Actually most backpacking goods are at very low margins. Most hard goods barely make a profit. A typical back pack might have 40-75 individual "pieces" and take a tremendous amount of actual labor to put together. Its one of the reasons that so much mfg has gone "offshore". The old addage you get what you pay for is pretty much spot on with good to excellent gear. You can buy cheaper, and then you can replace it in a couple of seasons. Or you can spend the money and use it for 20 seasons. Trust me, I built backpacks for 7 years as a private label, and if we could make $100 bucks on each pack, I'd be writing this post from Costa Rica