Why Are Outdoorsmans Tripods So Expensive?

Why are our products more expensive than most everyone else's? There isn’t an easy answer to this question. I could lie to you and say every single cent of the extra cost is going to even higher quality materials, the most state of the art manufacturing and meticulously handmade parts. I wish that was the truth, but in the interest of pure unadulterated honesty, you are paying for much more than that. 

As you may know, Outdoorsmans products are made and designed in America. That term gets thrown around a lot and sometimes I think it gets used too much to pull at the heart strings of consumers and distract them from asking the real questions. What does “made” actually mean? Well for us it means exactly what you would hope it means. Our parts are designed from the ground up, manufactured and assembled right here. 

For example, let's look at the Carbon Innegra Gen 2 Tripod and talk about its design and manufacturing. The design of the tripod’s aluminum components was completed in partnership with our manufacturing partners at Rim Country Manufacturing (RCM) in Payson, AZ and ourselves here at Outdoorsmans. The design of the carbon innegra tubes was carried out by the team at Rocket Composites in Sacramento, CA along with constant words of encouragement from me.

RCM is, of course, the source of every single aluminum component of the tripod, and I mean every single one. Our tripods and tripod parts are manufactured using aluminum sourced from Kaiser Aluminum headquartered in Lake Forest, CA and steel from Earl Joregensen in Chicago, IL. 

We absolutely have to outsource multiple components of the tripod in order to maintain the speed of manufacturing that is necessary for us to fulfill orders. For example, The feet are made in two parts–first we manufacture the aluminum threaded insert and then ship them to Protolabs, headquartered in Maple Plains, MN, who molds around the insert to create the final product. The legs clamps and the internal clamshells of the tripod legs are also molded by Protolabs. 

Now, if you have been waiting for me to say something that you can GOTCHA me with, here's your chance. While we would love to manufacture our own screws and fasteners (we actually wouldn’t, that sounds horrible), we do source those from our good friends at Copper State Nut and Bolt. You can hopefully deduce where they are located from their name. They do, however, import the products that we purchase from them. Sorry to disappoint you.

Now I want to talk about what, in my opinion, you’re actually paying for with our products–and that's us. Yes, our products are made in America but so are we. If you think American products are expensive, just remember that being American is expensive as well. All of those companies I just mentioned are made up of people living and working in this country. Americans are expensive, but we think they are worth it. 

One very common misconception about prioritizing American manufacturing is that we do it because overseas products are shit and that just because we run our machines in Arizona instead of China they are magically superior. I wrote this on a Chinese-made laptop, we film everything with Japanese-made cameras, and there's at least 5 Toyotas in our parking lot on any given day. Overseas products aren’t necessarily shitty. Shitty products are shitty.

So, if you can make a product overseas with the same quality you can in America, then why do it? Lots of reasons. We have complete control over our designs and our end product. We don’t have to meet minimums, if we want to make a change, we do it. It allows us to offer unparalleled customer support when the source of our product is 45 minutes from our main office. There is no problem a customer can have that we can’t fix.

The number one and final reason we do it is because we want to. We want to work with the people that we do. We have been doing this for over 25 years, and we have created relationships that will span generations. They already have. Michael Lamb at RCM is the son of one of the founders, Marty Lamb's. My dad has technically never been an owner or founder of Outdoorsmans, but he was our first Swarovski rep in the early ‘90s. My sister, Courtney, is one of the owners of Outdoorsmans now.

None of this probably matters to you, and that’s okay. I’m not telling you this so that you pity-buy our products. I am telling you this to explain to you why WE do what we do. You should buy our products because we are serious about what we do, and we can promise you that once you become a customer, you are part of this family too. Whether you like it or not. We are going to continue to make the best products that we can, and if right now our products are too expensive in your eyes, we are going to do whatever it takes to prove to you that they are worth it.

We aren’t just selling you the same stuff you can get on Amazon or order from some white label manufacturer. We are purpose building products for a niche market from the ground up. We aren't copying someone else's homework. That takes time, money and effort.

Some people will still say our tripods are way too expensive, and if it was just a tripod, I would humbly agree. But it's not, its a team of people who come together every single day to better ourselves, our products and our customers' experience. If you still don’t believe me, just call and ask for Bryce. If you still don’t believe me, then we may just not be right for each other.