Women's dry or semi-dry suits

The Boss doesn't like her current kayaking wardrobe and has asked for new clothes for Christmas.  She mentioned a dry top with a full zipper and I can't find anything like that through a Google search.

I'm leaning towards getting her a new drysuit, one with a relief port designed for women.

I'm looking for product suggestions.  Got any?

My wife has been relatively happy with her Kokatat SuperNova women's drysuit:

http://kokatat.com/gender/womens/supernova-paddling-suit-women.html

That has a full drop-back for relief. No leaks/problems with the watertight zippers so far (we've been using them since spring). The women's doesn't have as much of the reinforced material as the same suit in men's, so may be a little more prone to getting stuck with fish spines, etc. But that's about the only negative I can think of.

The sizing on the Kokatat site was accurate, at least for her and I.

You might check and see if Outdoor Play has any coupons right now; they run 20% off coupons sometimes and that's about the cheapest way to get into one of these.

My wife has the kokatat goretex meridian and likes it,  except for the zippers.   But that's typical of the metal zippers.

A drop seat would be an advantage, I'd guess.  For me, too!  What's with these kangaroo-pouch zipped openings for men?

I'm leaning towards the Hydrus Supernova Angler and the Hydrus Meridian - and not just because Outdoorplay has a 25% off sale on the Supernova in her size, right now...

I like her an awful lot, but I'm not sure I like her a Gore-Tex lot... That's not true (Ow!  Ow!  You can let go of my ear, now!).  I've owned a pile of Gore-Tex outdoor gear and one-by-one, after a couple of years, a few at most, each failed and started to leak.  And I'm the most anal retentive person you could know about my outdoor gear.

If you own Gore-Tex, how's it holding-up?
 

Our goretex purchase was second hand,  so not $1100

I just sent you a PM to your email address - hopefully some of the info is useful.

I wear a Gul men's goretex sailing suit with no relief zipper.  It's got reinforced knees and butt zones.  Goretex is holding up fine after 2 years - I am pretty diligent about rinsing immediately after kayaking, washing with mild soap to eradicate the fishy splendor, and drying the suit (not in the sun!).  The chest zipper was a little stiff, but some beeswax helped that.

REI occasionally has 20% off coupons.  Also, you might be able to find a good deal on ebay.

I wear a Gul men's goretex sailing suit with no relief zipper.  It's got reinforced knees and butt zones.  Goretex is holding up fine after 2 years - I am pretty diligent about rinsing immediately after kayaking, washing with mild soap to eradicate the fishy splendor, and drying the suit (not in the sun!).  The chest zipper was a little stiff, but some beeswax helped that.

REI occasionally has 20% off coupons.  Also, you might be able to find a good deal on ebay.

Thank you, Ma'm.

Stohlquist makes a drysuit with a front zip jacket and a hood.  Model name is Shift.
http://www.outdoorplay.com/Stohlquist-Shift-Drysuit
Looks a bit complicated to get into, and I'm not sure I'd use the hood (if conditions are that bad, I don't want to be kayaking). 

My female friend owned a kokatat expedition drysuit with the front overlay and a drop seat relief.  She ended up cutting off the front overlay jacket (just stitching a finish seam since it wasn't part of the waterproof drysuit and a bit hot for PNW kayaking).  She liked the dropseat relief zip for ocean kayak touring (not a fisherman) - kokatat makes some high quality stuff. The goretex on that is still going strong after 6 years, though not much saltwater immersion on her gear, and no fishy stuff, so I can understand the longevity.

A drop seat would be an advantage, I'd guess.  For me, too!  What's with these kangaroo-pouch zipped openings for men?

The zipper on the front crotch aka a relief zipper is for peeing out of...

My wife has been relatively happy with her Kokatat SuperNova women's drysuit:

http://kokatat.com/gender/womens/supernova-paddling-suit-women.html

That has a full drop-back for relief. No leaks/problems with the watertight zippers so far (we've been using them since spring). The women's doesn't have as much of the reinforced material as the same suit in men's, so may be a little more prone to getting stuck with fish spines, etc. But that's about the only negative I can think of.

The sizing on the Kokatat site was accurate, at least for her and I.

You might check and see if Outdoor Play has any coupons right now; they run 20% off coupons sometimes and that's about the cheapest way to get into one of these.

My GF wears the Kokatat Supernova and it works great.  I even used it when I got holes in my drysuit before I got a new one.

Can't go wrong with kokatat and their customer service.  Made in the USA!!!

I've been using a Kokatat (GoreTex) front entry dry suit with a drop seat for many years, and for kayak fishing for the last three.  Excellent product and service. If I were buying a new one just for kayak fishing, though, I'd skip the woman's model with the drop seat and get a smaller sized men's with a relief zipper and use the "man adapter" so I wouldn't have to come ashore while fishing saltwater. On river trips, the drop seat is perfect because I'm not going to try to relieve myself while afloat.

Also, remember that the drop seat style works best if the under layers are also "drop seat" -- otherwise your wife will wish for longer arms. For years, I've been modifying base layers on the sewing machine...

The zipper on the front crotch aka a relief zipper is for peeing out of...

Well, I'm not embarrassed in the shower, but even if I were nicknamed "The Anaconda" I might have trouble using those relief zippers as intended...   

Also, remember that the drop seat style works best if the under layers are also "drop seat" -- otherwise your wife will wish for longer arms. For years, I've been modifying base layers on the sewing machine...

Oh my God!    

The zipper on the front crotch aka a relief zipper is for peeing out of...

Well, I'm not embarrassed in the shower, but even if I were nicknamed "The Anaconda" I might have trouble using those relief zippers as intended...   

LOL