Make no mistake, REI is a camping store!
Its offering in kayak is so-so. Its offering in cycling is much, much worse than kayaks (only because there’re a lot junks in the bike sector than in kayak sector, and REI carry plenty of those)
Still, if I want high quality backpacks, tents and sleeping bags, I’d go to REI. Heck, I’d zero in on their house brand, which is as good quality as most would need and cost less than the so-called name brand.
My kayak
doesn’t have “Made in” stickers, but the OT Trip I had was made in Canada. Not the US, but better than China.
Mindless xenophobia
Whether you want to admit it or not, there are a lot of very high quality products coming out of China these days. There is also plenty of junk being made here in the USA. When I was a kid, “Made in Japan” was considered a slur, but look where they are now. The point is that country of origin has little to do with product quality; it’s the standards of the manufacturer and importer that matter.
You can argue the jobs issue until you’re blue in the face, but the fact is that most manufacturing that has left is never coming back, no matter whether you buy American or not.