The phrase “American-made” should be simple. But as we’ve seen in the 21st century, it’s anything but.
In the last couple years, American manufacturing has been thrust both into the spotlight and under a microscope on a national — and global — level. President Donald Trump has heralded “a new golden age.” Tariffs have been levied, struck down and levied again. Some have cheered for what they see as a newly level playing field, while others boo the direct and indirect burdens that are actually being heaped upon companies trying to make things in the U.S. One major point of contention has revolved around the definition of what products can truthfully be labeled “Made in America.” Is it 100% domestic labor and materials? What about 95%? What about products where brands cannot source certain components in this country, but everything else is American?
The FTC has strict guidelines in this regard. But we here at InsideHook took a different, more generous view of American-made when we first assembled this list in 2024, and we’re sticking with it for this updated list. In this catalog, we’ve included everything from sumptuous T-shirts made in Pennsylvania with U.S.-grown cotton to best-in-class turntables assembled in Massachusetts with some necessary international parts. Some of these goods will be legally allowed to carry the Made in the U.S.A. label, others will not. But in our mind, that doesn’t mean the American ingenuity involved is any less worth celebrating.
In short, we wanted to compile a list of the 100 best American-made products to cut through the noise and get back to the root of it all. Why do we recommend the goods on this list that’s been painstakingly compiled by our staff? Because they’re some of our personal favorites, and because they’re the life’s work of our fellow Americans. It really is that simple.
When we first set out to assemble this story, which includes 10 additional features on a group of products we feel especially strong about, with intel from the people who make them, I didn’t know that was how I’d frame it. But after interviewing Isaac Morton of cookware purveyor Smithey Ironware, Ross Widmoyer of the 161-year-old Faribault Mill, and Mark Ferguson of axe maker Brant & Cochran — as well as a number of other American-manufacturing champions — I’ve been reminded that what’s worth celebrating here isn’t nameless patriotism, but the specific men and women who dedicate themselves to the making of these goods that make up our lives.
Morton told me that the “personal and relationship element” to the cast iron and carbon steel cookware he sells is essential to its success; Ferguson feels so strongly about the dedication of his company’s blacksmiths and hafters that they brand the axes with their initials; and Widmoyer, the president and CEO of one of just two vertically integrated woolen mills left in this country, told me, “It’s a personal passion of all of ours to keep these jobs and grow these jobs with sustainable wages here in Faribault, Minnesota.” He also told me he’d happily put their blankets up against those “made anywhere in the world.” Who can argue with that pitch?
We hope this collection helps you realize the breadth of beautiful, useful and ingenious things still being made in this country. More than that, though, when you buy something here that catches your eye, we hope you end up recommending it to your friends and family, not necessarily because it’s made in America, but because it made your life richer. — Alex Lauer
You don’t need a handcrafted bamboo rod with hand-engraved metal finishes to experience the joy of fly-fishing. But it doesn’t hurt.
Master Series Fly Rod | $5,760+ by Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods | Georgia