I should say that I wanted to keep the Kata really badly. In fact, with the Amazon deal linked in andylawcc's link, it was probably not worth returning. Anyway, here's the gist for the Kata:
Pros:
- Israeli military heritage, good attention to details such as rubber covers so the zippers don't swing
- all weather bag included, clips out when yuo need it. stows when you don't
- expandable water bottle area that can fold back in
- free monopod
- lots of little compartments (the more the better for me!)
Cons
- Practically useless waist/harness support compared to the Lowepro
- I don't see how it can hold 2 SLR's.
- The bottom swing out compartment seems awesome at first until you have it in your hands. The separators feel cheap. Actually much of the material internally feels cheap. There is padding but overall it feels sort of stiff/plasticky. The biggest problem though is functionality. The area is not that large. And depending on what lens you put on it, you might not be able to fit anything else. They sort of want you to put it lens down, screen up (as in screen facing you when you open the compartment to remove the camera), but that means you can only put in maybe a 50mm prime. If I wanted to put on my 28-135 kit lens, that would mean I'd have to put it sideways. Also, if you plan on swinging the backpack to your front, then opening the hatch to remove your camera, good luck. Imagine holding a child on your front (you've seen parents do this, with front-packs), then trying to change it's diaper while standing up. I did test runs in my apt and I felt I would drop my camera each time. Also because it's relatively fat, you physically cannot stare down and see what's going on. You'd have to remove the pack to retrieve the camera or any accessories.
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