I'm late to the thread, and the OP's friend has already made his choice. BTW , excellent choice.
But had I been more timely, I would have opened with a general discussion of " one size fits all , sole handguns " .
You will either be carrying somthing large, or shooting and woods carrying somthing small .
As an only handgun, it will be shot a lot to learn skills, maintain proficiency, and recreation. So " carry a lot, shoot seldom " guns contraindicated.
Personally I tend to carry larger sized guns . That has more to do with being willing to dress around the gun than being a big guy per se . But most people don't care to do so prefering pocket sized over all other factors.
But a 3in SP101 pretty much owns the current production sweet spot between concealment, accuracy, power , and reasonably enjoyable shooting.