Any good reasons to go with another shockmount other than the AT8415?

notes: i'm permanently mounting the AT897 on my camcorder

I've never had any problems with my older 8415 mounts, but some people recently have said their bands stretched out early.
The deluxe bands that are made by K-Tek for this mount have a good reputation and are said to be well worth the extra money.
If you do go with the standard bands, you have to criss-cross the horizontal bands at the front and rear to get enough tension to hold a shotgun mic steady. This isn't all that easy to do often, so you'll usually want to remove the mount from the camera rather than the mic from the mount.
PSC and K-Tek make good mounts also. They are more expensive, but they have mounts specifically for the camera shoe without having to buy an extra adapter part. Their bands or solid rubber mounts are superior too.

I'll drink to that as well. For the money, there is no better deal than the AT8415. The SUS bands are a great addition. I own an 8415 with the standard bands and a K-tek GPS cradle with the same SUS bands that they sell for the AT. They are worth the 18-$20 extra. The KSSM is another great rig as well.

Ok cool, that's good to know!

It's a very small grouping of acceptable shock mounts. K-tek, AT, lightwave, rycote and PCS.