14 Feb 2014

USA vs. China

Now we all know New Era is an American brand and it's great that they have their product made within the states but I must say I prefer the quality control that China provides when it comes to making the 59FIFTY.
I recently purchased a fitted from one if my favourite brands but was disappointed to find that the built of the fitted was tarnished by the quality of the construction.

On first inspection you may not see anything wrong with the piece but when I looked it over I noticed the visor was bent. I looked on the underside of the cap and realised that the crown overlapped onto the undervisor which caused the bend. 
Looking back through previous fitteds from the same company it's clear that the quality between the two is evident. I have twelve caps from them, six produced in USA and six in China. It seems as though the 59FIFTY caps made in America have suffered from rushed production as loose threads are visible on the underside of all six caps and two others have rattling top buttons and misshaped crowns. This compared to the other six well made Chinese caps where I couldn't find any faults. 

I can only hope that New Era will seek to improve the quality control of their USA produced caps. 
Have you ever bought a fitted and thought it was bit off? Check the label and see where it was made. As a paying customer don't be afraid to scrutinised products you're parting ways with your hard earned money for.