When Tariffs Hit Home: A Personal Note from the Founder of Outdoor Element

I didn’t expect to be writing this. But I believe in being transparent—with our customers, our community, and everyone who’s believed in Outdoor Element since day one.

Last week, I was featured in a candid article by Shop Eat Surf Outdoor on how the latest round of tariffs is impacting small outdoor brands like ours. You can read it here, but I want to share the heart of it with you.

(Earlier this year, they featured Outdoor Element in a much more upbeat piece—highlighting our growth and the fact that we doubled sales in 2024. This new article paints a sobering picture of how the latest wave of tariffs is hitting small outdoor brands like ours.)

We’ve been hit hard.

Tariffs on Chinese-made products jumped up to 145%. That’s not a typo. We’ve had to pause production, reduce hours for members of our team, and lean heavily on inventory we already have. We lost a key wholesale account. And my wife even stepped back in to help without pay—because that’s the kind of grit this business has always run on.

We’re doing everything we can to pivot and adapt.

We’ve already started the process of moving production out of China, and into other countries, but that’s just part of the journey.  Our goal has been and always will be to provide quality products at approachable prices.

When it makes sense, we definitely manufacture in the US.  In fact, we're still proudly braiding our survival bracelets right here in-house. And our newest product, Fiber Light is 100% made in the USA. 

We believe in American-made, and we recognize we're in a global economy -- for good reason -- because commerce promotes peace. This idea isn't new. In the 1800s, French economist Frédéric Bastiat declared that "if goods don't cross borders, soldiers will." 

More than a century later, we hear Phil Knight of Nike explain his mindset of creating factories in Vietnam. In his memoir Shoe Dog, Phil Knight reflects on his opposition to the Vietnam War and his preference for contributing to the world through commerce rather than conflict.

Knight expressed his disdain for the Vietnam War.  He explained that Nike would rather build boots in Vietnam than have combat boots in Vietnam.

Knight's journey from opposing the war to establishing manufacturing operations in Vietnam symbolizes a transformation from conflict to collaboration, embodying his belief in the power of business to foster positive change.

Doing business overseas is my peaceful protest to promote good international relations.

From Bastiat to Knight, the message endures: international trade is a path to peace. In that same spirit, our commitment is twofold—we strive to support U.S. manufacturing while also engaging globally. To us, doing business overseas isn’t just economics; it’s a statement of values and a belief in building bridges, not barriers.

Outdoor Element started with a spark—literally. Our fire-starting gear was born out of a love for the outdoors and a belief that good tools can help people explore with confidence.

Behind the gear are real people doing everything we can to keep that mission alive.

If you’ve ever carried one of our knives, used our Fiber Light, or sparked a fire on a cold night with one of our tools, thank you. You’ve already been part of our story.

And right now, if you want to help small brands like ours keep pushing forward, here’s how you can:

➡️ Continue to shop small businesses

➡️ Leave a review

➡️ Share your favorite gear with a friend

We're finding new ways to get innovative gear into your hands. We’re scrappy. We’re stubborn. And we’re still here.

Thanks for standing with us. Let’s keep the fire going.

– Mike Mojica
Founder, Outdoor Element
Explore with Confidence