For many products it just means it's a small run from a group that may not have a lot of domain experience using materials and methods that will make the end product appear superior to buyers.

Totally understand that, I’m just talking about the difference between “patriot/veteran” and “military grade” to the average person. The latter heavily implies “quality build” while also appealing to people (mostly dudes) who want that sort of label for whatever reason, while the former is purely about values and has no implications as far as quality is concerned.