In a country of over 300 million people, the United States has very few manufacturers making shoes for all of those feet. Most of those jobs have headed outside our boarders into countries with lower wages and lower environmental regulations, but not all have left. In fact, there are some companies that have started up and are thriving based on the idea of creating a niche product instead of trying to become overly diversified. One such company is Okabashi Brands, Inc. of Buford, GA. Their low-cost, environmentally friend shoes are 100% recyclable and are made in America. Continue reading Made in America: Okabashi Brand Shoes
Category: Made in the USA
(re)Made in America: Green Guru Bags and Accessories
We’ve all heard the old saying “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Not everything can be as easy and throwing a can in the blue bin or reusing a paper bag. Frankly, not everything can even be reused or recycled practical manner. Take an old bicycle inner tube for instance: while it can be used as a tie down strap or to hang tools in the garage, it isn’t really practical, so most of us just chuck them in the trash. Green Guru of Boulder, Colorado is changing the way we think of trash and they are reusing old bicycle inner tubes and neoprene wet suits in their product line. Continue reading (re)Made in America: Green Guru Bags and Accessories
Half Pipes With Recycled NewWood
The name NewWood probably sounds like it should be made from virgin lumber, but actually it is anything but. NewWood Manufacturing, located in Elma, Washington, has been in business for a year producing utility board created from post consumer wood waste, mixed with discard plastic bags. And while it has a number of uses, it will soon be the surface for skateboarders.
We’ve seen skate decks that have taken advantage of recycled materials, and even skate decks that have found life after they’re seen one too many spills. Now the 99.9 percent American made NewWood material, which is reportedly flexible, durable and all weather-resistant, will be used by OC Ramps as a skating surfaces – with plans to eventually use it on all surfaces. In the future we could even see old skateboard decks recycled with other wood and plastics to make NewWood surfaces! Video after the jump
Row, Row Your Workout
For 2012 you might be able to row to a better and fitter you! The American made Waterrower Rowing Machine offers all the benefits of hitting the Charles River without the need to set foot in Boston! What makes this rowing machine special is the WaterFlywheel that was specifically designed to emulate the exact dynamics of the boat as it sails across the water.
Water is 800 times denser than air and thus this machine requires no mechanical dampening or resistance. Instead the water provides a “natural” feel, and creates just the right rhythm of motion as well and once you get in the rhythm of things you might feel as if you’re gliding on air as much as powering down stream!
Made in America: Cane Creek 110-Series Bicycle Headsets
If you have a threadless headset on your bike, you have John Rader and Dia Compe Japan to thank. After meeting at the 1990 Mountain Bike World Championship held in Durango, CO, Dia Compe became the exclusive licensee of the threadless headset system known as the Aheadset. A few years later, Dia Compe USA became a separate entity. In 1996, the North Carolina based company launched the Cane Creek brand alongside with the Dia Compe USA name. Most of the Cane Creek threadless headsets are manufactured overseas, but the top of the line model has been and is currently manufactured in America. Continue reading Made in America: Cane Creek 110-Series Bicycle Headsets
Made in America: Wintergreen Northern Wear
Minnesotans know cold, or so we’ve been told. So who better to design and manufacture cold weather gear? How about a husband and wife team whose expertise and experience includes dog sledding, expeditions to the North Pole, clothing design and living in Minnesota. For almost 20 years, Wintergreen Northern Wear has been designing and manufacturing cold weather outdoor clothing from the small town of Ely, Minnesota. Continue reading Made in America: Wintergreen Northern Wear
Made in America: SHUT Skateboards
Certainly you have heard someone say, “as American as baseball and apple pie;” but neither of those had their true origins in America. In reality, the saying could be “as American as skateboarding and Moon Pies”, both of which originated in the U.S.A., just on opposite ends of the country. Since we cover health and fitness, we’ll stick to the skateboarding and leave the Moon Pies for another day.
Even though skateboarding started in California in the 1950s, much of the production of parts and decks has been moved overseas. SHUT Skateboards of New York City has bucked this tread and continues to produce skateboard decks in the United States from American lumber.
Video after the jump
Hands On: StemCAPtain Bottle Opener
You and your riding buddies have just finished an all day mountain bike adventure and you are back at the car digging into the cooler to reward yourselves with a tasty beverage. Where’s the bottle opener?!?! There are none on your key chains and no one in the parking lot has one. Sure, you are mountain bikers and nothing is going to keep you from a cold bottle of suds, but slamming the bottle on the side of the guard rail can often lead to a sudsy mess and half of your hard earned beer on the ground. StemCAPtain has come to the rescue with their headset top cap that doubles as a bottle opener.
This past VeloSwap in Denver, we had a chance to chat with Mike Hogan, one of the StemCAPtain owners, who handed us a bottle opener to try. Bikes and beer goes hand and hand, so on the bike this opener went. The installation was just as easy as the StemCAPtain Clock and StepCAPtain Thermometer that we tested earlier this year and the entire install took less than two minutes to put on the bike. Continue reading Hands On: StemCAPtain Bottle Opener
Made in America: Selle An-Atomica Bike Saddles
While bicycle design has changed over the years, suspending of a piece of leather on a metal frame is one of the oldest forms of a bicycle saddle and still one of the best. The tension of the leather can be made tighter or looser by the turn of a screw, and the use of thick leather creates a ‘saddle’ that can often outlive the rider. Selle An-Atomica of Elkhorn, WI has taken this idea and created a line of bicycle saddles that uses a thick, suspended piece of leather, but cut a slot in the middle to make a ‘anatomic’ version of this classic saddle design.
The Titanico saddles are Selle An-Atomica’s answer to manufacturing a classic saddle yet making sure it fits in with the desires of the modern cyclist by incorporating a cut-out or anatomic design. This cut-out design has caught on in recent years due to its increased comfort level it provides to the rider. As best stated on their website “When you ride, the right and left sides of your pelvis move independently. There’s no reason your saddle shouldn’t move with them. We make the world’s most comfortable bicycle saddle. Period. From the patented slot carved out of watershed leather to the suspended leather design, you’ll feel the difference from day one.” Along with the Titanico saddles allowing the left and right sides of your pelvis to move independently, the slot also provides ventilation for those long days in the saddle and helps reduce sweat build up.
Video after the jump
Made in America: Strength Squared Power Sleds
Typically sleds are designed to make hauling a heavy load over a set distance a little bit easier. Whether that load is a deer dragged out of the woods by a hunter, a kid’s sled barreling down a hill or Santa’s sled landing on a roof, the goal of moving a body of mass over a surface with ease is the same. But there are a few sleds made with the opposite goal in mind – making the task of moving a body of mass harder. These ‘power sleds’ are used in fitness training to build strength and stamina. Strength Squared, with locations in both Las Vegas, NV and Denver, CO, has only been making power sleds since 2010, but they have made a big splash in the market with an appearance on the NBC show, “The Biggest Loser” earlier this year.
Made in America: Dirt King USA Tricycles
The day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. officially kicks off the Christmas shopping season. Some of you might have been proactive and have gotten all of your shopping out of the way, but if you are like many, you haven’t even started to even think about it. If you have not started your shopping yet and there is a toddler or even a big kid on your list, you might be interested in checking out the tricycles from Dirt King USA.
Dirt King USA of WaKeeney, KS is a subsidiary of MCM Manufacturing Inc. After being in the agricultural manufacturing business for 13 years and later expanding into the oil field industry, MCM created Dirt King in 1983 after both of those industries softened and the need to diversify was evident. The first Dirt King product was actually a scooter, but was soon followed by a three-wheeler or tricycle.
Lizard Skins Helps You Express Yourself
Personal expression. We do it through the clothes we wear, the style of our hair, the trinkets on our desk. In just about every part of our lives we are expressing who we are. Now, for about 40 bucks, you can show a little more personal expression through the bicycle you ride – just as long as it is a ‘clean’ expression.
Lizard Skins of Orem, Utah has an online program for ordering custom mountain bike grip lock-on rings that can be mixed and matched with different color grips and even different color rings. Not only can you select from 10 different grip styles and 9 lock-on ring colors, but you can also have custom text laser etched on each of the rings. The text is limited to 14 characters and it must be ‘clean’ for Lizard Skins to produce your design – they are located in Utah after all. Continue reading Lizard Skins Helps You Express Yourself
Made in America: Wickers Undergarments
During the winter months it’s best to dress in layers to keep in the heat, but did you know that a base layer can also help keep you cool? Firefighters often wear a base layer of fire retardant clothing below all of their other gear to keep from burning up and athletes sometimes wear a base layer to help wick away sweat. Wickers, based in New York, manufactures undergarments for all walks of life. From rock climbers to the military; kids to women experiencing menopause; and motorcyclists to hikers – Wickers makes an undergarment for literally anyone, and for any time of year. Best of all the garments are made in America.
Anthony Mazzenga founded Wickers in 1981 originally under the name Anrotex Inc. Fabric was the main focus of business back then. After Mazzenga saw an opportunity in the performance underwear market in 1990, the Wickers brand was born. Since that time, the Wickers product line has grown to include an enormous offering of undergarments and base layers for any season. The line not only includes shirts and pants, but also gloves, socks, boxers, briefs, balaclava and neck gators. Continue reading Made in America: Wickers Undergarments