King Louie America

When I hear King Louie I think of a beheaded french king or a musical orangutan, but neither would be the King Louie I'm talking about. King Louie America has a large product range of shirts and jackets, along with custom embroidery options.  I have a few of their moisture management shirts - extremely comfortable, no ironing. Priced right, made right, here in USA. I just picked up a few more at +All American Clothing Co.

Carhartt

Carhartt has been making garments in the US for quite some time now - well over 100 years.  They have a reputation for very durable clothing, and consequently you'll see their brand name on lots of outside work-oriented clothing.

I wanted to get a winter jacket with a hood - and Carhartt had just the ticket.  Customer reviews are stellar, price is right, and of course, made in the USA.

Carolina Glove Company

My leather work gloves have given out - holes in the fingers - so I needed a new pair.  Plus I thought it'd be nice to have a pair of gloves for yard work.  Plus a pair for cleaning the gutters.  So after a little bit of Googling I found the Carolina Glove Company, a maker of many styles of gloves, priced well, and many made in the USA.  I got three pair.  :-)

EMG

I tinker with guitars, basses, and other stringed instruments.  There a several companies I utilize for these homebrew creations - the first I'll mention is EMG.

EMG is known for their stealth-black active pickups, found in many shredder's guitars and modern basses.  They also make some really nice sounding passive pickups.  I've always liked EMG's products, and I like the company too - they think out of the box, delivering stuff no one else in the industry does.

Smith Optics

The last pair of ski goggles I bought was in the '80's - tempus fugit.  Yeah, they were no longer stylish, but they held together.  But I needed a new pair because my dog decided those goggles was a chew toy.

I picked up a pair of Smiths.  Has the latest technology, *is* stylish, very reasonably priced (I got 'em for less than $20), and made in the USA.  Now I'm looking forward to snow...

Keen & New Balance

Keen and New Balance are US shoe companies that manufacture shoes both domestically and overseas.  Both companies have a sorting filter on their websites to allow you to just see the Made in USA shoes.  And both companies make some awesome shoes, sandals, and boots.

I needed a pair of hiking boots, and just got a pair of Keen's at REI - on sale too!

D'Addario

I play guitar & bass, so I buy strings quite a bit.  I almost always buy D'Addario, especially when I'm buying in bulk, because they come packaged in a corrosion-proof sealed bag.  That way they seem 'fresh' (yes, you can hear & feel when strings have been out for a while) even if I purchased them a long time ago.  If you really want the strings to last even after you've opened the bag, D'Addario offers a coated string line too.  And of course, they are made here in the USA.

Twig Case

I was searching for an iPhone case that was made in the USA - there are not very many choices, but I found one and purchased it from Twig.

The case itself is very eco-friendly, using materials that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance.  And it's wallet-friendly too - the one I chose was $20 USD.  They have a lot of neat options for their cases too, some that are quite artistic.  I just got a plane one - I just need to protect it from drops (which I've done before...).  Should arrive in a few days - can't wait!

Apogee Electronics

I write & record music on my laptop.  It's been a long evolution for my 'studio'.  Way back in the '80's I had a 4-track cassette recorder, lots of outboard effects, mixing board, guitar, bass guitar, drum machines, keyboards, microphones, cables, etc.  Now it's just guitars, a laptop, and an audio interface.

For the audio interface, I use Apogee Electronics.  Apogee makes great stuff - crystal clear, lots of dynamic range, great pre's, intuitive GUI's.  And they make all of there stuff in the USA.  Rock on...

MSR Water Filter

I like to hike & camp.  I don't do it as much as I'd like, but that's true about a lot of things!  Staying hydrated is super important while hiking (or doing anything else for that matter), but water is pretty heavy (~8.35 lbs/US gallon), so carrying a whole bunch of it is hard.  That's where carrying a water filter comes in.  Then you just have to carry enough water to get you to the next stream/lake.

MSR makes a nice filter, and it's made in the USA.  Their website has some videos showing it in action - check 'em out.

Wahl

My two boys & I keep our hair relatively short (< 1.5"), and have for the last decade.  How do I know the exact length?  Because we cut it at home with a Wahl hair clipper, which uses length-labeled clipper guides.  That single product has save me literally thousands of dollars.  Think about it, one haircut per month for three people at say $15 for a decade - you do the math.

It's super easy to use to get a great looking cut, priced extremely well, saves lots of money, and it's made in the USA!

Xuron

For a project I'm working on I need some flush cutters.  (It's so I can cut the pins of through-hole components on the back of a printed circuit board - a new product for my company EurekaSound).  Xuron is the first -they invented it - and best name in this category.  Priced well, engineered well, and made in the USA!

Crosman

My kids and I like to do some target shooting in the backyard with air rifles.  We have some Crosman and Remington air rifles - both high quality rifles, and both made in the USA.  We all really enjoy it.  I decided to get a .22 caliber air rifle to take care of some varmints around the yard - again Crosman has the goods - the Benjamin Discovery.

Nalgene

We take water bottles with us pretty much everywhere we go.  Fill 'em up at home (we have a filter on our kitchen faucet), put 'em in the car/backpack/etc.  And the water bottles we use are Nalgene.  They have a lot of great features:

• Priced reasonably
• Dishwasher safe
• Impact resistant (my kids have tested this repeatedly)
• Easy to drink from
• Cool loop on the lid making it easy to carry and hard to lose the lid
• BPA free
• And Made in the USA

Libbey

Three kids and a hard tile kitchen floor = the occasional broken glass.  Another broke yesterday, an accident of course.  Our glass supply had dwindled so much that we've been using coffee mugs!  So, I ordered a dozen Libbey Gilbraltar 14-oz glasses from Amazon.  A well priced nice solid glass, made in the USA - and hopefully with a little bounce... :-)

All-Clad

We don't have too many of these incredible pieces from All-Clad - a fry pan, a sauté pan, a sauce pan, and a stock pot - but we use the ones we have all the time.  They heat very quickly and evenly - very nice to cook with.  Kinda pricey, but they do occasionally have sales.  Not all of their stuff is made in the US, but all of their bonded metal products are - and they are the best in the business.

1888 Mills

Boy, we needed some new towels.  Yeah, the ones we had would still absorb water from you, but they were starting to feel like sandpaper.  Plus, holes in some of them, and the colors faded so much that I couldn't remember what the original color was.

So, I googled "towels made in the USA" and got back 1888 Mills.  So I ordered some bath towels and wash cloths from Amazon.  Wow, are they nice!  Soft, fluffy, big - and made in the USA.  No more 'exfoliating' my whole body after getting out of the shower.

Leatherman

I like having a multi-tool (or two!) on me pretty much at all times.  I can't say that I use them all of the time - but when it's time, I'm ready.  I recently just purchased another one: the Leatherman Style PS.  It has many features, but here are the highlights:

• 8 tools in one
• TSA Compliant (so I can even take it on an airplane)
• Made in the USA

Princeton Tec

A couple of weekends ago I installed some ceiling fans in our house, so I needed to do some electrical work in the attic.  First I tried to hold the flashlight and do the work - wasn't happening.  Then I tried propping the flashlight to point at the junction box, but the angle of the light was not ideal.  Sometimes you really need a light and both of your hands free.

I recalled last summer camping that several people were wearing headlamps.  That's the perfect solution for working in dark areas - and camping.  And Princeton Tec is a big name in that product category.  Hi tech, economical, and made in the USA!  I got the 'Fred' model.

Preserve Products

I use the Preserve Triple Razor, whose handle is 100% #5 plastic and is 100% recyclable, reasonably priced, and made in the USA.  The blades have materials from the US, but are assembled in Mexico.  I have the razor replacements on Subscribe and Save from Amazon arriving every 6 months.  That way I don't have to think about it - which is good, because I'm half asleep when I'm actually shaving in the morning!

Okabashi

My Okabashi's are the most comfortable shoes I own, hands down (feet down?).  I have a couple of pairs; the Classic Flip-Flop for wandering around outside, and the Eurosport as my inside 'slipper'.  My wife and kids have 'em too.  They're priced very reasonably, eco-friendly, and made in the USA.

And for fancy feminine foot stylings, check out OKA B - same company, more flash.

Tyvek

My company, EurekaSound!, uses Tyvek envelopes to send our goods.  They're strong, don't rip, and repel water - great for shipping.  And they are made in the USA!

Jimi Wallet

I got rid of my "back pocket" wallet a few years ago - was sick of sitting on it.  I also wanted to pair down the contents of my wallet.  So I scanned my wallet pictures and cards that I didn't use much and put them in my phone.  I just kept my drivers license & a few credit cards.  Then I got the coolest wallet:  The JimiX from Jimi.  It's made from 100% recycled material, and manufactured in the USA.  Every time I pull it out, people say "That's a cool wallet!"

Crate & Barrel

Last year we bought a couch at Crate & Barrel that is made in North Carolina.  We got one with a removable and washable slipcover because we have kids & dogs.  We hadn't planned on one of those dogs chewing on the slipcover...  Anyway, we went to get a replacement slipcover today.  We ended up just getting a yard of fabric - MUCH cheaper...

De Soto Sport

Ahhh... weekend is here - time to go for a jog.  I like my De Soto Sport gear for my weekend warrior pursuits.  They focus on triathlon gear - they're the best in that genre - but have training wear too.  And most of their stuff is Made in the USA.

LamsonSharp

As long as we are in the kitchen...

We used our LamsonSharp Minimasher to smash up some bananas, which we then froze for a treat later on.  The bananas weren't made in the USA, but the masher is.

Homer Laughlin China, Liberty Tabletop

Lots of food is made in the USA - but I'm not gonna list that.  But I will list what my family eats our food on & with:

• The Homer Laughlin China Company Fiestaware
  
• Liberty Tabletop Flatware
  

Good quality stuff, priced right, & made in the USA.  I love my giant coffee mug - can't imagine starting my day without it!

(Photos from the companies' websites.)

Soloflex

Every weekday after I wake up, I stagger down to the basement and do a quick workout on my old Soloflex.  I bought it for ~$100 at a used sporting good store years ago.  Great purchase - that thing is rock solid.  And, of course, it's made in the USA.

Made in USA Clothing

I didn't buy all of this stuff today, but I wore it:

• AKWA Micro Fiber Camp Shirt that I bought at the All American Store
• +All American Clothing Co Classic Jeans
• +American Apparel Boxer Briefs
• REI Coolmax Quarter Socks
• +New Balance Running Shoes
• +Oakley shades

Everything made in the US.



(Image from company sites or Google Images)

Rickshaw Bags

I bike to work on an old 'Handmade in the USA' Cannondale that I got off of Craigslist.  (Unfortunately Cannondales aren't made here anymore.)  I retrofitted it with an AmpedBikes.com rear geared li-ion kit so I can ride without showing up to work too stinky.

I carry my laptop and other stuff in a messenger bag strapped around me.  My current no-name bag's zipper broke - I hate that.  But it gave me an excuse to buy a new bag that I have been eyeing for a while from Rickshaw Bags.  They're made in San Francisco.  As luck would have it, I got a "Google Offer" for Rickshaw this morning - $60 for $30.  Plus I used a coupon that I found here.

I ended up buying the Customized Medium Zero Messenger Bag in waterproof black with yellow trim (Steelers colors!).  They've gotten great reviews - I'm sure I'll like it.

(Image from Rickshaw Bags site)