View Full Version : where is the Gear made??
How much of the gear is made in China???
Cannibal
09-06-2007, 09:33
Don't look! You'll be VERY dissappointed.
SGT Rock
09-06-2007, 09:34
A good deal of it. But you can find some made in America or Canada - and some in Japan. DIY gear is all made in the town you live in.
Buy American! Every chance you can :)
Sad to know but most American label gear is not made in America. Perhaps a few are still "assembled" in the US but most components ain't from around here.....
buckowens
09-06-2007, 11:46
Buy American! Every chance you can :)
Amen Smile.
My new pack is a ULA made in Utah and you have the option to buy a Speer hammock made in NC. You have to be selective and do a bunch of research. Go to any hardware store and try to get a caulking gun made in the USA and you will see just how difficult it can be.
SGT Rock
09-06-2007, 11:48
Here are some ideas:
Pack - Sixmoon Designs, Moonbow, ULA
Tent - Henry Shires, Speer Hammocks, Sixmoon Designs
Bag - Nunatak, Jacks 'R Better
Stove - DIY or small guys like Anti Gravity Gear
Clothing - sew your own. www.thru-hiker.com (http://www.thru-hiker.com) has some great kits and such.
Other than that, I am not 100% sure what else to look for.
SoonerTex
09-06-2007, 11:57
Buy American! Every chance you can :)
I'm with you smile
Dang, now Im wanting to go home and pull out all my stuff just to read the labels (well, the ones that I havent pulled off yet!!!)
Cannibal
09-06-2007, 12:14
DIY gear is all made in the town you live in.
All you need to know; besides, it's fun!
I just checked the Osprey website... in their "history of Osprey" at least they are honest in stating they moved some operations "off shore to Korea and Viet Nam" And shortly after that, a couple key company leaders moved to Viet Nam to oversee operations there...
Nice list Rock. I've been meaning to drop in on Tinny's place next time I am in the Bangor area or on my way to Katahdin. If I ever do the AT I will definitely look forward to some shoppin' and swappin' along the way. I don't think it would add to that much weight to have a travelling stove collection, especially with all the weight I should lose around my midrift. Not to big of a collection though, as I'll probably put some of that weight back on once I hit the real barbeque latitudes. Meanwhile I will do as much DIY as I can. Having a sense of humour helps, even as it as bent and twisted as most of my DIY efforts.
Hiking is a good opportunity to develop and practice good living and apply it to the rest of your life. Whether it be for ecological, environmental, political, philosphical, social, spiritual, whatever, it is bound to develop and change over time, even make 180s occassionally. I believe in buying locally, and especially from real people rather than large corporations, even those large corporations employ real people. There are always tradeoffs. If I ever travelled overseas to do some hiking, like in Chile, or China, then I would take as little as possible with me and buy local, from real people there. But here at home I try to avoid stuff live apples from New Zealand, no matter how good they are. Nothing against New Zealand. Maine I consider more local than Ontario though, even though its across an international border. It's not just to reduce transportation costs. The energy used for transportation is usually insignificant on most things compared to manaufacturing and processing. Anyhow, my main point is that such choices are complicated, but important. So I think about them now and then, try to avoid oversimplifying them, try to apply them to the rest of my life, and try to be prepared for changing my ways when I discover some of the things I've been doing are wrong. Also I try and remind myself that I still make lots and lots of mistakes, everyday, and likely always will. Geez my house and lifestyle is a environmental disaster, but what do I do, sell it and build a brand new McEnviroMansion, and pass off the old place to someone else, or fix it up and drag off all the old debris and oil furnace to the landfill. Fortunately I not only lack the wisdom, but also the funds to make such mistakes. Don't even get me started on my transportation choice, but it was free, so I ain't complaining. I suppose there is some consolation in it being built in North America. So I struggle on. But hiking helps. Hiking helps a lot. I think.
Gentle as flowers make the stones
That comfort Liza's tender bones.
Earth, lie lightly on her, who,
Living, scarcely burdened you.
- John Metcalf
Dont forget that Western Mountaineering sleeping bags are made in the USA. As are Thermarest, Platapus, some MSR.
I do not think it matters. I look for the best deal. The reason markets shift is because it is more efficient. Its a good thing that the US now has more high tech jobs vs textile mills. As Asia and third world countries boost their economies, it can only help the US economy.
Any way I guess I just painted a bull eye on my a$$. I did not intend to hi jack this thread, but I just don't see anything wrong with global economics.
Appalachian Tater
09-06-2007, 16:49
Granite Gear manufactures in Vietnam.
Jessebrent, you are correct. It is to our economic advantage to buy goods from other countries if they can make them for significantly less than we can. They buy goods and services from us that we can make cheaper or that they cannot make at all.
The only problem is that some costs are not included in the monetary price, such as pollution and abusive labor practices, but those problems are not necessarily absent in the U.S.
We have a really good deal going borrowing money from countries like China so we can buy stuff that they make. Unfortunately, once it ends and we can no longer afford to buy as much stuff from other countries, our standard of living will decrease significantly. In the long run I do not think that the extreme inequalities among nations in the consumption of the earth's resources can continue in the same way it has for the last 100+ years. There are over 6 billion people on the planet and only a little over a billion live in the U.S. and Europe. People in Asia, Africa, and South America want more than they have been getting and they will certainly find a way to get it in the future.
Can we add to the made in USA list Gossamer Gear, Oware,Fanatic Fringe,Ti Goat, Kifaru,McHale,Stephenson's. Apologies to the ones that I forgot.
I hope you guys don't mind us Aussies buying your products...
Franco
no problem with aussies here!! :D g'day....
app. tater,
I think the errounious assumption that many people have is that economics is a zero sum game. In other words, the only way China can have more is for the US and others to have less. If that were the case the only way people could get rich is if others got poorer. Its just the opposite. If we eliminate poverty everybody has more.
Same is true on the global scale, As people in China, Russia, etc. prosper, the people in the US will also get more, not less.
Johnny Thunder
09-07-2007, 10:06
You're never going find any of that kid-damaging lead paint used in these pesky foreign ultra-light backpacking products. Guess you can cross that off the list.
johnny
SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 10:09
Well if you go the Dirtbagging route - there is a good chance you could go fairly cheap and all American made stuff. I also think there are some manufacturers out there that make some stuff in Canada. I would venture to say it is not worth the effort to go out and try to eliminate anything forign made from a pack, but you could get a good deal of your stuff that is from the US, Canada, or maybe Mexico - that qualifies as American made these days.
Appalachian Tater
09-07-2007, 11:55
app. tater,
I think the errounious assumption that many people have is that economics is a zero sum game. In other words, the only way China can have more is for the US and others to have less. If that were the case the only way people could get rich is if others got poorer. Its just the opposite. If we eliminate poverty everybody has more.
Same is true on the global scale, As people in China, Russia, etc. prosper, the people in the US will also get more, not less.
This is true. However, the earth has turned out to be a pretty small cage for so many humans. I just learned about nurdles in the ocean this week. Something else to worry about.
I do not think it matters. I look for the best deal. The reason markets shift is because it is more efficient. Its a good thing that the US now has more high tech jobs vs textile mills. As Asia and third world countries boost their economies, it can only help the US economy.
Any way I guess I just painted a bull eye on my a$$. I did not intend to hi jack this thread, but I just don't see anything wrong with global economics.
Our high tech jobs are moving away too. At least we'll always have farms, McDonalds, doctors, nurses and home health aides. :p
Appalachian Tater
09-07-2007, 13:37
Our high tech jobs are moving away too. At least we'll always have farms, McDonalds, doctors, nurses and home health aides. :p
Actually, no. Because of the senseless crackdown on illegal Mexican immigrants, American farmers have started moving their farming operations to Mexico. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/05export.html
We have been importing nurses and other health care workers for years. Many of the aides are from the Carribean and we have tons of nurses from places like Ireland, the Philippines, and India. Also people are going to places like South America, South Africa, and India to have major elective surgery because it is so much cheaper. Radiologists are also being outsourced to India and Eastern Europe because of the reduced expense and difference in time zones.
I do not think it matters. I look for the best deal. The reason markets shift is because it is more efficient. Its a good thing that the US now has more high tech jobs vs textile mills. As Asia and third world countries boost their economies, it can only help the US economy.
Any way I guess I just painted a bull eye on my a$$. I did not intend to hi jack this thread, but I just don't see anything wrong with global economics.
YOU WILL WHEN IT MEANS YOUR JOB!!!
Nice wood burning stoves made by a Canadian Stovie.
The "Bushbuddy"
Good Neighbors to the North and South:welcome
I sold a stove to someone in Australia so yall doin ok.
Appalachian Tater
09-07-2007, 16:56
YOU WILL WHEN IT MEANS YOUR JOB!!!
I would never ask my fellow citizens to lower their standard of living by paying more money for goods or services as a form of welfare so I could keep my job. That would be very un-American.
David S.
09-07-2007, 17:55
Feathered Friends
Mr. Clean
09-08-2007, 09:09
Most high-end backpacks are made in Vietnam. There was an article in Backpacker mag about a year ago.