"So I'm looking at the stitching on these packs and from the little bit I can see it doesn't look very robust"
The stitching doesn't look as robust or of the quality of my GG packs. The seams are a single straight stitch with a nylon ribbon reinforcement. The exception is the shoulder straps, which were heavily stitched at the shoulder point (almost over stitched IMO) to the point where I had to cut the straps themselves as close to the anchor point as possible in order to move them for my torso length.
Along the lines of what you are saying, quality control is a concern with these and I doubt that they have great QC. Whenever I get a pack, I always look for any fraying or loose stitches and secure them, sometimes just using a dab of Gorilla super glue to anchor it and keep the fray from from spreading. I didn't have to do any with this one, but anyone buying one would be wise to go through it. Again, its not top of the line stitching, but it appears to be as strong as that of my son's daypack that he used to carry 10-15 lbs of books to high school the whole year, often tossing it to the ground as soon as he got home. I don't have any concerns about it lasting for extended hikes, especially at the total pack weights that UL backpackers carry in a 30L pack.
