where is montbell made?

China's practicing Statist Capitalism right now.

I don't know that it's the amount of regulations so much as *WHAT* the regulations allow that matters. In China, fewer regulations have often mean improving conditions for workers. In other states, more regulations have shown improvements. It depends on the starting point and what 'regulations' are.

By all means research when making purchases.

Great links here! Another company I recently looked at for USA-made reasonably-priced PowerStretch gear was SEKRI:

http://www.sekri.org

Ironically, this US-made gear is generally cheaper than Asian equivalents. I liked the SEKRI prices and the fact that I could toss a cheap PowerStretch balaclava into the order, but due to weight and fit I ended up with Patagonia Cap 4 made in Costa Rica.

I try moderately hard to select items made in democracies…but coincidentally, I own a Chinese SKS and it is a great piece of gear. :-P