remember any good marketing flops?
 

Does anyone remember any products that just never caught on? Anything that never really made it? I remember a few.

The "Hypoarrow", the arrow that would shoot 300psi of air into something upon impact. It was making it's rounds about 7-8 years ago and was being sold out of NC. Back then there was a few posts on this forum about it that were pretty funny. One guy said he hit a rabbit with it but never found it cause it floated away like a fuzzy balloon. Too bad their website isn't around anymore.

No one talks about Razor Ring broadheads (from Bullet archery) anymore either. They claimed they made a huge hole when you hit something, but many people who used them said they ended up with a large hairball at the end of their arrow and drastically less penetration than normal.

ATOM broadheads may fit this category too. To my knowledge, they aren't getting good reviews, and many people don't trust razor wire in place of real blades for large game.

Now I'm seeing another product that looks like it will go the way of the buffalo. Fletching Fobs from Starrflight. Instead of fletching, you can use their "engineered airfoil", supposed to put more weight forward on your arrow and a host of other things. I always shy away when I hear the word "engineered". Usually mean something works well in theory, but not in actual use. I could be wrong though, they could catch on like sliced bread.

So do ya'll remember any products like these? It's neat to see how archery is evolving, and think about the gadgets that never caught on.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Many years ago I worked in a Sporting Goods store that sold mostly fishing gear but the owner was getting into the brand new world of compound bows so we carried a little archery product. I remember a broadhead that used either 3 or 4 razor blades as the cutting portion. They were the old "injector" type blades that were about 1.5 inches long and .5 inch wide. The tip screwed off and the blades were removed and you replaced the blades with new ones from the Schick dispenser. I recently got into bow shooting (not hunting yet) and started looking for them thinking that they would be easier than sharpening broadheads and have not seen them in any local shop or catalog. Anybody else remember those or am I hallucinating again?

Clint in Kentucky

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Yeah I remeber one. Cough Silencer lol

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

LOL, yeah, I had one of those. I used it only once, and would have been better off just covering my mouth with my hand.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

my silencer worked great;) seriously you cant hear a thing if you cough into it right. Its quite a few models out there and some dont work though. I had to take it oneday because one of my kids was sick and it worked great also;)

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Here are a couple I found on archeryhistory.com

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

I think that they were made by Wasp, I had the 6 blade version.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

These are two from my collection. The one on the left I think is what KY Clint was talking about, it uses razor blades, and has four blades that lock together with two "O ring" looking things. As for the one on the right, I have no idea who made it. It has 5 blades, and the section that the blades are attached to is seperate from the center piece with the threads. Theory was that as your arrow was spinning in flight, the blades would remain stationary, and thus your arrow wouldn't plane left or right. Kind of the opposet of what Crimson Talon broadheads do. The threads on this particular broadhead are broken off, from the time that I tested the theory that they don't plane. Obviously, they did.

My grandpa tells me that these 5 and 6 blade broadheads worked really well though.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

This has to be the winner. Remember the Hunter's Snorkel by Rednektek.com?

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

How about lighted nocks.. It could be because I don't shoot enough deer. I laugh each time I see one on the shelf. I would say that a electronic tracking nock may be money better spent.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

The hunter's snorkel? I guess that's to keep your glasses from fogging up? Ok, I wear glasses too, but that's just goofey!

I also seem to remember something that looked like a bowfishing reel that was supposed to strap to your bow, with the line attached to your arrow, and when you shot something it was supposed to let out something like 100 yards of 2 or 4 pount test line so you could just follow the string to help track your animal. I used to see it a lot on black bear hunts on tv. If I remember the marketing right, they said it wouldn't effect your arrow flight out to 30 yards or something like that. I'll try to find a link to it if it's still around.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Game tracker makes that spool of line that attaches to your bow.

Game Tracker is now Eastman Outfittes and markets it under the name "string tracker 2500".


Check out the original concept of putting a spool inside your arrow.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Great thread, sure takes me back to some "absolutely can't live without it products."
Someone correct if i'm wrong, butwasn't gametracker the original marketer of Carbon Express arrows, which have now just about become the industry standard? Just wondering.

Blessings.....Pastorjim

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Actually, the string tracker product is still popular with some people; in my state I've seen them used the most by turkey hunters, but all types of bow-hunters use them. I've not used one, but I have friends that swear by them. A heavy arrow is pretty much a prerequisite since the string can affect flight of lighter setups. They were VERY popular back before carbon arrows were so common.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

I’ve seen many things come and go in 30 years, here a few.
1:Steel arrows, heavy and the nock was part of the shaft so if you busted the nock you had to throw it away.
2: Spinner arrow inserts. Allow the BH to spine bad thing was added much forward weight to the arrowand this was when a light BH was 125gr,.
By the way Wiggy the BH on the right is a Razor Bak 5 from NAP total weight was 142gr.great BH back in the day later 70’s early 80’s when a fast bow was just below 200 fps.
3: Talking about fast bows look up the Bear Delta V (http://www.archeryhistory.com/compou...0/deltav81.jpg) what a machine.
4: Then there was the Otter bow no string used steel cable instead.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

You know, I have seen recent advertisements for the spinning inserts.

Ethics archery is making one now.
http://ethicsarchery.com/index1.html

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

How about the Knight and Hale "Steady Ready" shooting rest for your bow.

If anything could lead to bad shooting form, this is it.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Redline,

My Father-in-Law actually had the Steady-Ready. I don't think he ever actually used it though.

Blessings.....Pastorjim

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Don't kid yourself about FOBS...they are making QUITE a following...they work great, and although I do not use them - they arent going anywhere anytime soon .

How about the DEER VIEW MIRROR?

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

I sure hope that lighted nocks DON'T fade away. I'll never hunt without them again! Great for spotting your hits.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

I've never used them for hunting but I hope they do stay around and improve in design. They are great for seeing your hits and besides that they just look flat out neat!

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

I still joke about these. Seems like they are being used by a bunch of folks. I could see how they would be useful in low light conditions to judge where you hit. Are there any other uses for them? Maybe my statement was made with lack of education.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Well, there's that and it helps you to find your arrows if you miss or have a pass through shot. This will be even more critical when FOBs catch on, because after your arrow passes through the deer the FOB falls off and you won't have any colored fletching to help you find your arrow. :D

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Yeah, but so will that lighted nock.

Just try finding your arrow then if you didn'tthink ahead andwrap your arowsor use some reflective tape right on the end of the arrow in front of the FOB.

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Butt-out anyone???:D

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Now that I know how to make my own, I don't have to worry about ever being without them again! :)

RE: remember any good marketing flops?
 

Lighted nocks are the bomb! Prolly never hunt without them again!!!!!

They were called razorbak 5,they also had a four blade model they were made by NAP. I have a set of four in there plastic case in my collection..they were 142gr. WOW like screwing a boat anchor on your arrow nice case though...LoL

Anyone remember the York STO which stould for shoot through overdraw I think it was one of,if not the first overdraw bow. I had a freind that had one didn't shoot to bad but was like holding a 4x4 post filled with lead...LOL don't think it lasted very long.

Razor back five
 

They made a hole for sure. I actually harvested a turkey with one just two years ago. They flat make a large hole and crush bone. Accuracy wasnt the best and 145grns i heavy. Puckett mecinical broadheads just never caught on. Open on impact broadhead.
DB

How about Still Steamin' Buck Semen. Unless bucks
masterbate, how on earth would the semen hit the ground....bad aim ???

when i 1st started hunting, I bought this thing called a "game tracker":rolleye0011: it was supposed to find downed game by picking up heat sources in the woods, and flashing a series of lights when it detected something, i would have gotten more use out of blowing my nose w/ the C note i spent on it:s6: live and learn

oh, another was the peep sight eliminator, which was basically a rear sight for your bow, those didnt catch on too well.

Butt Out
 

Re. the butt out tool. I thought it might be a gimmick until I tried it. Works great!

How about the string tracking device, that if you shot it once you are suppose to change the spool. One that I tried and still have some is the 6" vane, uh, we went the other way.

I remember this crazy thing that came out back in the 70s called the Hollis Allen Arrow launching Device, weirdest thing I ever saw. It looked kinda like a bow, but the danged thing had wheels at each end! I knew it would never catch on the first time I saw it... :s4:

I know a couple guys that have lost an eye, that SWEAR by the peep eliminator things

Been There and done that! Bought one of those about 6 years ago, shot a bull elk, it laid down and died about 100 yards away, and the thing couldn't even pick up the location of it.

Sure is a lotta expensive stuff that amounts to useless garbage out there.