Free: Contests & Raffles.
Buy once cry once. Kifaru, exo, stone glacier, mystery ranch is what I'd be looking at.
A poor review of a kuiu, Stone glaciers, exo, outdooorsmans, kifaru or the like is almost exclusively due to someone not knowing how to use the pack. These are very technical pieces of equipment and must be fitted to you and learned. I change a different buddy's world nearly every trip when I adjust their pack for them for the first time. Sure each pack is better at something than another but it's up to you to pick the right one for your hauling mission. An outdoorsmans frame will haul more volume with stability than an SGA kuiu will compress into a better day pack than an exo.A stone glacier will hold the load closer and be lighter than a mystery ranch.A mystery ranch lid will turn into a fanny pack while the outdoorsmans might be hard to walk between close trees
I’d watch the classifieds and buy used if that’s your plan. I wouldn’t waste money on anything badlands/tenzing/eberlestock/etc. Been there done that got the t shirt. There’s nothing “comfortable” about any of them.