We have a Deuter pack. It was bought for us as a present by friends who are keen hikers. They said they checked out the Kathmandu and chose the Deuter because it was a better design and had a longer harness (my DH is VERY tall). That said, they were not looking to save $$ so I imagine the Deuter was a fair bit more expensive. Friends of ours who only buy the best (not in terms of brand, but design) also chose a Deuter. I have not personally looked at anything else nor seen the Kathmandu, but just thought I would share. In any event, as Nai says, don't ever buy things from Kathmandu at full price, because they always have 50% off sales (you can join their club and get further discounts and advance warning of sales.