Kata Bags Discontinued

I posted a more lengthy discourse on this in the Accessories forum, but figured it was appropriate here just as a heads up:

I was informed by the Vitec Group, which owns Manfrotto, Kata, Gitzo, Lastolite, and a few others, that they were discontinuing the Kata line of bags and that they would be released in the future under the Manfrotto brand.

There's already a few of the Manny offerings available online, but for those of you who may be wondering in the future what happened to Kata, they are apparently no longer.

I have a few Kata bags (among my OCD bag collection) and a backpack and like them very much. Hope the quality stays the same.

I agree. I don't really see quality sliding under the Manfrotto name, but the new bags just don't have the same "sex appeal" that some of the Katas have.

In a market with about a million choices until you start narrowing down exactly what you want (and then there can be depressingly few choices) I hate being "stuck" with a big blocky chunk of a bag.

Well said.
I'm narrowing down the bags in my collection as I'm using what works for me. My main one is ThinkTank Retro 30 and I find myself shooting out of the Kata Messenger bag I think I paid $25 from Adorama when I'm going light and I go for that bag vs others that cost $$.. The Kata backpack is for traveling light and it's well built and serves it's purpose.

Sad to hear the Kata line is getting killed off. I have a Kata DR461S micro rucksack that I love. Hopefully it will be re released under manfrotto as it's an amazing compact bag that holds a ton of gear

Sad news. Love my Kata backpack.

Big fan of my Kata 467, sad to see the brand go away.

Sad, I like having lots of options and the backpack I had was very well made. I've been looking for a specific Kata rolling bag, but it was discontinued as well. I've seen the Manfrotto ones, but would have preferred the Kata.

just got a Kata bag a few months ago and love it. I was wondering why Kata wasn't mentioned at the Vitec booth at NAB

Bilderknipser wrote in post #16887073
Sad, I like having lots of options and the backpack I had was very well made. I've been looking for a specific Kata rolling bag, but it was discontinued as well. I've seen the Manfrotto ones, but would have preferred the Kata.

After my epic search for the PL35 I have a pretty good grasp of where to look now, so if there's one in particular you want let me know and I may be able to steer you towards it.

Couldn't decide on kata 3n1 20 or TT sling-o-matic 20. Any suggestion?

I think the same thing could be happening to domke too.

I provided the link in the Marketwatch forum since it seemed that Kata hadn't informed their vendors of this move. Here's what they sent me along with the survey:

http://services.vitecg​roup.it …ef-c7367cb49525&id=142388

bogeybrown wrote in post #16887667
After my epic search for the PL35 I have a pretty good grasp of where to look now, so if there's one in particular you want let me know and I may be able to steer you towards it.

Would you have directions to a kt w-94 (waist bag)

GovMule wrote in post #17089813
Would you have directions to a kt w-94 (waist bag)

I looked through Manfrotto's site and it doesn't appear that the W-94 was carried over; lucky for me, the 3N1-25 was carried over, I was going to buy one when it was still Kata.

Is the Lowepro Inverse 200AW too small for your needs?