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#95688 - 05/05/08 05:19 AM Made in the USA
RBrownkatz Offline
newbie

Registered: 07/21/07
Posts: 9
Loc: Bartow, FL
Which gear companies make their stuff in the USA?
_________________________
www.Brownkatzoutdoors.com

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#95689 - 05/05/08 05:25 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
outspoken Offline
newbie

Registered: 04/16/08
Posts: 12
Loc: East Tennessee
had a similar question so I googled this a few months back and Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends and some OR stuff is made in the States along with some smaller manufacturers. I have been saving for a WM Alpinlite as they are made in the USA and are the best!

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#95690 - 05/05/08 05:45 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
PerryMK Online   content
member

Registered: 01/18/02
Posts: 1391
Loc: Florida panhandle

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#95691 - 05/05/08 05:58 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Bearpaw Offline
Moderator

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 1732
Loc: Tennessee
Some of the very best! Look at cottage gear manufacturers like Six Moon Designs, ULA Equipment, and Shire's Tarptent. It is some of the best, lightest, functional gear on the market, usually for little or no more than equivalent (but heavier) mainstream gear companies.
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#95692 - 05/05/08 07:44 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: Bearpaw]
CCH Offline
member

Registered: 01/27/04
Posts: 124
Loc: Colorado
Like Bearpaw says, most of the small, high quality, niche companies are made here by the people you talk to on the phone. Not exactly ultra light, but Mystery Ranch and Kifaru come to mind. I assume Moutain Laurel Designs and Gossamer Gear?

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#95693 - 05/05/08 07:48 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Heintooga Offline
member

Registered: 04/15/02
Posts: 470
Loc: GSMNP
If I were starting new I'd shop for all of the U.S. made gear I could find. I wish I could justify dumping the gear I have and restocking with American and Canadian made.
_________________________
...ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein... (Jeremiah)

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#95694 - 05/05/08 08:50 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
alanwenker Offline
member

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 812
Rivendell Mountain Works

Cooke Custom Sewing

Granite Gear may still make some of their stuff in the US. Until several years ago they made off of it here, but I know some is now made overseas.

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#95695 - 05/05/08 09:03 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Berserker Offline
member

Registered: 05/10/04
Posts: 493
Loc: Lynchburg, VA
McHale packs.

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#95696 - 05/05/08 10:02 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
I hope this doesn't hijack this thread, but I hope we're not heading down some sort of jingoistic path here, assuming that only U.S.-made products are any good.

Limiting oneself to only US-made products would mean ruling out Svea stoves, Swiss army knives, all kinds of German optics, Snow Peak, and Montbell.

I can understand not wanting to support industries that use child labor or sweat-shop working conditions; those are wrong. But an argument can also be made that even those conditions offer developing nations an improvement in the standard of living - it's still not our standard, but it's better than what came before. (And, lest we become too holier-than-thou, those same conditions featured prominently in the early U.S. industrial revolution - the same revolution that eventually led to the highest standard of living ever known.)

Again, I'm not trying to justify horrendous working conditions. They are no more right now than they were in the U.S. 120 years ago. But I did feel constrained to at least offer some perspective. (And, in the immortal words of the Torch, "Flame on!")

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#95697 - 05/05/08 10:28 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Hector Offline
member

Registered: 12/20/04
Posts: 325
Loc: LA/ARK/TX corner
JacksRBetter

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#95698 - 05/05/08 10:37 AM Re: Made in the USA [Re: Glenn]
aimless Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3292
Loc: Portland, OR
I don't think quality is the issue so much as the multiplier effect of spending money within the US economy vs. buying imported goods. If you cast your bread upon the waters locally, then they will come back to you in the form of a 5 to 7 times increase in local economic spending (or so economists say).

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#95699 - 05/05/08 01:30 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: aimless]
tarbubble Offline
member

Registered: 04/18/03
Posts: 996
Loc: ca-li-for-ni-a
aimless hit it on the head - at least for why i am looking for made in the US products these days. we're in a recession and the dollar is shrinking in value, so i'm trying to keep my dollars here.

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#95700 - 05/05/08 01:51 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
bigfoot2 Offline
member

Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 1432
Loc: Eugene , Oregon
Don't forget Equinox!
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Hammockers aren't stuck up, they're just above it all.

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#95701 - 05/05/08 02:11 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Ben2World Offline
member

Registered: 10/26/04
Posts: 1754
Loc: So Cal
Hey OP:

Noticed that (1) you are brand new and (2) you have posted the same question over a whole myriad of forums. Are you on some kind of a "Buy American" crusade or something?

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#95702 - 05/05/08 02:24 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: Ben2World]
6brnorma Offline
member

Registered: 05/11/05
Posts: 252
Loc: Arizona
Quote:
Hey OP:

Noticed that (1) you are brand new and (2) you have posted the same question over a whole myriad of forums. Are you on some kind of a "Buy American" crusade or something?


I'm not smart enough to know if that was meant to be a slam or not but I'm on his side...if I can find an equally well made product here in the US....that's what I'm buying....end of story!

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#95703 - 05/05/08 02:55 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: 6brnorma]
Ben2World Offline
member

Registered: 10/26/04
Posts: 1754
Loc: So Cal
Funny you are "taking sides" when all OP is asking for is a list.

But I am wondering why this guy is signing up brand new all across different forums... asking the exact same question everywhere -- and only this question!?! Seems like a man on a mission. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

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#95704 - 05/05/08 02:56 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: Bearpaw]
alanwenker Offline
member

Registered: 02/04/03
Posts: 812
In most cases I think the quality is better, not because US employees can sew better, but because of the nature the companies left making gear here in the states. What is left are small businesses generally making niche gear in many cases by the owners themselves. Prices are generally higher reflecting, among other things, less mass production. That certainly doesn't mean off shore brands are crap. Would you rather have a down bag by Western Mountaineering or Marmot? Both are good, most would prefer Western Mountaineering. The attention to the really small details throughout the entire product is what makes the Western bag better.

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#95705 - 05/05/08 04:11 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: Ben2World]
Glenn Offline
member

Registered: 03/08/06
Posts: 2617
Loc: Ohio
Maybe the mission is a long-postponed, imminently-due research paper? After all, school is out in another couple weeks. Hope the professors are sharp enough to point out that this is not a statistically valid sample. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

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#95706 - 05/05/08 04:21 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
Trailrunner Offline
member

Registered: 01/05/02
Posts: 1835
Loc: Los Angeles
What about products assembled in the USA with foreign materials? Are they really American?

I think it's not unreasonable to assume that many of our domestic gear makers are using offshore fabrics. My Nemo tent is one example.

And "Made in the USA" doesn't necessarily mean made in one of the 50 states with American labor. Case in point: Saipan.

It's increasingly difficult to find American goods made in the USA entirely of domestic materials with reasonable quality at a reasonable price.

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#95707 - 05/05/08 04:24 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
chaz Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Tennessee
One of the first sentences that my little neice put together was Made in China. It was cute. But, since probably all the toys she has are made in china. well go figure.

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#95708 - 05/05/08 04:28 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: RBrownkatz]
hootyhoo Offline
member

Registered: 12/14/06
Posts: 686
Loc: Cyberspace
Be more specific.

Do you mean made by Americans in the USA or made by Mexicans in the USA?

Isn't ULA made by Mexicans? Yo pienso asi.

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#95709 - 05/05/08 04:57 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: hootyhoo]
tarbubble Offline
member

Registered: 04/18/03
Posts: 996
Loc: ca-li-for-ni-a
si los mexicanos estan aqui legalmentes y estan pagando sus impuestos, no me importa donde fueran nacidos. Estas diciendo que ULA emplea inmigrantes ilegales?

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#95710 - 05/05/08 05:20 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: tarbubble]
PerryMK Online   content
member

Registered: 01/18/02
Posts: 1391
Loc: Florida panhandle
A poll was done in Florida asking if people thought illegal immigration was a serious problem. The results showed that 29 percent said, "Yes, there is a serious problem." But 71 percent said, "No es una problema seriosa."

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#95711 - 05/05/08 05:26 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: PerryMK]
tarbubble Offline
member

Registered: 04/18/03
Posts: 996
Loc: ca-li-for-ni-a
LOL, that's a good one. works here in CA, too.

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#95712 - 05/05/08 05:49 PM Re: Made in the USA [Re: hootyhoo]
tarbubble Offline
member

Registered: 04/18/03
Posts: 996
Loc: ca-li-for-ni-a
OK, just for kicks i looked up ULA's employee page. here are the two employees of spanish-speaking extraction (there are also two who do not appear to be from central or southern America):

Ruth began working with ULA-Equipment in February '05. She is originally from El Salvador and has been in the US for 25 years, the last 15 years being spent in Logan, UT.

Edith began working with ULA-Equipment in Nov '07. She is originally from Northern Mexico and has been in Logan, UT for 16 years. Edith has 4 kids and her husband works at the local cheese factory and dairy. Edith also works at a dairy here in Cache Valley.


hooty, what exactly was your point? mine (which i typed en espanol) was that if somebody's here legally and they're paying their taxes i don't care where they were born.

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