The Gregory Z has served me very well for quite a few years. It's probably the most comfortable pack in its range, and is rugged and well built. I now only use it if I need to haul 10+ days of food, as I replaced it with a Mountain Laurel Designs Super Prophet in my quest to go ultralight. I think you made a good choice for a lighter-than-most commercially available pack, especially with the under $200 price tag.

You may want to look at shoulder-strap mounted bottle holders, I know there's a few places you can get them and they'll attach to any pack. I used bladders with the Gregory Z but that's just my preference.
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