I'm curious what brands of products people consider the gold standard in terms of quality and customer service. Here are some for me:

Filson
Kuiu
Simms
G. Loomis
Leupold
Swarovski


Brands I no longer trust:

North Face
Cabela's
Mountain Hardware

Jim

Good: Darn tough socks
Bad: muck boots

Good Buck knives,Minnesota brand
Bad Another vote for muck boots

Good
3M
Fiskers

Bad
Craftsman
S&K

Good
2nd vote for Simms and Darn Tough Socks
Sage
Daiichi
Gamakatsu
Whiting


Bad
Anything from China
Craftsman, a shadow of its former self

Good
Snapon/Williams
Klein
Fluke
Speed queen
Nicks boots
Weatherby
Lg tv
CL fabrication

Bad
MDS grapples

I'm glad you included "Jim" in the brands I no longer trust.

Kuiu makes high-quality outdoor clothing aimed at big-game hunters. Be warned, the sizes run small. I usually take an XL, but with Kuiu it has to be XXL.

Sage has for years produced high-quality fly rods and stood behind them. But their rods aren't cutting-edge anymore. In most weights and lengths, there are as good or better rods made by others.

Jim

Not bad, lol. But when did you ever trust me?

Jim

Just a little fun at your expense. Glad you could see the humor.

Is that really needed on here? Every time Jim makes a post on here, someone has to badmouth him.
Same with Hal.

Oh, go lick a frozen steel pipe. It's all in good fun.

Yes. Yes, it is.

Where does the tag on Kuiu say that it’s made? Or Filson?

Good brands:
Fits socks
Leupold
Fujion binoculars
Smart wool
REI Co Op
Case knives
Yakima racks
Malone rack accessories
Wenonah

Not so good anymore
Stihl chainsaws
Merrill boots

Good list James. Spot on about Sage. When I visited the factory on Bainbridge Island back around 2000 they were incredible. Still great.

Simms and Kuiu both carry me so I have a lot of their gear and the Simms gear all runs big while Kuiu runs small to the point I have to go up 2 sizes on some things.
I also as you know like St. Croix rods however staying with the upper bracket products is best..

Bang for the buck Danner boots are very good however everyone’s feet seem to have a different fitment.
Baffin boots for extreme cold, they could have a tougher outer skin.
Good:
Ruger
Tikka
Husqvarna
Sako
Older Winchester bolts.

Osky

Toyota, honda- good.

American cars, Harley davidson bad.

Kuiu has most of its clothing made in Vietnam. Kuiu must keep tight quality control because I haven't been able to find any flaws in the stitching or materials.

Filson makes its premier wool shirts, jackets, pants in Seattle, but also has a cheaper line made in Asia. I have a polyester vest made in Viet Nam, again high-quality.

Jim

is it possible to be more specific like outdoor gear or is a wide open discussion? If it's wide open then I want to add Mustang Ranch.

Filson used to be all made in the US with some materials from other places, mostly Canada. They now have some items made of "foreign materials" and may have some things made abroad, but each item is labeled as US made or otherwise. I know I finally broke down and bought me a new Mackinaw Cruiser a month ago. It is still US made with wool from sheep in the "Northwest" I'm not sure if the sheep are in the US or Canada, I seem to remember that some or all of their wool came from sheep on the west coast of Canada.

Kuiu I don't know, but their customer service is a LOT better than Sitka. I'm not much of a fan of the overpriced hunting clothes everyone thinks you need to wear anymore, but I do own a set of their Yukon raingear. Very overpriced, but the best nonrubber raingear I have found. Very comfortable, and more waterproof than any other nonrubber raingear I have used. Nothing is as waterproof as rubber, but even with rubber I usually have issues with the seams leaking.

I'd put in the good
Filson
Toyota
Leupold
Buck knives
Schnee boots
Hoffman pac boots
Darn Tough socks

And so many in the untrustworthy category I can't list them but would start with
Garmin
Sitka
Danner

I don't put stuff like Harbor Freight in that category, because they aren't supposed to be top line stuff, but cheap stuff that will hopefully last for the limited use you need it for.