USA Made Climbing/Mountaineering Gear

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had some good recommendations for companies that make rock/ice/mountaineering gear/clothing that still makes good products in the USA. I've got various pieces of equipment that I suspect I'll be purchasing within the next several months, some to get ready for a mountaineering course in Alaska this summer, and some to start learning to lead (sport first, not planning on starting a trad rack yet) in March or April. Where I can, even if it may mean a little bit higher price (although not completely unreasonably so), I like to try to support companies that haven't shipped all of their manufacturing overseas, but it's getting harder and harder to find these days, so any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Griffin Nosenzo

Hoa Boy... Here we go again.

Lets just say the practice of overseas manufacturing is much more complicated than a simple act of greed that effects workers in the USA. There are any number of BD "chinalots" threads on this...

that said, there are small companies making stuff in the USA.

Since you mention mainly mountaineering stuff to start...

NW Alpine - Made in Portland, OR

Feathered Friends - Seattle, WA

Western Mountaineering - San Jose, CA

Beyond Clothing - Seattle, WA

Sterling Ropes Mostly ropes and cordage
CiloGear Packs and duffels
Metolius Lots of climbing gear and ropes

Stanley Alpine

Website seems to be down right now though. huh.

Also, I'll throw in a plug for my own company Free Range Equipment. We manufacture ski mountaineering and climbing backpacks in Bend, OR with a 100% shredisfaction guarantee.

Wired Bliss for cams.

Marmot assembles some of their bags in the U.S.

MSR manufactures their stoves in the U.S.

Cold Cold World for packs.

Westcomb makes their clothing in that state between Washington and Alaska.

SMC makes some mountaineering gear, including the most beautiful snow saw. Also carabiners, pulleys, snow flukes, and an ice axe.

Ibex makes some, though not all, of their wool items in the U.S. You'll need to check their website for specific items.

New England (Maxim) for ropes.

Bluewater for ropes.

REI Made in the USA is a listing of all gear sold at REI made in the U.S.

I'll put in a pitch for Integral Designs, even though they are Canadian. They make very high-quality tents, sleeping bags, and bivy sacks in (I think) Alberta. Wage/workplace laws in Canada are very similar to those in the US.

You can't go wrong with a WM sleeping bag--they are bombproof and worth every penny.

Griffin Nosenzo wrote:Hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone had some good recommendations for companies that make rock/ice/mountaineering gear/clothing that still makes good products in the USA. I've got various pieces of equipment that I suspect I'll be purchasing within the next several months, some to get ready for a mountaineering course in Alaska this summer, and some to start learning to lead (sport first, not planning on starting a trad rack yet) in March or April. Where I can, even if it may mean a little bit higher price (although not completely unreasonably so), I like to try to support companies that haven't shipped all of their manufacturing overseas, but it's getting harder and harder to find these days, so any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Griffin Nosenzo

Mysteryranch.com
For the best climbing pack I have ever found made in Bozeman Montana USA

Misty Mountain Threadworks
Makes the best harness in the World, and a handful of other good stuff.....Hand crafted here in the U.S.A.....for climbers, by climbers..

Greg Carlisle wrote: Misty Mountain Threadworks Makes the best harness in the World, and a handful of other good stuff.....Hand crafted here in the U.S.A.....for climbers, by climbers..

Hell yeah, I love my misty Sonic.

Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten Misty Mountain??

40 Below for overboots and bottle insulators.

Wild Things for packs and clothing, may be available to the public again soon.

Mountain Tools makes gaiters.

Nunatak makes bags and clothing.

And Evolv and Five Ten for climbing shoes (though Five Ten's approach shoes are made in China).

I checked Stanley Alpine's site last month and it was down then...I wonder what happened?

Props to NW Alpine, ID, Cold Cold World and Mystery Ranch. A few of my very favorite companies.

I recently put together a site americangearguide.com that answers that question. Thankfully there are still plenty of American employees making high quality outdoor gear. I hope people find my site helpful.

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Omega Pacific yet. PMI/Trango ropes too.

It's my assumption that most climbing companies that are manufacturing in the US are also suppliers to the US military. I'm ok with that but you might consider it when you're trying to sort out your recreational consumer ethics.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear

My Integral Designs MkI bivy tent was made in China. Matter of fact, the tag inside the entrance of the tent says "proudly made in China"- never seen that one before. BTW, all of my older ID stuff was made in Canada.

Misty makes the best trad harness in my opinion, the Cadillac. I love the extra gear loops and wider hip belt. The extra loops help me sort better and keeps the important stuff more forward. It is still light weight and agile, so I use for sport climbing as well. They make many other good harnesses for different applications. Just got a new pack (the Gorge) from them as a birthday gift to myself, psyched to try it when it stops raining. I like their shoulder runners also. I think they are the most supple on the market and are still very durable. Everything they sell is fully customizable, like full strength gear loops, colors, etc...

Rab bought integral designs a couple of years ago and moved most/all? production to China.

Graham,
I see. That explains it.

Thanks!