My ol' Ripcurl Trad steamer is so old, it was Made in Australia! Been a great wettie, very durable, had 2 back panels replaced for $50 (they'd perished) a few years back, but it seems to be shrinking as the years go by (funny that ).

Thinking of going chest zip or zip-free, but some reviewers say "easy to get on, difficult to get off", "chest zip easier to get in & out of", "zip-free more comfortable", etc.
Just wondering what experienced users think out there?
Don't want to pay a fortune, Adrenalin seem to be around the $200-$275 mark for both styles, any thoughts?
3/2 steamer suits me fine for WA in the middle of winter.

If this topic has been raised before (don't regularly read forums), apologies, & please point me to the old (but not too old!) topic, cheers.

I have 3 chest zip suits , Matuse, xcel and recently an O'neill ( get them when hot deals) all great suits but definitely not the easiest of things to get off.
My son got a quicksilver zipperless steamer which is perishing in the shoulder, neck area after 4 months, he said its very comfy but would go back to chest zipper.

If your big in the chest or shoulders a back zip is much easier to get on / off.

A chest zip typically will be easier to get on / off over a zip free. but still way harder than a back zip.

The general concensus is chest zip / zip free allow more movement when paddling prone. I have both back and chest zip and do notice a difference whilst prone paddling. On my sup however i'm more than happy to ride a back zip as I can't feel the difference there.

Back zips now let in less water than other types also.

thanks guys, appreciate the responses

I have several friends with zipperless wetsuits, they all hate them for the same reason, they can get in, but they can't get out w/o somebody helping them.

I like long John style wetsuit with a front zip jacket when its cold, nice and warm on the sup and easy to remove.

Recently picked up an Oneil 2mm long John with a front and leg zips ($120 from local surf shop) and no velcro anywhere to destroy the lining, goes well with the Quicksilver front zip jacket. Its not a good combo when I surf prone as to much water comes in around the neck but fine on the sup.

At 50 years old and 88kg I couldn't even get in to a modern one piece wetsuit, tried, I just don't bend that way

The chest zip wetsuits certainly are a mission to get out of! If you don't want to break the bank try needessentials.com/ been very happy with my two.

Thanks for tip re Need Essentials, but out of Medium, & after trying some new wetties on have decided to stick with the back zip. The new chest zip steamer tried on in the shop was easy to get into, but verging on Houdini-esque to get out of the f*%@ing thing. Also, I found the zipper to be really fiddly when slotting the tongue into the groove to do up. Maybe it was just that brand. It undoubtedly would end up becoming second nature, & the suit would become easier to get off as it stretches with usage, but judging by the number of comments on other forums, there's a fair number of chest-zip debutantes that drive home from the ball in a wet wettie!!

One of the back-zip steamers I tried on (around the $300+ price bracket, but have seen them approaching adrenalin or need essentials prices), was so light & flexible, easy to get on, rear zip slid up smoothly without catching, great seal around the neck, & ultra-comfortable. Needless to say, it came off in seconds, bliss!

Would it be as warm as a chest-zip & flush-free?? Who cares when you're on a sup! Happy to sacrifice a little warmth for better ease-of-use, can always do a flat-paddle sprint to warm up!