Collateral Damage: How Tariff Policy Is Gutting America’s Outdoor Gear Innovators

[Ryan Jordan]

Companion forum thread to: Collateral Damage: How Tariff Policy Is Gutting America’s Outdoor Gear Innovators

Ryan Jordan breaks down the impacts of the 2025 US tariff chaos on the cottage industry for backpacking gear

[Jerry Adams]

Interesting, thanks

Tariffs will cause small companies to decline and big companies to survive better?  That makes sense.

This is all so complicated.  Sometimes actions will cause unintended side effects.

[Terran Terran]

Sometimes actions will cause unintended side effects.

[Jerry Adams]

I’m being charitable today : )

[Ryan Jordan]

Sometimes actions will cause unintended side effects.

That reality is painful to process, knowing that this is a policy that has little to do with building economic robustness in the national interest.

[David U]

I would also add that many Canadians are not travelling to the US right now because of the negative views of Canadians, which has been supported by your fearless leader. Thank goodness I did the highline Trail in Utah last year. Now I’ll focus on the fantastic places to hike in Canada and overseas.

[Karl Keating]

Let me make a correction regarding history. Ryan writes that tariffs were “first formalized through acts like the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.” Not so. The very first bill passed by the very first Congress, in 1789, was the Tariff Act.

Tariffs have been in use throughout U.S. history. Before the coming of the income tax (1913), tariffs provided the large majority of federal income–in some years in the nineteenth century up to 95% of total revenues. Between the Civil War and World War I tariff rates commonly were in the 40% to 50% range–higher than today’s tariff rates, aside from the tariffs levied on imports from China.

Once the income tax began producing federal revenue, tariffs as a whole were reduced, but they never were abolished. During the Biden administration, for example, tariffs on Chinese goods ranged from 19.3% to 20.8%, with much higher tariffs applying to solar cells, batteries, semiconductors, and electric vehicles.

[VSD]

fair warning, this is getting philosophical – hard to avoid if you contend with such disasters but not everybody’s cup of tea …

three basic principles catching up with the outdoors:

– random unintelligible action and reaction: you are not meant to understand your governments actions, or you would never support them … add to that that the bureaucrats and politicians don’t understand these actions themselves and are randomly reacting, this becomes a monster of it’s own volition with no understanding possible, leading to the intended feeling of helplessness … “I want to understand, to comply, can you please explain? … no, just do!”

– quantity not quality: such a random unintelligible system can only work with masses accepting wherever it takes them – individuals trying to understand, or even to improve, this system to the best of their abilities, are not welcome – your minimal non-thinking efforts multiplied by the biggest number are what’s driving this system … “Can I make my product, service, better? … don’t, just make more”

– pride in ownership: is absolutely NOT wanted in this system – ownership implies you defend it against (legal) theft, pride in ownership implies you feel right in defending it … how will a random system of masses benefit from a product you are proud of, who’s ownership you defend from being ground into masses? my answer: it won’t, you become the selfish outcast, who is putting his selfish enjoyment of nature before the welfare of his country. “How? … what a selfish question!”

and in case you now wonder which welfare of which country: back to one ; ) or more simply put: Trumpy Baby does not care : P

This particular cottage industry is built on understanding (what works better), on a small community of nature enthusiasts (one perfect hike is better than a thousand walks in the park), pride in their achievements (and owning that achievement). A politician does not care about that rational achievement, he cares about millions voting him into power and vocally supporting that power even if they don’t understand it.

This result is neither random nor unexpected nor unintelligible – you just have to understand the motivations of the masses. And UL cottage industry just stepped out of the obscure shadows of their nature hikes into the bright light of mass-politics.

Thanx for having this discussion – many outdoor / UL forums avoid politics like the plague – understandable but not helpful. Appreciate the opportunity to ‘rant’ before I disappear again in the fjells.

All the best to a very unique industry in America (and Canada – another faux-pas of epic proportions and quite simple basics) from a European perspective (currently in Sweden) where this industry (in both senses of that word) is sadly lacking (we’re way ahead of you in riding that other mythic beast). I’m just now upgrading my >15yo gear and a lot of products came from across the pond because I appreciate the brain, the effort, the pride, that goes into that one special product or service.

Keep it up – but be aware of it’s basics …

Vera

who’s only waiting for Dan’s tent to be delivered so she can disappear again in the woods ; ) another ‘mass’ that caught up with me because so many want one : D enjoy the well-earned success of your products : )

[Ben D]

“cheaper” isn’t always better.  For instance, you benefit from a fabric from China (or elsewhere) that may or may not be made with slave labor, or exploited labor.  I’m not here to argue or make any political statements, just tossing that out as a “for instance.”

Ryan, I think this is a great opportunity for you to get involved and start looking for solutions, equipment and materials made in the US to replace those made elsewhere.  For instance, I did a quick internet search and found a company that makes zippers in the US (https://zippershipper.com/).  I am positive there are other alternatives.

I appreciate your article, but the sky is not falling.  Companies start up, and companies go out of business.  Maybe a new technology will emerge from this, maybe a new “made in USA” company will start up in someone’s garage.  Things happen. I lost my job last week. It’s not a pleasant place to be, but I can – and will – find something else.  And this is another example of change that, on the surface might not look that great, and I don’t know how it will turn out.  But I think we could all admit there’s a problem, so let’s find a solution that’s independent of politics.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

> Tariffs have been in use throughout U.S. history.

Yes, tariffs have been applied for many years but never at this extreme and never at this stage of the global economy and world order.  Clearly the civil war era and even the WW I era were completely different universes than the one we now inhabit.  With regard to US manufacturing capacity, expertise, and materials relevant to the outdoor market, we are decades behind and yet somehow prior to the Tariff imposition we seemed to be doing just fine. To think that tariffs — the literal stealing of capital from both importers and the end consumer — will somehow propel the US into the manufacturing dominance of 50 years ago while the world simultaneously pauses and waits until we catch up is definitionally insane.  The US economy is what it is on a global scale because of innovation, not because of low wage jobs at sewing machines.

[Sean P]

@David U: Similarly, this Australian won’t be travelling to the US any time soon.  I am not certain if US citizens are even aware that travellers from ‘friendly’ countries are being detained and denied entry at the border by zealous border staff for infractions of intellectual impurity,  such as Facebook posts denigrating the Dear Leader.

Anyway, back on track.  I think that tariffs will certainly help bigger companies survive.  Big Agnes and Patagonia can make their stuff in Vietnam and sell it to someone in Canada or Europe without the product touching a US port and attracting duties and tariffs.

This notwithstanding,  prices will surely go up worldwide when Big Hiking recovers losses from sales to the US market and competition is lost from US cottage exporters of niche US made goods.

 

 

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

.  I am not certain if US citizens are even aware that travellers from ‘friendly’ countries are being detained and denied entry at the border by zealous border staff for infractions of intellectual impurity,  such as Facebook posts denigrating the Dear Leader.

The Department of Homeland Security can search digital equipment without a search warrant.  This included US citizens.  I know of US citizens that are traveling overseas with burner phones and new laptops for that reason.  Just saying.

[dmorgan]

A common reprise I see online:

“The USA should have all the needed materials produced here and you should support that. The US is too reliant on “other countries.”

Henry Shires (who comments above in the thread) of Tarptent, who recently moved some his manufacturing to Jasper in Hong Kong (tents made with impeccable craftsmanship I’ll add), had this levelheaded response to such a question:

“Ideally sure but the reality is that making good products requires skilled labor and high quality materials. For tents anyway, the best materials are not made here. Dyneema is an exception for materials but the cost of the material alone puts it out of reach of many. Then to actually produce a tent from that material at the highest quality including bonding is simply not available in the US and the US maker of the fabric will confirm that.”

My thoughts: It would be one thing to say “hey, let’s bring more manufacturing over to the US”. Sure. Then we’d need a serious plan and investment in infrastructure and skilled labor (from the government, too). Theres no plan. Why would smaller tent companies invest in expensive Dyneema and Ultra TNT manufacturing machines in such an unpredictable environment? And it would take years to build. This story plays out in so many product categories.

I feel a lot of empathy for fantastic cottage makers like Tarptent. My Rainbow is still going from 2010. Im a teacher with a limited salary.  I can’t afford to spend anymore than I already do so I’ll buy less. I’ll put off that new tent or backpack. Many are in the same boat. How does that benefit anyone?

[David D]

@DavidU, As a fellow Canuck, I think it’s important to not punish innocent bystanders (some US businesses) because of aggressive harm caused by their administration.  So in the past I’ve always resisted a US travel boycott.  This time is different, for 2 reasons.

The first is that about 20 years ago I was on a business trip in the UK on the long drive from Torquay back to Heathrow with my boss.  He wouldn’t stop expressing his admiration for the orange guy, so much so that at one point I told him to pull over and leave me at the side of the highway with my bags and I’ll hitch across the country to the airport.  I meant it and he knew it.  And I’m a politically unaffiliated.

The second was that I work for a US company and even 10 years ago had to spend 30 minutes at US immigration control explaining exactly why the US company had to hire me, a foreign worker, and not a US one.  In the current climate, travelling to the US could end my job.  All (and I mean all) my friends have changed their travel plans

Over the years I’ve pulled together ~ 15 pages of notes of options of places in the US I want to backpack, and last year spent a week there.  Now, no way.

Instead, I booked a hike of Rockwall in BC and am eyeballing tacking on the Upper Kananaskis.  No great loss, but its a shame.

I grew up in a border town and am a long term admirer and apologist for the US.

And rolling this back, yes it will influence US gear companies, at least a bit.  Take one look at UltralightCanada reddit and every post if self-policed with recommendations for only Buy Canada options.

I don’t think Americans are aware of how much the sentiment has shifted in Canada.  And its likely long term.

It’s like your spouse cheating on you, it ‘s not something you just 100% get over.

 

 

[John S.]

Some info on tariff history.

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11030

Nerdwallet input.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/trade-deficit

[John S.]

The first I had heard of phones being inspected (and supposed persons being denied entry..not detained) at the border was yesterday when I started reading about the upcoming Tour Divide in a facebook group. Wired dot com has an article.

[Henry Shires / Tarptent]

To our Canadian and Australian friends (and to all people from other countries around the globe),  I just want to apologize on behalf of decent Americans–and there are many—for the awfulness of this moment.   I’m personally heartbroken.

[Sean P]

@John S.

Since February, several young foreign nationals have been incarcerated in Ice detention centres for seemingly little reason and held for weeks, including Germans Lucas Sielaff, Fabian Schmidt and Jessica Brösche. (Brösche, 26, spent more than a month in detention, including eight days in solitary confinement.) Unlike these other cases, Burke had been trying to leave the US, rather than enter it, when she was detained for nearly three weeks.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/i-was-a-british-tourist-trying-to-leave-america-then-i-was-detained-shackled-and-sent-to-an-immigration-detention-centre?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

If you are planning a trip to the United States, consider taking a temporary or disposable “burner” phone, printing out bank statements and creating detailed itinerary plans.

These are some of the tips immigration lawyers say could help when facing scrutiny from US border security.

They also warn about getting “entrapped”, and admitting to activities such as illicit drug use.

As the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown, fears have been growing about “enhanced vetting” at airports.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-17/us-border-security-australian-traveller-tips-detained-deported/105136846

 

[Terran Terran]

Henry Shires / Tarptent, Ryan Jordan, all others,

thank you for taking a position

Canadian friends and all others, many here  agree totally with Henry Shires last statement. I see what’s happening in Canada with the buy Canadian movement and totally support it. My only fear is that it doesn’t result in more nationalism. Take note that many in the States agree with Ryan and Henry. There is still good business to be had here.

[David D]

The Jasmine Mooney case spooked a lot of Canadians.

We’ve been told in Canada that burner phones should be avoided as they insinuate that you have something to hide.  This makes sense to me.  I used to cross the border every few weeks back in Uni and it was always best to be 100% transparent

With painful exchange rates, Canadian wages plummeting compared to those in the US over the last decade, and exorbitant shipping costs, US gear company prices were already out of reach for many Canadians.  Dan, Suluk46, Little Shop of Hammocks and other Canadian UL companies just make so much more financial sense for Canadians, at least for now.  It’ll be interesting to see how the supply chain gets affected.

Henry, thanks for the kind words.  I’ve always pushed back against anti-US sentiment (especially prevalent in central Ontario) regardless of the administration and have many kind friends and admired work colleagues south of the border.  But there’s no pushing back now.  This whole issue will probably decide our federal election next week.

[Terran Terran]

A strong Canada will ultimately be good for the US.

[jscott]

“This whole issue will probably decide our federal election next week.”

best wishes to Canadians! I hope you show your bewildered, grasping neighbors to the south a new way forward. We seem lost at the moment.

[Ian H]

Fascinating (but sad and scary) because as a non-manufacturer, I’d have guessed the opposite, that US companies would benefit from the tariff barrier to cheap foreign goods. Here in Australia we have a ‘value added’ Goods and Services tax, so when a carpenter buys wood and screws he pays that tax, when he sells the table he’s made, he claims a refund on the previously paid ‘input’ tax. Hopefully someone in government will see that a small business importing fabric they can’t make locally, should get an import tax credit to offset their tax on sales.

I suspect the US President was shocked as we were when Covid hit, to find every surgical mask or tradesman’s respirator was made in Wuhan, so we couldn’t get any. Encouraging local manufacturing is a noble concept, but niche industries need special exemptions – if they can do it for the iPhone, they can do it for Gore-Tex or goose down etc.

[Haakon R]

This is sad all way around.

In concept, I’m a supporter of some tariffs, if they are well thought out and implemented in a smooth and predictable fashion.
I also live in a high cost country, and some of our production capacity with long standing traditions struggles to stay afloat in the global economy. Both in terms of securing self reliance and conserving the trade skills, culture and communities that has evolved around these industries, I think tariffs are a tool that is under utilized, but it has to be applied very intentionally and carefully. I fear that the Trump administration has ruined the reputation of tariffs as a sensible tool, and that we’ll see some kind of over correction away from tariffs, at least for the rest of the world, but even in the US when all this administration is history.

Through the years I’ve been a supporter of many US brands (outdoor and otherwise) and admired much of the US culture and mindset that is the foundation for this hotbed of ideas and innovation. The current state of the US political system don’t do the average american justice, most of you are good people and I hope this reality is not lost on the rest of the world.
Then again, as long as the tariffs and other controversial measures are enforced, many innocent US businesses and workers will be subject to a double whammie of collateral damage;
many, like myself, won’t be able to justify the higher prices on US products. And unavoidably, many will vote with their wallet to sound their deplasement with the current state of affairs. Or be too scared to visit the US, even if they want to.

If there is one area I don’t fully agree with (or possibly misunderstood) Ryan, it’s where he implies that this will make the outdoors less accessible. While I too appreciate innovative gear that enables me to go further, faster and lighter, there is a simpler and much more affordable approach to outdoor recreation that doesn’t involve expensive, state of the art equipment. It’s just a matter of calibrating ambitions and expectations.
There’s also an upside to less consumption and less gear focus.

[Monte Masterson]

Members pay to post and then they have to pay more (Premium or Unlimited Membership) to see the rest of an article. That’s kind of like, well, a tariff!

[Author]

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