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Made in China vs. Made in USA

meyeri

PMA Member
So recently I was optic/rangefinder shopping and it was frustrating to me how basically all rifle scopes, rangefinders and red dots at the entry to mid level price range are made in China, Phillipines or Japan. Even Leupold's products are made elsewhere now, unless you buy the really high end stuff. This also carries over to trail cams, all basically made in China. Even a lot of tree stand companies are contracted out and made in China now.
I know lone wolf custom gear, Novix and several others are still made in the USA. I'm pretty sure once GSM gets ahold of a company they start making the stuff overseas; Hawk, Muddy, big game treestands, etc. I understand that's business, but the pandemic brought to light the issue of supply chain and how dependent we are on other countries for a lot of goods.
Anyway, I'm curious how important country of origin is to other outdoorsman?
I try to spend the extra money to support American made products when I can, but companies like Vortex with unlimited lifetime warranties make it hard to justify other products sometimes.

Anyway, just something to think about when you're shopping for new gear. I'm not affiliated with any company but I am always looking for Quality American made gear, so any recommendations for other American made products would be appreciated. Treestands, optics, backpacks, clothing, you name it, what are good American made companies you would recommend?
 
When I got muddy stands long ago- already made in China. As I poured rust out from inside their tubes & then Chinese stands of many companies had stuff like failed cables & metal parts.... that was end of China junk for treestands I sit in. Lone Wolf/Novix made in Midwest & quality is light years better. I have lw stands from late 90’s I still use. New straps is all.

some things u can’t avoid- that goes back to china’s borderline slave labor, paying peanuts & their currency Manipulation. Wont get too political here but trump was on right track finally fighting that scam of a country. China owns too many politicians so don’t expect push back to keep going like with trump.
I’ll always pay more for USA made if available & quality is superior.
My “line of work”... farm related- crazy to see most the companies outsource to China, India, Mexico, Turkey, etc. Quality went way down- Deere was great example on tons of their stuff. Recent tractors, bat wings, gators, etc- all stamped with oversea labels if u dig. I finally through in towel on Deere. Old stuff.... maybe 1995 to 2005 or maybe even 2008 - good. After, on a lot of stuff... no way. Never buying it again.

Sucky trend with companies making in China & cutting corners for better margins. Lot of folks still hungry for quality where things built to last.
 
If I know and the value is comparable, even of US made is a little more, I'll buy made in America. But its not a huge factor and I'm more likely than not to not know country or origin. Gold tip, elite, berronett blinds, magnus, any brand of cloths, Ford ( but I happen to know the one I have came from canada), cabellas brand tent and hiking boots, Berkley, multiple mid cost ladder stand brands, too many gun brands to type here, vortex, multiple nikons. Pretty sure I have 5 to 10 countries covered with a decent chunk from the US.
 
When I was young, In the 70's and 80's, Made in Japan was the equivalent to made in China today. I'm not sure what this means, or if China ever gains the same quality, but it is true statement.
 
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