Once I knew what my measurements were, I ordered online and have great success with the packs I got.

I had zero success with Osprey packs, but the Gregory Jade, Aarn, and Granite Gear Nimbus packs I have fit me well and do the job nicely. Have carried each pack 100+ miles with various weight/loads in them, no soreness or difficulty with fit.

Which is not to say that you will want to use the same brands or models, but to say that you need to know your correct measurements and have an idea of how much volume you need. If you are having trouble fitting packs and have easily bruised hips, you may need a different belt and need to look into packs with swappable belts. The Vapor series don't have swappable belts. The Nimbus series do.

In my case, I can do up to a week in 40 liters for three season trips. For a longer trip with bear can I have to take the Nimbus Ozone - or for winter when bulk increases and I need more space. I need packs with swappable or adjustable hip belts, which all of these have, because I typically need a medium hip belt and my back size is usually the short end of regular, or small, or extra small depending on the brand/pack. So a regular or medium pack with a sewn in belt does nothing for me. The Ozone (no longer made) works because I have the women's hip belt, which is padded adequately and canted slightly to work with my "child bearing hips".

Granite Gear is one of the few vendors that will replace the hip belt - swap to something that works for you - if you send it back to them. No matter where you bought the pack. I got the Ozone on a closeout for roughly half off. But you have to get one with adjustable back frame and swappable straps/belt.

Not all Gregory packs have the same frame either. The larger 50 -60 liter Jade packs did not meet my approval but the 40 liter of the same pack did - different frame.

More specifics can help - what exactly did not work about the packs you've tried? You say soreness is a problem - is it that the hip belts rub, or is the pack riding heavy on the hip bones and bruising you?

I'd ignore zippers and pockets and focus exclusively on fit. If there are extraneous features but the pack fits, that's better than having the exact features with a poor fit. If you want to try a pack and have the patience, and the source has a good return policy, I'd suggest ordering, trying the pack around the house packing all your gear in it, and if it works well stomping around the house vacuuming for a few hours you'll have a clean house and a pack that fits - if not send it back. I have also bought packs on clearance and re-sold them easily enough for a slight discounted price. Since I only wore them a few trips trying them out, I got nearly what I paid for them.