The O'Neill Defender 4/3mm Chest Zip Steamer is a quality mid-range wetsuit that's designed to give you that performance feeling, with Polarflex Firewall to keep you warm. This internal fleece lining is specially designed to wick water away from the skin to keep you as dry as possible and act as an insulator, trapping body heat between your skin and the neoprene keeping you toasty.

Another crucial component of the wetsuit's construction is the flexible UltraFlex DS neoprene and stitching used to combine the panels. This neoprene is said to have a stretch factor of around 150% and be resistant to scratches from for example Velcro. The neoprene is stitched using GBS & Taped Seams. This approach is effective at water sealing and the taping also acts as a form of reinforcement for the stitching.

Meshskin on the back panel is intended to help prevent wind chill from cooling you down. If you've heard of smoothskin it works in the same way; it's hydrophobic so no water can soak into the neoprene jersey and accelerate the effect of wind wicking heat away from your body. The difference is that it has a textured finish.

We'd generally recommend any 3/2 for winter from Queensland through NSW, although you might want something a little thicker (like a 4/3mm) once you get towards the south coast. Ultimately, it comes down to learning your own tolerance to the cold and figuring out what works best for you.

If you want to get as many seasons as possible from this wettie we'd recommend using & reading our

O'Neill Defender 4/3mm Chest Zip Steamer Features:

• Flexible UltraFlex DS w/ Polarflex Firewall: Flexes whichever way you need helping to conserve paddle energy and insulates the body.
• Chest Zip Entry: Chest zips are as good as it gets if you're going to have a zip - they don't hinder flexibility through the back panels for paddling and creates a better seal against water.
• GBS Taped Seams: This style of stitching doesn't fully penetrate the through the neoprene so there are no pinholes for water to penetrate, plus they're glued and taped which means water would be hard-pressed to get through the seams. If you want to learn more about seams check out our
• Meshskin Back Panel: Works in the same way as smoothskin to prevent water from accelerating the effect of wind chill.
• Single Seal Collar: A continuous piece of smooth neoprene on the collar that creates a seal against the skin means there's nowhere for water to flush into the wetsuit.
• UltraFibre Liner