Nothing can quite describe the feeling of setting back in the box, barely holding back your horse while you watch for your partner’s nod. A quickened pulse, a moment of pause, then the slight lurch before you catch up with your horse’s speed out the gate. A swing or two later and it’s over. You’ve either caught or you’re going home.

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     To the outside world, 15 seconds may seem short. But to anyone who has sat in the saddle, you know how much can happen in that amount of time. The slightest hesitation can cost you a round. Every tenth of a second counts. And every piece of your equipment counts too.

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     When you’ve got money (and safety) on the line, you can’t settle for less. With an easy $50,000 just to start and entry fees just getting higher, you know the importance of investing in quality equipment. Your dally wrap is no exception. Whether you’re fighting slippage or rubber transfer, the old inner tubes that worked for your grandpa just aren’t cutting it anymore. Or worse, you’ve seen firsthand what a loose dally can do and have suffered an injury in the process.

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     That’s why Jim Everett decided to make something different. After struggling to find any quality material on the market, Jim took matters into his own hands, and the Big Bite Dally Wrap was created.

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History

 

     Jim started roping in 1984. Back then it was common practice to run to the auto parts store, buy some $5 innertube and cut it into strips to wind onto your saddle horn. As many cowboys have realized though, this rubber wears out fast and can quickly become a safety hazard.

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     In 1995, Jim lost the end of his right-hand ring finger in an all-too-typical roping accident. Jim ducked his horse on a hard-running steer, his rope slid around his saddle horn, and his finger was pulled with it. Unfortunately, there was too much tissue damage for reattachment.  

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     A few days later, Jim was still scratching his head about what happened. He knew he had taken at least one full wrap (if not more), and none of his fingers were involved. After carefully looking at the saddle he used that day, he noticed two significant things: the innertube he’d been using was badly worn and there was a huge amount of rubber transferred to his rope. This caused the perfect storm of a slick rope with no traction and clearly didn’t hold the dally at that speed.

 

     A few short weeks later, tragedy struck the Everett household that put Jim’s roping career on hold. After losing his long-time roping partner and brother-in-law, Jim realized he had lost his passion for roping.

 

A Lasting Idea

 

     In 2019, after moving to Missouri City, Texas, Jim was brought back to the arena by a veterinarian friend in the area. After one afternoon practice session, Jim quickly realized how much he missed roping: the smell, the sounds, the comradery, and the competition. He was hooked, so a few short months and $45k later, he was back in the game.

 

     One thought that seemed to grow in the back of Jim’s mind over the years was the problem of an inadequate wrap for his dally. While excited to get back in the saddle, Jim was not keen on repeating his partially amputated finger accident. After $20k for a truck, $1.6k for a saddle, $10k for a horse, and $10k for a trailer, Jim bought a $20 bag of rubber strips with a nagging thought; the most important piece of equipment, the piece that keeps fingers intact, was the cheapest thing he bought and hadn’t changed much since the innertube days 35 years ago. Saddles had gotten better with new materials and more features, and ropes had improved and were being manufactured with better materials. But no one had improved the single biggest safety mechanism available – a wrap designed to keep your dally securely attached to your saddle horn.

 

     Six months after his return to the roping world, Jim was on a run, took a dally, and watched in his peripheral vision as the top outer bands on the horn failed and began to unravel. Not wanting to repeat his previous injury, Jim let go and was frustrated he had to give up that round. It had only been two weeks on a new bag of dally rubber, and his ropes were coated black where he had been dallying. Two new ropes and another bag of dally rubber later, Jim was out another $125 and no better off than before. He knew there must be a better way.

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An Idea Comes to Life

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     After struggling to find a solution to his problem, Jim did what most cowboys do, and he took the matter into his own hands. With a background in business and 5 successful start-up companies in his pocket, Jim began tackling the issue with an engineering approach. In the summer of 2019, Jim started by getting his ideas on paper. By January 2020, his thoughts became designs and designs became trials. He spent hundreds of hours evaluating dally wraps, researching rubber compounds, and consulting with engineers and chemists. In early 2021, after a few final modifications to the design and the compound, Jim started testing.

 

     Jim tried at least 10 different rubber compounds in the arena, under real conditions, until he was satisfied. The requirements for his wrap were basic: decrease the chance of injury by holding a dally, be easy to install, increase the longevity of ropes by reducing the material transfer, and outlast the products he had previously tested. After months of putting his designs to the test, the Big Bite Dally Wrap was created.

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Crossfire Equine Products

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     With little to no previous innovation in this area, the Big Bite Dally Wrap has taken the market by storm. Jim’s research-based approach resulted in a durable, reliable product that’s already taking current champions to the pay window.

 

     Big Bite Dally Wrap is fundamentally different from most other wraps on the market. The issue is in the material; most other wraps are made of rubber. Since rubber is oil-based, it gets slippery when heated, leaving residue on your rope. Our wrap is made with a proprietary nitrile-butyl compound. It’s better suited for heat and won’t lose traction like the rest. Our compound leaves 90% less residue on your ropes too, making your equipment last longer. Don’t just take our word for it – check out what our customers have to say at Customer Corner.

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Our Business

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     We take our products and our customers seriously. As a roper himself, Jim designed the Big Bite Dally Wrap with safety in mind. While there are never any guarantees, we believe the Big Bite Dally Wrap can greatly reduce your risk of injury when used properly.

We also know how frustrating it can be when your equipment doesn’t live up to your expectations, so we always offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

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     The Big Bite Dally Wrap is 3" to fit most standard saddle horns and comes in a variety of colors. We are in several of your favorite western stores in the US or you can buy one to try in our Shop.

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     Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been roping for years, the Big Bite Dally Wrap can save time, money, and ropes. Change isn’t easy, but you’ll be glad you switched when you’ve seen the Big Bite difference.