There aren't many places to surf that are as cold or hardcore as the New Zealand South Islandduring winter! Luckily, O’Neill was born in one of those places, Santa Cruz in Northern California, and cold water surf is what we live for! A South Island winter means you need a proper 4/3mm or 5/4mm suit, booties, hood and gloves to maximise your time in the water.

The Psycho One 4/3mm is part of our advanced cold water series. It features fully sealed seams and hydrophobic TB3 neoprene. The Pyscho One has a TB Firewall with heat-retaining thermal interior layer through the chest, back and legs. It's a very warm suit which is still light and flexible thanks to its minimal seam design (fewer seams in the suit increases the comfort and decreases the weight).

Our Defender4/3mmis a solid, warm and comfy suit thanks to it's glued and blindstitched seams (GBS), MeshSkin chest/back panels and SuperGrill liner. Not quite as flexible / light / comfy as the Psycho One, but great value for money. Comes in both chest zip and back zip options.

If you are surfing for hours on end or early mornings during the harshest parts of winter, you may prefer a 5/4mm steamer. Currently, we do not offer any 5/4mm steamers for kids.

Our top pick for separate hoods is the Psycho 3mm Hood, and for booties, our first choice would be the Mutant 3mm ST Boot. Our recommended glove is the Psychotech 1.5mm Glove.

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

Check out the autumn/spring recommendations for further suggestionsif you feel the cold less or you are leaning towards warmer conditions.