O'Neill or other drysuit for 100lbs woman

[*Floater*]

My girlfriend is considering going dry, but she often has trouble finding a good fit in stock sizes. She's 5'5.5" and 100 lbs. She's considering getting an O'Neill drysuit because their sizes seem closest to her measurements from the availbale drysuit choices. In particular, their size 4 ranges are below as well as Bare's (next closest) XS for women:

SIZE...........O'Neill 4..............Bare XS
HEIGHT.......5'4" - 5'6"............5'3.5"-5'5.5"*
WEIGHT......100 - 120............100-125
CHEST........30 1/2 - 32 1/2....32-35
WAIST........23 - 25...............23-26
HIPS...........33 - 35...............33-36
NECK..........11 1/2
INSEAM.......27 1/2 - 28 1/2.....31.25

So the O'Neill size 4 seems like her best bet though she'd be on the lower end of the weight range. What do you think? Any thoughts before she buys or other brand recs?

By the way, we are mostly vacation divers and undergarments used will vary though in general we prefer to visit warmer climates.

link to O'Neill sizes: http://www.oneill.com/company-sizechart.php

* Note that the lbs and kg weight limits don't agree on the Bare drysuits: http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/bareshop/diveproduct.asp?dept_id=21010&pf_id=64412

 

[DA Aquamaster]

In my experience the O'Neil drysuits have a trimmer cut than most others and would probably be a better option for someone on the light end of the weight range.

 

[vetdiver]

Hi -

I am 5'8 and about 125, so taller and heavier than your GF, but still on the tall/slim side for women's dive gear. It can be quite frustrating with stock sizes. I rented an O'Neill 7 mm (think it was a size 6??) for my drysuit course and then bought a Bare D6 Pro-dry (7mm, a small).

If memory serves, the O'Neill was better in terms of actually fitting my height/width.

The Bare served me well for 2 years and was a good starter suit, but I got irritated due to the lack of actual height on the suit - it fit OK heightwise (barely) if I was wearing thin undergarments, but diving in mid-winter with thicker undies was annoying - I almost couldn't stand up all the way. Irritatingly, it was plenty wide. It served me well, though, and I only recently decided to upgrade to a custom DUI.

I did love my Bare and would recommend it, but from experience, overestimate her height a bit when you guys choose from stock sizes - that height pressure from the suit on your shoulders is awful. From the stuff you posted and my experience, I'd recommend a Bare S for her, but if it was wide on me, it's for sure going to be wide on your GF!!

So I guess...O'Neill. But again, be sure that it will fit her with the thickest possible undergarments she might wear!! You may want to consider going up a size.

Then again, you say vacation diving - does this mean warmer water? If so, maybe have her rent a few times to make sure she likes diving dry - if she likes it, go for a custom shell or compressed neoprene suit, which might be better in widely varying temps. (I can wear my 7 mm neoprene drysuit and the thinnest undergarments - Bare comfort extreme- and be fine for long dives in 50-degree water.)