Buying Climbing Gear made in the USA

The "Buy American" theory sounds good in theory however It may end up doing more harm that good. It all has to do with opportunity cost and specialization. Here is a pretty good read on some of the principles

aspendailynews.com/section/…

In the last few years I've been on a made in USA kick, especially clothes and shoes I wear to work.

I recently bought a metolius safe tech harness because it was made in the USA and I was hoping it would be super durable, unfortunately it is hands down the most uncomfortable harness I've ever owned.

I was thinking about USA Manufacturing the other day, and I thought the following: Clothing manufacturing is one of the shittiest jobs in the USA, but in a lot of developing nations it would be considered one of the best jobs a person could hope to get.

So am I more concerned with having a tag that says my clothing was made by an American than I am about raising the standard of living in other countries?

I still prefer certain Items made in the USA, like "casual" shoes, but that is because they tend to be made out of materials that last longer (read about the difference between full grain leather and corrected grain leather, or why a goodyear welt is so great!). It's also because well made shoes pretty much only come from the USA or Europe and the USA is typically cheaper.

putthison.com/post/30830658…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welt_…

John Wilder wrote: Metolius makes all of its hardgoods here.

Take another look at their carabiners. I think they are all made in Taiwan now.

If you want to be American, make sure you have car payments and credit card debt. Proudly display that Chinese-made 'merican flag.

Matt N wrote:If you want to be American, make sure you have car payments and credit card debt. Proudly display that Chinese-made 'merican flag.

Hehe...

I buy products from European manufacturers when I can afford it. Petzl, Sportiva (although some of their cheaper models are being manufactured in Asia now...), Mammut, ETC. Some American made things, such as Therma-rest, MSR (just verified) are great quality. My Dragonfly stove has been bringing the heat for like 10 years now without fail.

I was thoroughly disappointed with the durability of my 5.10 Huecos this year though...shoddy quality! My Sportiva boots are outstanding, though, and pretty much take whatever kind of abuse I dish out to them.

While I hate to wade into this (I climb to get away from my day job, which is teaching economics) I feel I can at least add that all sportiva shoes are now made in Italy. They did outsource some, but they weren't happy w/ the results & brought them back in house. This re-insourcing, in fact, is the primary reason some of their models have been so back-ordered of late.

Matt Roberts wrote:While I hate to wade into this (I climb to get away from my day job, which is teaching economics) I feel I can at least add that all sportiva shoes are now made in Italy. They did outsource some, but they weren't happy w/ the results & brought them back in house. This re-insourcing, in fact, is the primary reason some of their models have been so back-ordered of late.

Very good to hear...any source?

@ NYclimber - from those of us that work at US-based manufacturers, let me applaud your efforts and just say Thank You!

Simply said, it truly is a world market these days and anything with super high % labor cost is nearly impossible to be 100% US-made and cost-competitive at the same time. I mean just try to find a "Made in US" label in Wal-Mart. In general it is certainly true that many US-based companies import their own designs that are made off-shore, but many of these same companies ALSO produce products right here on US soil w/ US labor and PAY Uncle Sam his big cut... so just know that a brand name does not always 100% equal country of origin and things change from year to year for many companies.

I just hope you keep checking the labels and ask. If you look you will find... classic capitalism - buyer's choice. I still try to buy my Mandarin Oranges from Thai or Philippine factories instead of Chinese (ironic of course), which is hard and sometimes I leave the store w/o my oranges, but they're out there and I actually enjoy looking for them... it matters to me - just like I choose to buy my gas from companies that do not purchase oil from unfriendly nations. Thanks for your support!

As an employee of an American manufacturer I thank you for making the effort to buy American made products. I also had the opportunity to live and work in Europe and saw the benefits of their protectionist laws.

It's impossible to buy 100% American made and still enjoy the benefits of cutting edge climbing gear but it is worth being aware of where your dollars are going.

Lately I've been on somewhat of a craft-made kick and have been happy to buy Cilo packs, Karakoram bindings, and I've talked to some of the guys that press the snowboards that I ride.

And yes, my rack has made in XXX markings from all over the world and yes I do shop at REI for stuff that I'm taking a chance on liking but I try to buy most of my stuff at a couple of local gear shops even though the cost is higher. They can't be replaced when I realize that I want something high end that REI doesn't carry at 730pm for a climb the next day.

skitch wrote:I recently bought a metolius safe tech harness because it was made in the USA and I was hoping it would be super durable, unfortunately it is hands down the most uncomfortable harness I've ever owned.

Off topic, but which model? I've been climbing in their safetech sporto harness and I love the dang thing. super light, I dont even realize I'm wearing it and it's comfy enough to hang in to set or belay as long as it isnt hour long marathon belays.

On the topic of made in the USA goods and the folks razzing the OP about his car and shit, his effort shouldnt be invalidated because he happens to own items that aren't american made, making conscious decisions on what gear he buys is better than not thinking about it at all.

I thought I read somewhere (me memory is foggy) that black diamond was assembling overseas?

Ben Brotelho wrote: Very good to hear...any source?

Rep told me. Haven't looked at any of the new Tarantulas coming through to verify, but I can sure attest to nasty backorders last winter.

Voormi's products are all sourced from US materials, we use Rocky Mountain Highcountry Merino wool and sew everything here in the United States.

Stitch, take a look at Misty Mountain Harnesses. I bought a Cadillac a coupla years ago and LOVE it.

I like buying American, but yes it's tough to find. Part of that is the American companies are the ones outsourcing. Using foreign factories improves the American company's bottom line and the owners (may be small startups) or executives (in a larger company), make more money, at the cost to mfg jobs.

The foreign factories are not to blame - just filling a demand. However, it does hurt US manufacturing (aw rust belt). The American companies who started farming this out to get a price advantage (for the consumer) started it, and now this trend makes it hard for a company to be competitive using only US Labor, especially with larger quanitites when econimics of scale override the shipping cost, etc.

My question is, why not just use homeless people? I see them everywhere. I know Omega Pacific used convicts, but in this case maybe we can have a welfare system where instead of just giving money, welfare subsidizes low "overseas comparable" wages, to get to minimum wage rates. As long as the homeless aren't the mental ones, that would be scary gear to climb on.

I own a small manufacturing business and continue to eke out a decent living while almost all my competitors have turned to overseas labor. It's tough. I can assure you that turning to the homeless is not a viable solution. That's just silly.

Chuck Weber wrote:...just like I choose to buy my gas from companies that do not purchase oil from unfriendly nations...

So which nations, exactly, qualify as "friendly?"

this entire thread just made me depressed.

Ryan Williams wrote: So which nations, exactly, qualify as "friendly?"

Canada.

This shouldn't be a depressing thread. There's tons of awesome climbing gear made in the USA and none of this should disparage other nations. I'm trying to help answer the American made gear question with my site: AmericanGearGuide.com which has an article about the best American made climbing gear. Many here in the US choose American made because they like to buy local, support fair wages, more sustainable and higher environmental standards, and find the best quality. 

come on people get smart and buy american,our people make superb gear and need the work! best regards Bob Crawford VAC