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 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, but that’s just part of the journey. Our long-term goal is to bring as much of our manufacturing home to the U.S. as possible. We believe in American-made. We want to build here - always have had that goal. But right now, the economics are stacked against small businesses like ours--infrastructure for small-batch manufacturing just isn’t where it needs to be. Still, we’re not backing off that goal. We’re actively seeking partners and pathways to make more of our gear right here at home.

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