There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
And here is Tim Marshall's response:
" It’s no problem. I don’t have any problem talking about this thing. Just wish they wouldn’t try to claim the design as original. Every good idea I ever had had been copied, I’m not done by any means and I’m sure I’ll be around long after “wind hard tiny” retires. "
Source: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/aegismax-wind-hard-quilt-ee-revelation-clone/
Mass production simply gives consumers another option - at the end of the day, if people don't want one that is made in China, they will go directly through EE. I actually intended to get a quilt in this drop, but decided that for a little bit more money, I could get EXACTLY what I wanted with respect to temp ratings, size, and color (plus, I wanted the Enigma for my cold weather bag), so I ordered directly from EE. I still appreciate that this drop is an option, though. It's simply another choice for consumers, and I think it gives EE an opportunity to try mass production without making a significant change in their made-to-order process.