Bowhunt America

Article Topics

Ripcord

Built on Consideration

By Bill & Sherry Krenz

Consideration is the shortest distance between any business and its customers. Consideration keeps the two close.

“After high school and a tour in the Marine Corps, I spent 11 years working in a sporting goods store in Dillon, Montana,” says Keith Dvoroznak. “It’s interesting how experiences tend to shape your life and your thinking. The Marine Corps taught me self-discipline and pride in my country, and instilled the notion in me that there was little I couldn’t do if I put my mind to it.

“All those years in retail also had a big effect. I learned about consumers, how they desperately wanted to be treated, what they expected and how they viewed both retailers and manufacturers. And, of course, I learned about retailing, what worked and what didn’t, what helped and hurt and how manufacturers of all sorts and sizes worked and interacted with retailers. What I really learned in that phase of my life was that a sincere consideration between all of the parties involved––consumers, retailers and manufacturers––was the key to success. Everyone yearned to be treated right.”

For Keith Dvoroznak, archery and bowhunting was in the blood. Keith’s father, Don Dvoroznak, has now been shooting a bow for over 50 years. In the last three decades, Don has made a living in the archery industry as a sales rep, manufacturer’s representative and bowhunting writer. Don first put a bow in Keith’s hands almost before Keith could walk.

“I remember shooting arrows and stalking gophers and birds around our farm in Colorado when my bow was bigger than me,” Keith recalls. “Even then I began to feel just how special archery and hunting with a bow really were. Later I came to see what a personal thing both endeavors could become, how archery and bowhunting could draw you in to shape a perspective, even a lifestyle.”

With that foundation it was no surprise
that Keith would eventually seek to combine things––the discipline of the Marine, the consideration of the thoughtful businessman and a personal passion for archery and especially bowhunting.

“For over a decade I had listened intently to our retail archery customers in Dillon, sifting through what they wanted and needed and deserved. And one of the things that struck me was their preoccupation with arrow rests. Beyond the bow itself, the arrow rest was the center of so much of the bow’s performance. Arrow flight, accuracy, speed, even shooting confidence could be helped or hurt by the choice of an arrow rest. I found all that fascinating, and I began thinking about the notion of a new arrow rest that would actually help bowhunters shoot better.

“In my mind I set several performance objectives based on what so many archery customers had discussed with me over the years. I wanted an arrow rest in which the arrow was completely contained before and during the shot. Fumbling with or knocking an arrow loose during the excitement of a hunt or shot was a constant fear for so many bowhunters. I also wanted an arrow rest that almost automatically delivered perfect arrow flight and superb accuracy. And, of course, it had to be a rest that was rough and tough, and 100-percent reliable in every imaginable weather condition and bowhunting scenario. All of that was a lot, but gradually a mental picture of the mechanics of such a rest began to develop.

“What eventually formed was a total-containment arrow rest that was also a very effective fall-away rest. I’d personally used various fall-away arrow rests for years and had come to believe in the basic concept of complete fletch clearance for improved flight and accuracy. By combining that with total arrow containment, I felt I had everything that bowhunters wanted and needed.”

In the summer and fall of 2003, Keith Dvoroznak began developing prototypes for testing.

“I took my ideas to a good friend who had the machining capabilities to make small-run parts, and together we made and assembled a handful of my new arrow rests. I quickly enlisted my father and a handful of close bowhunting friends as field testers with the instructions that they should beat my prototypes to death. I told them all that they should do with my prototypes whatever they needed to do with an arrow rest, they should not baby it in any way and they should shoot and bowhunt with it as hard as possible. Then I asked that they report back to me with an honest appraisal, to which I pledged to listen with a ready pencil and an open mind.”

By December of 2003 Keith’s new arrow rest had undergone several changes, and Keith felt that he was finally ready to launch the product to the bowhunting public. He took out a business loan from a local bank, made up 500 arrow rests and proceeded to formulate a Marine-like introduction plan.

“My father had been a Marine before me, and together we cooked up an action plan. First, I called the Archery Trade Association to inquire about an exhibitor booth at the fast-approaching ATA Archery Trade Show. It was December, and that January show was just a month away. We knew we were late, but we really wanted to launch at that industry-wide trade show.

“Next we asked for and received an archery dealer list from the Archery Trade Association, complete with phone numbers. Then Dad and I burned up the phone lines. In the two weeks just before the show we called nearly every dealer on that list, briefly explaining the concepts behind our new arrow rest and inviting them to visit our booth at the show.

“The Marines had taught both my father and me that you went to war by hardening your resolve and then taking a full 30-inch step with your left foot. We took pretty much that same approach outside of the show hall at the 2004 ATA Archery Trade Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. We marched in and immediately began selling ourselves and our new arrow rest.”

Keith had decided to call the rest the Ripcord.

“That, too, was born out of military influence. When you jump out of a perfectly good airplane you rely on your ripcord to open your parachute. Pull the cord and it better open! I felt that it was essentially the same thing with the activation cord on our arrow rest. Pull the cord and the rest would fall reliably every time, with every shot.

“Dealer reaction at the show was overwhelming. Our 500 Ripcord Arrow Rests were gone in just two days. The pre-show phone campaign we’d worked so hard on had driven dealer traffic to our booth, and the rests had practically sold themselves. I even remember the very first Ripcord dealer order we took at that show. It was with John Thomas of Mount George Archery in Danville, Arkansas.”

The Ripcord sales pitch was simple.

“The Ripcord Arrow Rest offered indisputable advantages. Essentially, the Ripcord combined the best of both worlds––the arrow security of a total-containment rest and the complete fletch clearance and improved arrow flight and accuracy of a fall-away rest. The tongue-in-cheek tagline we used at the show was that it was a ‘Biscuit with Gravy.’ That turned heads and made people smile. The Ripcord Arrow Rest was so well received that it was included in Inside Archery’s prestigious ‘Talk of the Show’ list and magazine article about that list for 2004.”

Today, seven years later, Ripcord the company is booming, and the arrow rest is hugely popular with serious bowhunters. Located in the Big Sky Country of Dillon, Montana, Ripcord consists of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility––complete with CNC machining centers––warehouse and offices. Don Dvoroznak heads up the sales efforts out of his home office while Keith presides over the entire operation.

“We know that the backbone of our operation,” says Keith, “is really made up of the talented people who manufacture the precise components and hand-assemble each and every Ripcord Arrow Rest. Heading up the machining team is Bryan Mackie. Natasha Kearney, Anders Lundberg and Aaron Miller do the lion’s share of the careful assembly and packaging. And Lindy Walker is office manager.”

2010 is a landmark year for Ripcord. Now one of the most popular bowhunting arrow rests of all time, the original Ripcord Arrow Rest has been redesigned, significantly improved and renamed the Ripcord Code Red. The new Ripcord Code Red delivers all of the advantages of the original Ripcord. It features, for example, the exclusive Ripcord Arrow Containment System. When an arrow is loaded and the launcher arm is cocked into its upright position, an overhead containment bar holds that arrow in place at all times, no matter what. You could even turn the bow upside down and not dislodge or lose the arrow.

It also sports an offset activation cord. By offsetting the activation cord a full 2 inches from the center of the launcher arm, the cord won’t ever interfere with arrow clearance or flight. Easy installation has long been a hallmark of the Ripcord Arrow Rests. Unlike many fall-away arrow rests, you don’t need a bow press or serving to install a Ripcord Arrow Rest. Ripcord’s exclusive football clip conveniently attaches the rest’s activation cord to the bow’s cable. Lightning-fast fall-away time continues to compensate for less-than-perfect shot execution and bow torque, making all Ripcord Arrow Rests among the most forgiving bowhunting rests ever. And then there’s the rock-solid Ripcord guarantee. Every Ripcord rest is built to last. It’s precision machined from blocks of aircraft-grade aluminum and features rounded edges and contoured surfaces for a finished, professional look. But if the original Ripcord owner has a part break for any reason at all, it will be repaired or replaced at absolutely no charge. No questions asked.

On top of all that, the brand-new-for-2010 Ripcord Code Red offers additional features and benefits. There’s a new Slimline Launcher on the Code Red that enables additional right-to-left launcher adjustment. That new launcher is made of heavy-duty Delrin so it’s virtually unbreakable. Maybe the biggest new-launcher news of all, though, is that the new Code Red launcher is over-molded with a soft red material that silences and dampens this new Ripcord like never before.

The over-molding completely eliminates the need for extra moleskin. Right out of the package, the Ripcord Code Red Arrow Rest is ready for bowhunting without a sound.

Equally big news with the new Ripcord Code Red is the rest’s advanced Internal Brake System.

Extensive testing utilizing special high-speed photography has shown that a key issue in proper arrow clearance with some fall-away rests is a phenomenon known as launcher bounce-back. With too many fall-away rests, the launcher arm falls away as it should but then quickly bounces back up into the path of the arrow, clipping the vanes as the arrow passes. That sneaky bounce-back can negatively impact both arrow flight and downrange accuracy.

To eliminate all possibility of launcher bounce-back, Ripcord developed and integrated an Internal Brake System within the new Ripcord Code Red. That brake system captures and locks the Ripcord Code Red launcher arm into the down position after the shot. That innovation results in easier initial tuning, better clearance, more consistent arrow flight and enhanced accuracy.

“All told, the new Ripcord Code Red Arrow Rest is really something!”

It’s rare to find a manufacturer that also has the retail experience of someone like Ripcord’s Keith Dvoroznak. All that time as a retailer infused Keith with a thorough understanding of how and why retail works and what can clog up the process.

“My conclusion,” Keith explains, “is that it all boils down to treating people the same way you’d like to be treated. It really is that simple. When I was a retailer I learned how annoying and even disastrous it could be to get run around by a manufacturer. And that includes back orders. At Ripcord we pride ourselves in exemplary customer service, a huge respect for dealers and the important job they do and no back orders, ever. In fact, in the last six years we’ve not had a single back order. We know that our number one priority is to carefully consider and take care of our dealers.”

Pulling together complementary operational elements is often the mark of a successful business. Ripcord blends a long-standing passion for archery with hard-nosed self-discipline and a sincere consideration for its many customers. For more information on Ripcord, please log onto www.ripcordarrowrest.com.

Enjoy this article? Share it!