Fly Fishing - Waders

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

IMO .. Waders are going to break, rip, leak .. period. I don't know anything at all about making them or the fabrics or whatever, but i do know this. I have yet to see a pair of waders of my own and of any of my friends who don't fail. I mean seriously, it is an impossible task to produce such a thing. As soon as there is stiching involved and thousands of stiches, there are now equally as many possible failure (leakage points). So, with that said. There are 2 things that I think as users of waders we need to accept. First, for the money we are willing to pay it is not ever likely that we will be totally satisfied in regards to waders. Things will happen. They will all eventually, leak, rip or whatever. Secondly, we do have a right to expect a certain level of quality and the level of quality is, like anything else, we get what we pay for. So, if a pair of waders (regardless of how much we pay) leaks out of the box .. that is totally unacceptable. If you buy a pair of waders for $100 and you walk through pricker bushes and they leak .. you can't really expect the waders to have withstood that kind of usage and if you wanted them too .. well, you should have bought the higher priced model with 6 layers of this and that and "bullet proof" this and that ..

So .. I personally have never seen a pair of waders fail. They all do. Just like car tires. If you wear them alot and guide or whatever and you stink them up with your feet and they are worn out in key spots from abrassion etc .. well, ya need a new pair of waders. period. Try returning you car tires. Not. However, in fairness to us, it is acceptable to expect a certain level of quality and that level of quality is relational to what we spent.

So ... with all of that said above .. WHAT DO YOU THINK is the best pair of waders that you have found based on your experience ..... but you have to note the price point ..

So Here Are The Waders I Am Using Now

Orvis Clearwater Endura Breathable Stocking Foot - $129
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Take it for what it's worth .. but I have had countless pairs of waders at various price points .. and I am down to these because all of the others failed for one reason or another ... go figure, these were my back up waders .. and because I am lazy and still have old pairs of waders that I need to patch or return or whatever ... I continue to use these and have been using them for a year or so ... No leaks .. No problems .. Very good price ...

I am curious to other peoples findings .. as I am not opposed to spending more or whatever or trying different kinds .. but, I'd like to know why? what features are good that I might not be getting with these waders? what makes "your" waders of of choice .. the best for you?

joey · Location: Colorado

I am rolling with simms g3 right now and really like them. They are a little pricey but for the amount of time that I am in my waders it is worth it. They are bullet proof...so far. But they also have a good warranty as does Orivs. I have worn Orvis waders for a long time but I got tired of sending them back repairing them and having them leak. So I made the switch to simms and have had no comlaints. They are like armor.

waterwhippa · Location: Upstate, NY

I'm in the simms rivertek's @ 279.00. I got a year out of them...sent them to bozeman, they sent me g3 rentals. Turn around time was 3 weeks. they did some repairs and i have been leak free for the past six months. The 5 layers of gore-tex certainly extends the life of their product. If i get another 6 to 12 months out of them i will be satisfied and will purchase simms waders again.

ChrisR · Location: Southeast Massachusetts

The Beans wicked toughs. They have been pretty good so far. But I hate the neoprene bootie foot. The Beans west branch that I had prior to the wicked toughs were perfect in that respect. Unfortunately everything but the bootie was coming undone on them. Beans just needs to morph the two together.

Austin · Posted: Thu 01/03/08 4:44 pm Post subject:

Like you jeremy, i will say that it is very hard to find a pair of waders that does not spring a leak.....but there are some things that i look for when purchasing new waders...
* good gravel gaurds. on some of the waders i have owned the gravel gaurds have torn, or the metal clip that attatches to the laces starts to bend.
* good breathability. I hate sweating in waders and that is why we wet wade during the summer, but when your not wet wading it is nice to feel like your wet wading. I'm not sure what type of wader materials offer the best breathability, but the ll.bean wicked toughs are doing a good job.
* also for me, i like a wader that is not very bulky and that does not have a lot of excess material. on some of my other waders, it felt like i was swimming in cloth and made wading against the current tougher.
I wonder if neoprene waders are more durable than breathable waders?

KodiakCommando · Location: Kodiak, Alaska

Excellent post jeremy

You are right about them not lasting, they do break down.

One thing i have learned is that guiding up here may be the ultimate test for waders. I have talked to guides who have worked in bristol bay for 20 years and have seen and used every possibl wader and not one has ever been found that would hold up for the season which is only 4 months. It really makes sense, one thing i have notices is the guides that say their simms or orvis waders last them year in ads are usually guides that spend all day in a drift boat! Where as where i work your wearing waders 70 plus hours a week and the majority of rivers you fish are fast and rocky and you are constatnly hiking through those rivers as well as very thick alders and rocky outcroppings.

Over the summer different guides had different stuff and all of them but mine crapped out after only two months. Interestingly enough the worst preformers were simms, a pair of rivertecks that only were good for a month and some g 3's that lasted a month and a half.

The best and most durable wader i have found yet are my William Joseph dry namics which are $299.00 Dan bailey also make some good waders. But as great as the WJ's are there is no way they will last me a year and it's hard for me to believe that others can get a year out of waders.

I guess it all comes to how much time i am in waders and the fact that in remote alaska and many spots on kodiak roads are limited so I am spending almost as much time hiking in my waders as fishing.

chromefinder · Location: Southeast PA

I got 4 plus years of hard use out of a pair of Simms guide stocking foot waders the first year they came out. I had one seam leak covered under warranty and many self induced easily self repaired pin hole leaks. These were the most durable waders I have ever used. I retired them in year 5 because the neo feet wore out and I got tired of fixing pin holes.

I am currently using Simms Riverteks and they've been returned once for warranty repair for a seam leak and ripped gravel guard after 6 months of hard use (but not Alaska hard such as Kodiak). I like the minimal weight and comfort of the Rivertek stocking foots and feel that these waders breath better than any other breathable wader I have tried. The fabric on the 3 layer Rivertek is much lighter and thinner than the Simms original guide stocking foots that had a 5 layer design.

alex · Posted: Thu 01/17/08 12:03 am Post subject:

Simms freestone waders for me have been the best, I use them constantly and they have been incredible. They are the least expensive of the all the breathable gore tex. I still believe technology in the fabric business has not changed dramatically to pay such high prices so I still stick with them and buy them actually for all my friends here in Argentina and they also love them.. no problems other than the usual repairs , and I never take care of them so that says something.