If you've ever surfed fort point, you may have noticed. Fort point is the fickle, often mushy, left point break that wraps into the bay basically underneath the southern most part of the Golden Gate Bridge. The view of the bridge from the lineup is like no other. If you've ever sat out there, bobbing over and duck diving under a long period swell from the west, the bridge isn't the only thing you're afforded a good view of.
   Freighter ships. Huge. Stacked high with shipping containers full of everything in, on and around our houses and apartments. Each one of those boxes is what you see being pulled behind an 18 wheeler. Hammers, kitchen utensils, pants, wetsuits...

Fort Point and my beautiful American made Grain surfboard.

   Floating out there in my O'neill wetsuit, while another freighter made its long slow approach through the Golden Gate to the port of Oakland, I found myself wishing. I wished more companies would offer domestic equivalents.
  Fender and Gibson both do a lot of their production overseas or in Mexico. But they both offer and sell a lot of American made guitars. Admittedly, apart from labeling, I couldn't tell the difference between a Baja Telicaster and an American Standard Telicaster. They do make great products in other counties. It's no secret to surfers that the best wetsuit neoprene is Japanese. I'd just rather contribute to an American luthiers paycheck.  
  O'neill wetsuits, along with all the other big names moved 100% of their manufacturing overseas around 10 years ago. 100%! And it's not because they wanted all that great Japanese neoprene. It's so they could stay afloat. Competitive. My next wetsuit would be an O'neill IF they made a domestic equivalent. But sadly' they do not. And it sucks because I like the idea of O'neill. A 60 year old Santa Cruz company. The images of Jack O'neill with his eye patch, they just feel American. O'well.

100' of domestic 1/2" and 3/4" copper pipe. This stuff did not arrive on a freighter.

   Yes, domestic equivalents are more expensive. Some times double the money or more.  For me it's still worth it to reinvest in my fellow Americans. Overall i'm buying less of everything. Simply doing without items not made here. simplifying. How much stuff do I really need anyway?