LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
Sitting in my favorite mountain stand is definitely challenging when it comes to controlling my scent. Unfortunately for me the wind never blows the same way for very long. With up drafts, down drafts, swirling winds and wind currents that are changed by geographical features, figuring out where my scent is going to go is unpredictable at best. I hunt other stands in Southeast Arkansas where the wind stays very steady and I can adjust my setups much easier to account for my scent. But even in that predicable environment, eventually that monster buck that I have been chasing will eventually destroy all of my best laid plans, and walk directly into my scent stream.
Robinson Outdoors, Makers of ScentBlocker products, has been helping hunters get closer to big game since 1978.
Luckily for me over the years I have been taught by one of the best hunters I know how to minimize my scent (if not eliminate it) to the point that I am not thought of as a direct threat in the woods. When I am in the woods I feel no greater sense of accomplishment than to have a boss doe standing 20 yards away directly in my scent stream and then watch her raise that coal black nose in the air inhaling every scent particle possible to warn her of any impending danger…..and finding none. All of this, despite the fact that I am in a tree 20 yards away. To get to this point in the woods it takes a lot of dedication and good gear. I recently got to spend some time with Michael Swan, Director of Marketing for Robinson Outdoor Products, to learn more about the company and what they have been doing to take scent control to the next level.
Q: How did ScentBlocker™ get started?
A: ScentBlocker got its start in 1978 when Bill Robinson pioneered the development of scent elimination for hunters with a product called Scent Shield, a liquid spray designed to neutralize, not cover, human scent. Today, ScentBlocker is considered the innovative leader of the scent elimination category in the hunting industry. ScentBlocker has developed dozens of industry firsts, innovations, and technologies.
While today there are many diverse products in the ScentBlocker lineup, the original product that started it all was the ever popular Scent Shield liquid spray.
Q: What challenges have you had to overcome as a business?
A: Over the years there have been many hurdles. Today though, the real challenge is educating hunters on what true scent control technology really is and what it can do for them. Hype and mis-information abounds with the term “Scent Control” and we are seeing it across the market. For example, ScentBlocker offers S3 Silver Anti-Microbial which is incorporated into most of our base layers, socks, and under garments. S3 Silver Anti-Microbial PREVENTS the formation of odor by reducing odor-causing bacteria and keeps hunting clothing smelling fresher, longer. This certainly helps, but is not true scent elimination.
When used in conjunction with Trinity technology, which ADSORBS odors already on your body and subsequent odors you produce or encounter, you are now really controlling odor. Some companies rely on and offer only an anti-microbial treatment on their apparel. We have a host of informative materials, articles and guides on our website linked right from our home page which breaks out and illustrates these products and technologies that will help to educate the hunter who wants to get more from their time in the field.
Q: How long was the Trinity Technology in development?
A: Engineered using a special polymeric resin with huge surface area and fantastic adsorption kinetics, Trinity™ Technology has been more than 10 years in the making. Its properties provide qualities and features unattainable in other scent-adsorption gear. It’s lighter by volume, exhibits stronger attraction for human and organic odors, and lasts longer between regeneration. Testing shows that Trinity even leapfrogs the odor-adsorption capacity of ScentBlocker’s own industry-leading Cold Fusion activated carbon technology.
Q: Without giving away any secrets, tell me how this product is made?
A: The application of the Trinity synthetic polymer – it’s fused right into the fabric, was a break from the way we’d worked with scent control compounds of the past. Trinity can be applied in ways older technology like carbon cannot, such as in technical fabrics resulting in lighter, more comfortable and more user-friendly scent control hunting clothing. The significance of what this means to a hunter is obvious. When you start with a material that adsorbs more odor you can achieve impressive scent control performance in lighter garments with less loading. This is where ScentBlocker innovation shines through.
Q: What are you hearing from consumers that are using the Trinity Technology in the field?
A: That’s a great question, and the most fun part of our jobs. Last year we had our pro staffers and hunting celebrities conducting in-field testing with great results. For example, Michael Waddell of Bone Collector had a literally record setting year with his biggest buck to date, and Nick Mundt stated that he shot more and bigger deer than he has at any point in his career.
The ScentBlocker team, led by President Scott Shultz, gathers together to discuss marketing and product strategies.
That is just the tip of the iceberg as we’ve seen more and more hunters taking scent control where is has not seen much use: in the mountains out west for run-n-gun elk and antelope hunters with the Trinity 1.5 shirt and NTS (Next to Skin) shirt offering cool breathable scent control. Same thing happened down south, where hot conditions had prevented folks from wearing the heavier scent control options of the past.
To get an even better idea, visit www.scentblocker.com, our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Our customers are sending us their success videos and photos daily and sharing their experiences that prove, Nothing Gets You Closer™.
Q: It seems like everywhere I look I see an advertisement for you guys, tell me a little about your marketing campaign and the goals associated with it?
A: After banging the drum on our Cold Fusion scent control technology for many years, the introduction of something like Trinity that is so different than what people are used to, and so new and improved, was a serious undertaking. The first priority was of course in obtaining the testing that proved Trinity’s superior odor-adsorbing performance. Then came touting the competitive advantages that it provides: being lighter by volume and the ability to apply it to super lightweight technical fabrics, unlike carbon apparel which typically required bulky and heavy paneled garment fabrication to hold in the black sooty carbon.
With the introduction of new Trinity Technology, orders are increasing daily by hunters looking for that lethal edge in the field.
Because of this ongoing educational campaign, we’ve experienced incredible acceptance of Trinity in the marketplace. Retailers and consumers both thrive on innovation, and we’re seeing that. Of course it is very rare for any one communications channel to reach everyone so we intentionally have rolled out a diverse campaign in order to get the message out, including a huge introduction at the ATA Show, trade publications, consumer print and TV, and social media. Good old word of mouth doesn’t hurt either!
Q: What is the one thing about your company that readers do not know about, that they should?
A: The ScentBlocker® and Tree Spider® product lines that we offer are much more diverse than most people are aware of. I highly recommend that your readers take a few minutes to surf our website at www.scentblocker.com to get a real understanding of how 35 years of innovating on behalf of the hunter has allowed us to provide quite frankly, the most well thought out, carefully designed scent control apparel including headgear, gloves and base layers, as well as liquid products, on the market. All of these products work to outfit someone from the bottomlands down south, to the hardwoods of the Midwest, and even the plains and mountain ranges from Southeast to northern Canada. Our products have also proven themselves repeatedly across New Zealand, Australia and Africa. As for Tree Spider, our research indicated that eight out of ten hunters really disliked safety gear, and we think they are right. Let’s just say what’s on everyone’s mind. Most hunters don’t use safety products because they’re awkward to put on, noisy and hinder the hunting experience. So, we created Tree Spider and re-defined the entire category. It’s the first line of safety products that actually helps hunters make a shot, providing unprecedented ease of use, comfort, stealth and mobility. It was really designed to disappear into the experience. In fact, this year we introduced safety that is integrated right into ScentBlocker clothing, with our new SpiderWebs! All are designed to layer and work together to provide protection from the elements, as well as cover and conceal hunters from the wiliest game animals in the world, and do it safely.
Q: Tell me about some of your new products that you are most excited about, and why?
A: Of course we start with any of the new styles using new Trinity Technology. Its game-changing properties are so powerful – yet so thin and light – that it takes comfort and performance to a whole new level. And then there is our new SpiderWeb product, which is another revolutionary, game-changing type of product.
Employees make the most of any free time they have by slinging arrows into various targets within the warehouse.
Q: How are your products tested to ensure quality?
A: Great question. We start with an idea, a need, or a desire to raise performance to a new level. Next we design, we test, and we prove our theories. We conduct a barrage of laboratory and infield testing before bringing any product into the market. Finally, we enter the field for the most crucial step of all: our TV show personalities and pro staff spend days, weeks, even months in tree stands, on the stalk, in the bottomlands, and on top of mountains. Out there, in the sweat of the pursuit, we learn if our technology truly works better than everything that came before it. When it does, only then, do we offer it to our fellow hunters—and embark on the next adventure.
Q: What can consumers of your products expect when it comes to customer service?
A: Nothing but the best. Our call center is located at our headquarters right here in Cannon Falls MN, with customer service representatives that are familiar with the individual product details, and systems to take care of any questions or concerns.
Q: If you only had one piece of advice to give to all of our readers, that would make them better and more successful in the deer woods, what would it be?
A: For decades, the best hunters in the world have consistently shot the biggest game animals using our products. Use of a complete scent control strategy can determine the success or failure in nearly every situation. We have many articles and guides on our website that provide a wealth of information on how to increase your close range encounters with mature animals. The rest is up to them!
Q: How can we find out more about the products and what is going on with ScentBlocker?
A: To get the best, most up-to-date information and news, visit www.scentblocker.com, visit our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter. Our customers are sending us their success videos and photos daily and sharing their experiences that prove, Nothing Gets You Closer™.
