were more advantages. The QAD Ultra-Nok II kept an archer’s peep properly aligned as the bow was drawn. That was huge, but maybe best of all were the accuracy advantages that the Ultra-Nok II delivered. The Ultra-Nok II allowed the archer to attach his release directly behind the arrow, instead of below it. That straight pull and release position significantly enhanced shooting consistency. At the same time, the metal Ultra-Nok II was more reliable and durable than tied-on string loops made with cordage of some sort. There were no knots to come suddenly undone or questionable materials to stretch. The Quality Archery Designs Ultra-Nok II quickly became a big hit with archers and bowhunters both near and far.”

As QAD’s Ultra-Nok business grew, additional product-line extensions were inevitable.

“Our next venture was in the area of arrow nocks,” Dan explains. “That was a natural step because it related so closely to our string loops. The original metal Ultra-Nok II string loop worked with most available arrow nocks and with most releases. Later we developed an Ultra-Nok II XL version that worked with all arrows nocks and with all releases. But what might work even better, we theorized, was a Micro Ultra-Nok II string loop when used with a very special short arrow nock. Thus was born the QAD Tune-A-Nock, the shortest arrow nock ever made.

“The QAD Tune-A-Nock features unusually short ears and a unique friction fit onto the bowstring. Those things deliver distinct advantages to archers. To begin with, the unusually short nature of the revolutionary QAD Tune-A-Nock means that it’s tougher, lighter and faster. Because it’s ultra-short, it flexes less at the shot. There’s also less to hit, ding or damage. Beyond that, though, the Tune-A-Nock is clearly a more accurate nock. The short ears come off the bowstring cleaner. With less weight at the back of the shaft, the arrow also recovers quicker. But most of all, the QAD Tune-A-Nock is more accurate because its concentricity with the centerline of the arrow shaft is tighter. That concentricity is tighter because the nock itself is shorter and because it’s made better. The Tune-A-Nock was specifically designed so that the force of the bowstring moving forward was concentrated better to the exact centerline of the arrow, and that results in a more consistent shot. At the same time, the shorter Tune-A-Nock is ideal with QAD’s smaller, lighter Micro Ultra-Nok II string loop. It’s a marriage made in archery heaven—a lighter, trimmer metal string loop and a lighter and more accurate arrow nock.”

Sometimes product-line extensions take interesting turns.

“While a new string loop and better arrow nocks will help you shoot better,” says Dan Summers, “we also recognize that there is more to bowhunting success than just shooting better. As bowhunters ourselves, we understand and appreciate the importance of being undetected in the woods. With that in mind, we looked closer at hunting camouflage and how we might take camo to the next level.

“What we developed was an innovative new product we called SneakyLeaf. SneakyLeaf is a three-dimensional, reinforced fabric leaf that bowhunters can easily attach to clothing, bows, blinds, treestands and more. SneakyLeaf transforms existing camouflage, with it’s hard edges, into the most effective hunter-hiding camo ever.

“At the very beginning of that product-
development process, we actually took artificial leaves and experimented extensively with how best to conveniently and randomly attach those lifelike leaves to things. Today we use safety pins and sticky patches to do that.

“Lots of in-the-field research quickly proved the concept and the process. QAD SneakyLeaf works so well that bowhunters and turkey hunters have adapted it in droves, as have paintballers for their extreme competitions and even snipers for combat. I’ve seen SneakyLeaf attached to bows, guns, stands, blinds, ladders, video cameras, camera tripods and even ATVs. Some inventive archery dealers have even decorated their shops, ranges and showrooms with SneakyLeaf.”

Early in 2003 Quality Archery Designs took on another design challenge.

“We began working with arrow rests,” Dan relates. “The idea was to dissect everything that was currently available, exposing both strong and weak points, and then using that data to design and manufacture something entirely new and better.

“We really liked the arrow-flight and accuracy advantages delivered by the best drop-away arrow rests. But, as serious bowhunters, we also fully appreciated the reassuring arrow-security benefit offered by total-containment arrow rests, like the widely popular Whisker Biscuit.

“Why not, we theorized, blend the advantages of a drop-away with the clear benefit of a full-containment arrow rest into a brand-new rest designed to deliver the best of both worlds? And moreover, why not leave the drawbacks of both behind?

“We liked what conventional drop-away arrow rests delivered. But we weren’t at all thrilled with how most operated. Most had the arrow sitting awkwardly on the bow’s shelf before the shot. Most dragged that arrow across the shelf as the bow was drawn. Some were less than 100-percent reliable in picking up the arrow and moving it into the shooting position when the shooter was nervous, drew quickly or the wind was blowing hard. Few seemed to work particularly well when no shot was made and the bow had to be let down. None offered full containment of the arrow before and during the shot, so arrows could be knocked or shaken loose, which was a total disaster in a hunting situation where every shot was hard-won.

“At the same time we liked the arrow security of the best total-containment arrow rests, but disliked the noise associated with the draw and the fletching wear and tear that such rests dished out.”

With a clear analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of conventional drop-away and total-containment arrow rests, the team at QAD began designing on paper what they thought would work.

“We went through a lot of paper, but eventually developed and perfected a design concept for a drop-away rest that was also total-containment. The breakthrough was startling. Our novel concept utilized several new technologies, including 100-percent containment of the arrow at all times, an easy load feature, the fact that the arrow was held in a natural upright position even before the shot, Velocity Drop Technology so that the rest’s launcher arm dropped only when the shot was made and not during a slow letdown and Lock-Down Technology to eliminate launcher-arm bounce back. Combining all of those things into a single arrow rest was revolutionary.

“We also worked hard to ensure that setting up the new Quality Archery Designs’ Ultra-Rest was fast, easy and foolproof. To install and prepare for accurate shooting, all you do is bolt the Ultra-Rest in place. Next attach the special Ultra-Rest cable clamp to your bow’s down-cable, thread the rest’s timing cord through the cable clamp from top to bottom and just lightly snug up the cable-clamp screws. Then pull the timing cord down the bow’s cable just enough to pull the Ultra-Rest’s launcher arm into the vertical position. Do not yet fully tighten the cable clamp’s screws.

“Draw the bow slowly. As you do the cable clamp will slide up the bow’s down-cable, self adjusting to the correct position. Slowly let the bow down and now tighten the cable-clamp screws.”

Using the QAD Ultra-Rest is simplicity itself.

“Nock an arrow onto the bow’s bowstring, placing the arrow shaft into the rest’s U-shaped launcher. Utilize the rest’s conveniently positioned thumb lever to cock the rest, which will move the launcher arm up to its vertical launch position. You can do that in one quick motion without ever removing your hands from the bow. With use, loading and cocking the launcher becomes second nature and can be accomplished with the same ease and quickness associated with most open-topped arrow rests. With the launcher arm cocked upward, an arrow is completely contained between the Ultra-Rest’s launcher arm and the rest’s horizontal bar. It cannot be knocked, bumped or shaken loose. You can even turn the bow upside-down and not lose the arrow. The arrow is always there, ready to go.

“When the bow is drawn for the shot, the QAD Ultra-Rest is especially quiet. We know that’s crucial for all bowhunters, and we include self-adhesive, laser-cut felt for the launcher arm and the overhead bar in every package. At the shot, the Ultra-Rest’s Velocity Drop
Technology releases the rest’s drop-away launcher arm to provide complete arrow-flight and
accuracy-enhancing fletch clearance.”

And the QAD Ultra-Rest doesn’t stop there.

“We also developed and patented a unique Lock-Down Technology for the Ultra-Rest. After many hours of high-speed video testing, it became apparent that too many conventional drop-away arrow rests suffer from launcher-arm bounce back. The arm goes down, but then it bounces quickly back up to slap the fletching as it passes, totally defeating the drop-away intent. With the QAD Ultra-Rest, the launcher arm drops rapidly out of the way and then actually locks in the down position with a patented cam/brake feature to totally eliminate any chance of bounce back.

“Yet another feature we built into the Ultra-Rest’s design is the ability to let the bow down without having the launcher arm drop. That keeps the arrow in its natural, upright and ready position at all times. If that buck pauses for a long time behind a tree, you simply let down without changing the arrow’s position or readiness, redraw when he emerges and make the shot.”

The QAD Ultra-Rest really is something special, and today it’s available in four distinct models. The top-of-the-line Ultra-Rest HD features an integrated Harmonic Dampener along with all of the rest’s other desirable features. The new Bone Collector Ultra-Rest model is backed by an industry-wide promotional
campaign. The Ultra-Rest LD is highlighted by patented Lock-Down Technology. The Ultra-Rest Hunter
represents a superb value in a truly advanced total-
containment, drop-away arrow rest.

Since its founding in 1992, Quality Archery Designs has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. It started small with only a few employees housed in a 2,000 square-foot leased space. Just four years later it moved to a 5,500 square-foot building as demand for its quality products and the size of its work force expanded. Today, Quality Archery Designs is about to move into a brand-new and custom-built 18,000 square-foot manufacturing and operational facility located on 10 wooded acres. Inside are offices, a warehouse and shipping area, a huge manufacturing zone and even a 35-yard indoor archery and testing range.

“Our growth has been rewarding,” says Dan Summers, “but we feel that it’s come by sticking to our ideals on such things as innovative, benefit-packed products, indisputable quality, excellent customer service and a talented and hard-working staff. Every person in our plant is key to our operation, yet certain people clearly stand out. Kenny Green is our technical director and head engineer. Kevin Fry is our outgoing director of marketing and sales. Todd Friess is the operations manager. Heather Brown is our office manager. Bill Agnor is the shop supervisor. Ryan Friess is our CNC and laser department supervisor.

“The company slogan that we’ve long used is that ‘Our Target is Your Success.’ By that we mean that our goal is to provide quality archery products that genuinely help hunters and archers succeed. It also means that we help our many retail partners succeed with their efforts in their businesses. All of that is important to us.”

One of the interesting things about life is that if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you often get it.

For more information, log onto qadinc.com or call Quality Archery Designs at (434) 846-5839.

Enjoy this article? Share it!