Its an OK bag. I really think everyone uses it because everyone uses it. Here's my list of gripes:
Nylon is weaksauce. It shreds easilly on high wear areas and edges.
Zippers are good but not great (sounds like you are addressing that).
Kick plate works great, unless its actually kicked. Then it bends forever.
Frame bends permantantly and fairly easilly.
Screws back out constantly. There is no excuse for this. A quarter drop of locktite would prevent this and should NOT have to be done by the customer.
Foam handle is a POS. Enough said.
Main handle lugs wear and break leaving you with a hot mess for the rest of your trip unless you baby it going over curbs and on and off busses. Yes that's "abuse" but its part of the job and customers shouldn't have to baby a premium bag in their everyday environment. A premium "crew" bag should be able to handle that abuse.
Threading on back pocket is POS. If you actually use it the back pocket separates constantly and you have to "field repair" it. Stitch it at least 3 times as good as it is or leave it off to save weight and thickness.
Make the main strap cinch-able for those of us that pack like Imelda Marcos on a 12 day trip everywhere we go (don't h8).
The bag is a bit too heavy for its size and durability.
The current bag is too expensive relative to its quality.
I don't really care about side pockets. Even when empty they add width. I'd rather eliminate them as is or use that width and material to slightly widen the bag over all and add thicker (or BETTER) nylon.
Consider slightly recessing the handle when stowed. There are numerous AC bins where it juuuuuuuust won't fit wheels first, especially if you get the part of the bin near the latch. A half an inch extra is all you need. That's what she said.
Fix all those issues and upgrade the warranty (at least 2 year unlimited warranty with customer paying round trip shipping for 3 more years) of a 5 year warranty and I'd pay 100 or so, maybe 150 more than current price for it. Most of all it needs to be backed longer than current warranty.
It goes against my nature to buy anything POS and I hate hate hate taking things back so I really don't want to do the Cosco trick. But I will before I buy another PNS bag unless and until its made into the premium choice for the profession that it was always marketed to be but never seemed to be able to live up to. When mine falls apart (again) I'm probably going with a Strongbag.