What a great time of year for surfing! Although the air temps can be warm in autumn and spring, the water is usually still pretty chilly, particularly in spring. For much of autumn/spring, you'll be happy in a 3/2mm steamer, but closer to winter you'll need to transition into a 4/3mm. If you’re on a budget and just want one steamer to go right through winter, check out the Winter recommendations.

We believe the best wetsuits for surfing New Zealand's North Island during autumn and spring are the Bahia 3/2mm or Psychotech 3/2mm.

The Bahia 3/2mm has glued and blindstitched seams, MeshSkin chest/back panels and SuperGrill liner, and comes in options of chest or back zip, with our seasonal Surf Series print, or a timeless all-black colourway. It looks insane, is killer value and most importantly is toasty warm thanks to the internal liner.

The Psychotech 3/2mm has fluid weld sealed seams, hydrophobic outer fabric, Air Firewall Smoothskin chest/back panels, and TBFirewall liner. It’s top of the line, highest level performance, flexibility and warmth.

For the less frequent surfer, the Reactor II 3/2mm Steamer is a good value for money option featuring wind-resistant Smoothskin 3mm neoprene on the chest and back, and Ultraflex neoprene on the arms and legs, but doesn’t have the same level of stretch and warmth of higher-end wetsuits.

With water temps still being cold in these variable seasons, we recommend the Ninja 3mm boot to keep the toes nimble!

It just depends on what’s most important to you - warmth / flexibility / price.

Check out the winter or summer recommendations for further suggestions if you are leaning towards colder or warmer conditions.