Made in China

[sneaky]

I’ve seen an interesting debate on this topic concerning snowboards. The vast majority of boards are made in 3 factories: Austria, China and Dubai. There are, however, a number of boutique American manufacturers who make the case for snowboards manufacturered by snowboarders. Personally, I own 2 American made boards and at least one made in each of the three factories abroad.

The broader argument goes like this:

You pay $400-$600 for a higher end board made overseas in a factory that does nothing but make snowboards for dozens of different brands. The process, whether in a factory in China or in a garage is basically the same and little of it can be automated, however, the factories have presses and laminate machines that boutique shop can never afford, though you pay more like $600-$1200 for a US made board.

The guy who works in a factory in China does nothing but manufacture boards every day, all day, year around with the best equipment money can buy. The guy making boards in a US shop likely lasts less than 3 years while going through his post college ski bum phase, making less than $15 an hour, making a few dozen boards for just a few months out of the year on largely homemade equipment.

Which factory produces a higher quality and more consistent product? Which factory has the more experienced/expert fabricators?

It is an interesting question.

I don't even know where my Jones powder board was made lol

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[sneaky]

My original post was spurred by a similar situation. I was looking at a pair of Vortex Razor binoculars. To my surprise they are made in China. I thought they were made in Japan. However, Leupold makes binos that are just as good, arguably better and have been in business much, much longer and have a higher chance of staying in business for just a couple hundred more dollars. Is it worth it to me? You bet.

A lot of Leupold binos come out of those same Chinese factories....

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[Rich M]

Unfortunately for most people, that IS the issue (that quality is not an issue anymore).

Personally, I'd love to see more U.S. companies produce the things we use. Why? Because they would have to pay a decent wage, and in turn support our U.S. economy, AND most importantly, the cost of needless sh*t would go up. And that would take us back to when small things actually MATTERED to kids, if and when they got them.

Part of the problem today is the sense of entitlement that comes with the instant gratification kids get anymore. If they had to actually wait on gifts or even sometimes essentials, because they cost more, that would do them some good.

So I'm in favor of bringing those jobs back to the U.S., for a lot of reasons.

Where I was going was that the stuff made overseas isn't just junk anymore. I no longer drive a Chevy but a Toyota - better product. Japan makes some of the better optics these days. Things like that.

The fact that parents haven't raised their kids right in the past generation or so isn't from stuff made overseas.

 

[Newtosavage]

My point was that if we didn't have so much cheap crap on the shelves in the stores, parents wouldn't just give in to their kids and buy it to (temporarily) shut them up. And then, the kids would have to learn patience. But these days, with $1 toys and $30 bikes, parents just buy stuff randomly for their kids, thinking that will make the kid happy and they will stop asking for stuff. Nope. Only makes it worse. If those items cost more, the parents would have to tell the kids they gotta wait (like the old days) and the kids would have to learn patience.

I realize that's an oversimplification, but it's how I see a big part of the problem with cheap manufacturing.

 

[Poser]

I don't even know where my Jones powder board was made lol

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Dubai.

Which one do you have? I have a Storm Chaser.

 

[Kevin Dill]

The country which is responsible for China / Asia manufacturing so much of what Americans consume....is the United States of America.

 

[Rich M]

My point was that if we didn't have so much cheap crap on the shelves in the stores, parents wouldn't just give in to their kids and buy it to (temporarily) shut them up. And then, the kids would have to learn patience. But these days, with $1 toys and $30 bikes, parents just buy stuff randomly for their kids, thinking that will make the kid happy and they will stop asking for stuff. Nope. Only makes it worse. If those items cost more, the parents would have to tell the kids they gotta wait (like the old days) and the kids would have to learn patience.

I realize that's an oversimplification, but it's how I see a big part of the problem with cheap manufacturing.

Folks pacify their kids cause it is easier than disciplining and parenting. They want to be "liked" and not hear the kids crying and screaming all the time. I can understand that, just has repercussions as the kids expect to get stuff without working or being patient.

Some folks do parent well, the kids are well behaved, kind, generous, friendly, share, etc. Just seems like "most folks" raise little monsters. It is probably 50-50 or less, we just remember the screaming meemies better than the quiet ones.

 

[Newtosavage]

Very true.

I just think back to when I was a kid, and how much value myself and other kids placed on even the simplest, inexpensive things back then. We would routinely go in search of coke bottles to return for 5 or 10 cents as a way of earning our "own" money. Even parents who had money back in those days, didn't seem to just randomly spend it on cheap crap to pacify their kids. Nowdays I see people who really can't afford it, buy $1, $5, $20 toys for their kids all the time, when those kids will probably play with them once and then toss them in the corner. That is what I mean. If those toys were made in America, sure they would cost more, but then they would also have more value to the end user. So this is my argument about why we should get back to products made in America. Not because there is some nefarious foreign government that we should starve of money.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Sure does make me appreciate these cottages manufacturers like Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Mountain Laurel Designs, Six Moons Designs, BPWD’s, Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Seek Outside, etc., etc., and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately everything we buy can’t always be made in the US, but it is usually at the forefront of my mind with just about every purchase I make, and if I can purchase a particular product that’s made on US soil (even if it costs a little more), I usually do.


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[ShariVari]

China became quite high quality in the past 8-10 years. Even Karl Lagerfeld was a huge fan of China in the past 5 years, as they are very stylish, with very innovative designs, and the quality is became very high level. Back in the days people know China was about making fake clothing and a lot of plastic, but in the modern age, where you can't sell anything fake, they focused on designs instead of copy huge brands' logos. I often see nice products from China, but they are selling on a very high price, I mean if they are making from real leather and with unique designs. It's the same with electronic stuffs, they are doing fine from them. What I don't like is the smell of Chinese products, they're awful.

 

[Clarktar]

I don't even know where my Jones powder board was made lol

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I remember when K2 was made on vashon island. Also remember when quik did not own mervin manufacturing. Oh well, I will still enjoy my new E-jack model

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[16Bore]

I just finished off a plate of Chinese food that was Made in USA.

What’s the world coming to?

If a dude working at Walmart sells me something made in China, I don’t worry too much. I figure some American dude unloaded it from a ship and onto a truck driven by another American dude. Then it was put in the shelf by another American dude and the last American dude sold it to me.

So instead of paying $50 for 1 thing I can pay $5 and buy more things.

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[Billinsd]

When can we start buying Chinese cars? I'd much rather buy Chinese than Japanese. I'd much rather buy anything made overseas than anything union made in the US, especially when it comes to cars. On the other hand there is nothing better than buying some quality, precision stuff made in America by small shops at any price, even very high.

 

[Billinsd]

China became quite high quality in the past 8-10 years. Even Karl Lagerfeld was a huge fan of China in the past 5 years, as they are very stylish, with very innovative designs, and the quality is became very high level. Back in the days people know China was about making fake clothing and a lot of plastic, but in the modern age, where you can't sell anything fake, they focused on designs instead of copy huge brands' logos. I often see nice products from China, but they are selling on a very high price, I mean if they are making from real leather and with unique designs. It's the same with electronic stuffs, they are doing fine from them. What I don't like is the smell of Chinese products, they're awful.

Japan used to be awful junk, and their quality improved dramatically. The Chinese are extremely capable of producing high quality things. We live in a global economy and we need to adjust in order to compete. I'm not real warm and fuzzy about what Trump is doing if he is picking winners and losers. I do think we've been taken advantage of by the world and he's changing that. The world doesn't need to like us, but it's critical they respect us.

 

[Wildstreak]

A lot of Leupold binos come out of those same Chinese factories....

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Yep. I their better stuff is made in Japan. I mistakenly thought they were made here.

 

[beachbunny]

sodaky, great vid, thanks for posting it

 

[isu22andy]

I always see about people buying local and buying an american made product, which I agree with 90% of the time , but when push comes to shove , how can you not afford to pinch pennies when you have the opportunity ? Its hard to look at your daughter when shes 10 years old and say sorry hunny we need to buy you all walmart clothes because I only buy merican huntin products that are twice as much. Guess what at the end of the day you still need to save money one way or another and are still buying china crap. Not everyone is running on 60 , 80, 100k a year salarys.

 

[Poser]

I always see about people buying local and buying an american made product, which I agree with 90% of the time , but when push comes to shove , how can you not afford to pinch pennies when you have the opportunity ? Its hard to look at your daughter when shes 10 years old and say sorry hunny we need to buy you all walmart clothes because I only buy merican huntin products that are twice as much. Not everyone is running on 60 , 80, 100k a year salarys.

Can you actually buy American made clothes at Walmart? I’d wager you cannot.

 

[isu22andy]

Can you actually buy American made clothes at Walmart? I’d wager you cannot.

I bet you cant either , but where do you draw the line is what im saying . Ideally everyone would love to buy american, but when push comes to shove and dollar comes to dollar sometimes you cant.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Can you actually buy American made clothes at Walmart? I’d wager you cannot.

Oh, you'd loose that wager young grasshopper. I bought an UL pair of Croc knockoffs there that were 100% made in USA (but only made out of 75% US parts), and less than $10.