And that is precisely why you need to go to a branded product

I think each hiker gets to make that particular evaluation. Perhaps you missed that I am still using that off-brand pack and I'm still perfectly happy with it for a certain sub-set of uses, for which I find it to be a better pack than the lighter brand name one.

Every quality in a pack that you named as valuable to you does not inhere in the brand name, but in the pack itself. Using a brand name as a proxy for "the lightest possible backpack that still has the capacity and features you feel are important" can get you in trouble, since most brand name makers have a wide range of packs for many kinds of activities and market niches.

To get the right pack, I look past the brand name and concentrate instead on fit, weight, capacity, and features, which is really what I am looking for. And of all those, I'd say fit is the most important one. But disagreement is what makes a horse race, so if you are happy with your pack (or packs), then you've done just as well as I have at picking them.