Also struck by the (lack of) price drop, but they're probably not trying to become a budget pack company. They're offshoring for the same reason everyone else does: not to drop prices in absolute terms but to gain a competitive advantage over other companies. And if you look at the categories their packs are competing in, looks like they've done just that. The scarecrow is for instance significantly lighter, more feature rich, and less expensive than a full price spike camp (not to mention a xing or tahr with frame) esp when you start adding side pockets. Same thing in comparison to a stone glacier approach. Lighter, larger, better built, better materials and only 30 bucks more than a Sitka flash 20. Somewhere in between, and lighter, and significantly less expensive than kuiu' icon pro 1850 and 3000. If I were in the market for a dedicated day hunting pack, I would have a hard time saying it's not the best deal in its category. Not only does it beat the competition in terms of weight, price, or overall quality--or all of the above--it incorporates the best design features of all of its competitors.
As for the question of offshoring, I like to think that MR may lift some decent human beings out of desperate, third world poverty, but I hate that it might come at the cost of some potential US jobs that do not yet exist. On the other hand, I'm typing this on an iPhone that was manufactured entirely abroad, and I'd rather see high tech manufacturing return to this country. Not sure I'd be able to afford my iPhone if it did...
