I use the Oceanic Hera for teaching pool sessions. It is 2yrs old & has yet to start fading from the chlorine. I will say that it is s very comfy BC. It is padded just right in all the right places for comfort. On the other hand, as Jim mentioned, that makes it a bit heavy & on the bulky side, so doesn't travel very well. The Hera is a hybrid back inflate/ jacket style BC & gives you the best of both worlds in holding your trim horizontal while diving & holding you a little more upright & stable on the surface. For a travel & Open Water BC, I use the Aqualung Balance which is a back inflate BC. The female version of that is the Libra. I, personally, could not fit into the Libra, as it only goes to a size of ML ( would probably need something near the size (in women's) of an XL). I use a men's L Balance because of my drysuit. It is a very comfortable & clean BC that is light weight & travels very well. I also use a back plate & wing (BP/W) with my technical equipment. I could see where some may feel very comfortable in it, even with a single tank adapter & a single tank. I tried it & personally found it to feel a bit more unstable than a traditional BC, but that is just me, in doubles it feels fine. Have your SO several different types, if she can, to see what she likes.