A quick glance at storeroom shelves might lead one to believe that American craftsmanship and ingenuity are dwindling commodities. The truth, however, is that “Made in the USA” is making a big comeback. Both here and abroad “Made in America” still means something special: quality, dependability, ingenuity, reliability—products that feature cutting-edge technologies and innovative styles.
Made in America Still Matters…
The very notion of “Made in America”—at least from a marketing standpoint—is altruistic and born of national pride… a sort of “tug on the heart strings” between a proud manufacturer and willing customer. And while federal and state regulations are shifting the definition of “Made in the USA,” we believe that the underlying idea of what it stands for is what remains important: quality, value, job creation and ingenuity.
This Independence Day, let’s celebrate the idea of America. Let’s celebrate the American entrepreneurs and risk takers that are revitalizing the strength of our nation. Let’s celebrate the beauty of American craftsmanship, creativity and production. Whether your activity of choice is hiking, climbing or bombing down neighborhood hills, a crop of patriotic upstarts and longstanding heritage brands are working hard to ensure that you can find the product for your passion, manufactured right here in America.
Field Company Cast Iron Skillet
Headquarters: Michigan
We’re all feeling that nostalgic pull towards classic American goods that are durable and well-made—and you don’t get more old-school than a cast-iron skillet. This family owned company is reviving the American tradition of cast iron manufacturing, the way they were made over 100 years ago. 100% American made, Field Company has taken all of the best features of the classic American cast iron skillet and added a modern twist.
After a year researching, designing and forging hundreds of prototypes, the team dialed in the weight and feel – with enough heft to retain heat and light enough to ensure easy handling for every day use. Forged in Michigan and weighing in at just 4.5 pounds, this skillet manages to be lighter than a Macbook Pro without loosing any of that even heat distribution. The Field Skillet is also made with “zero waste” out of 75–90% recycled cast iron and comes with a lifetime backed guarantee.
Danner Boots
Headquarters: Portland, Oregon
Over 80 years ago Charles Danner carefully stitched together his very first work boot with a needle and thread, crafting it to withstand the logging industry in the rugged Pacific Northwest. In 1932 he opened his bootmaking business, risking his future on a stubborn belief that, regardless of the economy, superior craftsmanship mattered. Today, Danner boots can be found on job sites and trails throughout the world because the care and dedication to quality that Charles Danner put into that very first pair of work boots remains the same.
Building on the same traditions and high standards of quality instilled by Charles Danner and his family generations ago, Danner continues to design and manufacture a complete line of hiking, hunting, uniform, work and lifestyle boots in its world-class factory in Portland, Ore., USA.
The Portable Kitchen Grill
Headquarters: Little Rock, Arkansas
Grilling is an American tradition, and The PK Grill is an American grill and smoker that will keep that tradition alive for generations to come. The story of the PK Grill starts in the early 1950s, when the first Portable Kitchen grill popped out of its mold in Tyler, Texas. Since 1952, the PK Grills cast aluminum body, superior air control and portability have made it the perfect grill and smoker backyard gatherings and tailgate parties. Through the years, the brand has undergone ownership and location changes, but today the aluminum used to cast the distinctive Original Grill & Smoker is still hand poured providing legendary durability and performance.
TrailFork
Headquarters: Boulder, Colorado
The story of TrailFork has its humble beginnings in a Boulder Colorado commissary kitchen where Lilian Hoodes was making and shipping meals as a one-person show. As word began to spread and orders rolled in, the brand began to grow. The rapid growth of the brand is fueled by TrailFork’s fully customized meal kits. Every meal is handmade according to the specifications of your adventure, your tastes and caloric and dietary needs. This ensures that you’re fully stocked with custom, nourishing, and lightweight meals no matter where your adventure leads.
Beyond making great food to fuel adventures, MyTrailFork is founded upon an environmental mission of environmental responsibility and stewardship. As such, all of the brand’s packaging is 100% compostable, and as a member of the 1% for the Planet Foundation, 1% of their gross revenue will be donated to the Friends of Cedar Mesa.
Auctiv Sunscreen
Headquarters: Manhattan Beach, California
There is no compromise for quality – which is why it took this California-based brand two years to develop a simple yet elegant and effective organic sunscreen formula. Started by three local Southern California surfers, Auctiv was created to be a brand that families, surfers and athletes can rely on for a safe, effective, and environmentally-conscious product. Made entirely in the USA and composed solely from organic ingredients with biodegradable packaging, these products aren’t just safe for you and your family, but safe for our reefs and ocean life.
Looking for yet another reason to choose Auctiv? The brand has achieved organic certification for its line of skin and lip care products. Official NSF Certification assures you that Auctiv products contain a minimum of 70% organic content, with all remaining ingredients meeting the strict criteria required under the NSF standards.
ORCA Coolers
Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
ORCA high performance coolers are everything you’d expect from a premium grade rotomolded cooler – and more. Outdoor Recreation Company of America (ORCA) is a highly imaginative company that manufactures their products in the United States. Whether you opt for their 27oz Chasers, the 75qt Classic Cooler, or anything in between, you get a product built for the outdoor enthusiast utilizing American labor and American-made components.
Want more reasons to love ORCA? More than simply building quality products, the company recognizes its corporate responsibility and the need to give back to those who have helped make it successful. In that vein, the sale of ORCA products helps give back to conservation groups, wounded warrior programs, breast cancer research and many other great causes.
Princeton Tec
Headquarters: Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton Tec, has been pioneering new technologies and building lights to power outdoor adventures since 1975. Today, more than 40 years since their founding, all of Princeton Tec’s facilities remain located in three New Jersey towns (Bordentown, Trenton, and Berlin) within a one-hour radius from where it all started.
As a Made In The USA manufacturer, Princeton Tec understands that honoring the men and women who handle the products, from idea to engineering to the shipping labels, is the only way to maintain a passionate brand. Along with a growing Outdoor sector, the company also provides specialized lighting solutions to tactical and industrial users, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and all branches of the military. The brands dedication to American products and workers will continue as Princeton Tec was recently awarded a state grant that will enable them to build a larger facility to house even more American workers.
KEEN Made-in-America Collection
Since launching its U.S. assembly plant in 2010, KEEN has been steadily expanding operations at their Portland factory, located on Portland’s Swan Island. KEEN gathers the finest materials from around the world and performs the final and most critical steps of assembly in Portland. While it’s not making these products 100% from scratch in America, the brand is using current resources to bring production and jobs back to American soil while still delivering innovative and dependable products. From the Durand hiking boot to the new EvoFit One, KEEN’s American Built Line is not only creating local manufacturing jobs, but helping to bring footwear back to the USA.
Old Town Canoe
Headquarters: Old Town, Maine
Old Town is an iconic brand with a legacy of pioneering innovation and superior quality. In 1898 Old Town built their first wood-and-canvas canoe behind the Gray hardware store in Old Town, Maine. More than 100 years later, Old Town’s trademark wood and canvas canoes have never gone out of production. From their humble beginnings, Old Town has helped reshape the canoe and kayak industry by being the first to bring Royalex and rotomolded plastic boats to market. Today, this American heritage brand not only offers a complete line of recreational, fishing, and day touring kayaks but continues to advance the canoe and kayak tradition through design and material innovation.
Darn Tough Vermont
Headquarters: Northfield, Vermont
In the Green Mountains of Northfield, Vermont stands a Hosiery Mill with a sign inside that boldly states, “Nobody ever outsourced anything for quality.” Since the outset, Darn Tough Vermont has held firmly to the belief that when you’re really serious about something you make it yourself. And so it is. For three generations each and every pair of socks continues to be manufactured in Vermont – not because it’s the easy thing to do – but because they believe it’s the right thing to do.
Made with the industry’s highest knitting density, Darn Tough socks diminish blisters and bunching for long lasting comfort from the office to the great outdoors. Whether you’re looking for the best hiking socks on earth, stylish lifestyle socks, or a new lifelong running sock Darn Tough has got you covered. Each sock comes with an unconditional lifetime guarantee and is designed, tested and manufactured in Vermont for unrivaled comfort, durability and fit.
KOTA Longboards
Headquarters: Denver, Colorado
The story of KOTA begins in the garage of founder and former Navy pilot Mike Maloney. Back in 2012 Mike began crafting boards, creating the art himself, and then handing them out to local riders in the street so he could implement their feedback to enhance the design. Now, six years later, the brand continues to demonstrate a penchant for crafting high performance longboards with a refined style.
Taking inspiration from the historic military aircraft flown by the intrepid Knights of the Air, the team at Kota has developed a line of skateboards that beautifully represents what long boarding was always intended to be – smooth, responsive, and supremely fun. Handcrafted in Colorado and made from American Hard Rock Maple in Wisconsin, each of KOTA’s five shapes has a classic, natural, and timeless style that readily appeals to riders of all ages. And for those who want a little extra zip in their rides, KOTA has introduced the Spitfire Mk V eBoard – the only board that combines the KOTA ride experience with a solid electronics package kit.
Leatherman
Headquarters: Portland, Oregon
While some manufacturers are finding ways to bring manufacturing back to the United States, Leatherman never left. On July 5, 1983 Tim Leatherman incorporated Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. based on a few simple, but fundamental principles: manufacture the highest quality products that deliver excellent value to the consumer, while providing good, living-wage jobs to the local workforce. Thirty years after their founding, Leatherman is still going strong crafting their iconic multitools and knives that are as rugged as the conditions you’re testing them against.
Do a small portion of parts still come from vendors outside the country? Yes. But the brand makes more than 8,000 tools per day in a facility that runs all day and all night for most of the week. That manufacturing takes place at a 90,000 square foot space in Portland Oregan – a tangible testament to Leatherman’s success in producing quality products on American soil.
Liberty BottleWorks
Headquarters: Union Gap, Washington
Liberty is committed to and respects the American Dream. Not only are they managing to craft a quality product in a highly-competitive space dominated by imports, Liberty BottleWorks is the ONLY American made 100% recycled metal bottle in the marketplace. Liberty’s stand is simple and straight forward: making products in America is not only a duty but an honor. Their bottles are made in America by American workers and hiring preference is given to those who have served our country.
More than just American made, Liberty BottleWorks has committed to an impressive level of Environmental Stewardship to protect the land we love. From day one, Liberty has strived to be a zero waste manufacturing facility. They are closing in on a 96% diversion rate. How do they do it? Not simply. Liberty built a factory that uses Super E Motors, Infrared Energy and Vacuum Recovery Units. They filter and reuse their own water three times. They recycle their own scrap. They repurpose nearly everything.