Made In The USA: Darn Tough

I spend a lot of time --- certainly more than I should --- going through various manufacturer websites looking for those little disclaimers about anonymous foreign production. Usually it's in the form of negative-space declaration: "All FooBarCo products are designed right here in San Diego." Uh huh. Sometimes, you'll get carefully-worded paragraphs about the excellence of the factory: "FooBarCo makes its WidgetPro line in an ISO9001-compliant factory that has been well-respected for quality since 1982." In China, of course, but they don't say that. Or there's the enviro-wacko line: "Everything FooBarCo sells is made from post-consumer recycled bamboo with waste water and solar power." IN CHINA.

For a refreshing change, let's read the DarnTough site:

There’s a sign in our mill that states, “Nobody ever outsourced anything for quality.”

Our feeling is that when you’re really serious about something you make it yourself.

Our socks aren’t produced off shore or out-sourced within the US.

We sell what we produce. All of our socks are knit here in our Northfield, Vermont factory.

Well shee-it, brother, that's all you had to say.

Long-time readers of this site might well wonder why there's been so much sock-related discussion on this site lately. The reason is simple. Some time in 2005 I went to the Gold Toe store and stocked-up on USA-made thick socks for use with boots and some of my more gunboat-like dress shoes (like my various pairs of Allen-Edmonds MacNeils.) After four years of working jobs where I had to wear black socks, those old, bold, gold-toed socks are mostly dead. While Gold Toe continues to make some of their socks in the United States, it's almost impossible to figure out whether you're ordering an American or Chinese sock until the package is in your hand.

It's easier, and more patriotic, to get socks from companies that don't made you paw through the shelves to find the American-made stuff. Thus, DarnTough. Two of my readers had already recommended them, and when Massdrop offered a few group buys I decided to test the waters. They finally showed up last night.

Honestly, I've been so impressed by my Fox River socks that the DarnToughs will have to be very good just to match my newly-reset expectations for a hiking/motorcycling sock. I suppose we'll see. If you want to dip your toes in the wool, so to speak, Massdrop has a buy going on right now.