Simms forever

sundrunk

sundrunk

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
969
I shipped my old wader back to Simms for repair. After just a couple of days I received a detailed estimate by email. The bill was high. My waders were about 5 seasons old, but, "it's not the years its the millage".

Just got off the phone with Simms repair dept. They offer a 40% discount if you trade in your old pair of waders for a new set. I was siked when I heard that. So, I upgraded my old Freestones for a set of their new Headwaters...Headwaters are about 300. before 40% discount.. Their light weight and have some nice modifications from last years L-2's.

I'll never go any where else for waders are boots. Simms makes the best stuff, and as most of you already know the service is top notch. Oh, I also picked up a pair of Guide Streamtread boots, nice.... I'm ready for 2009 now..
 
Good stuff. I have a few buddies that love their stuff. For me, well I'm still too poor. :-(
 
I couldn't see a distinct advantage with the more expensive $500. class wader. If the thing had a built in AC unit or heater maybe. No, all I need is a soild mid-grade wader; which for me is every bit as good as any thing our grand fathers ever had...
 
sundrunk wrote:
I couldn't see a distinct advantage with the more expensive $500. class wader. If the thing had a built in AC unit or heater maybe. No, all I need is a soild mid-grade wader; which for me is every bit as good as any thing our grand fathers ever had...
Click to expand...

Hard to believe it now, but when I started flyfishing, heavy rubber waders - with lug tread bottoms - was my only choice.
I took my share of spills into the streams in those things.
On the plus side however, I definitely sweated off a few pounds while fishing
 
I just received my new Simms Freestones at my front door yesterday. I was comparing the difference between Cabelas and Simms, and decided on the Simms for two major reasons:
First, they were $75 through a colorado outfitter on Ebay- and from what Ive seen, thats a heluva good price.
Second, I have read countless consumer reviews about Simms, and they were all very similar to what you wrote.
Now, I just have to find as good of a deal on boots, and I don't think I'm gonna get as lucky as I did with the waders!
 
I'm going on my 4th season with my Simms L2's. Average of about 40 days a year of use.

I'll keep that trade-in idea in mind if mine ever blow out.
 
so i just call simms and tell them i want to trade my old pair for a new and i get 40% off ??....
 
jrcll,

Your best bet would be calling the Simms repair Dept first.
406-585-3557...

Yes, if you trade your waders in you get 40% off your next pair, direct from Simms....
 
jrcll,

Your best bet would be calling the Simms repair Dept first.
406-585-3557...

Yes, if you trade your waders in you get 40% off your next pair, direct from Simms....
 
I just called simms and they told me that you have to send them your waders and if they can not be repaird, its at the discretion of the person doing the repair if you should get a new pair, and you can get up to a 40% off, so its not just a matter of sending them your old waders and you automaticlly get a discount one new ones
 
jrcll


Didn't mean to put you on a goose chase...That makes sense though. My waders were in pretty bad shape. Still, it's a good policy for Simms to offer...Put your waders through a few seasons. When they start to break down send them back to simms and see what they say.
 
I'm of the thought that if you fish a ton and can afford Simms you can buy them...... But what I've come up with if you fish a ton no matter how good the wader is you'll get a leak. We've bought both expensive and cheap and the cheap ones did breakdown faster. But depending on whether you're a guide or just fish, 2 reasonably priced waders, one in reserve is still cheaper then spending lots of dollars. I've got a pair of Orvis PG3's. They're great and tough and I love them in the fall and winter. But in the summer I wear a lighter pair from scientific angler about $75 that I enjoy wearing more. Maybe it's just the weather, but the last pair from SA I wore out was because I had back problems and spent too much time sliding across rocks on my butt. How many $75 waders equals one pair of Simms? Simms guys please speak up if you have never had a leak for 5 or more years and if you did how long did it take to get your waders back?
 
I'm occasionally ambivalent with Simms. I find that is not an uncommon sentiment. The ONE thing I give them credit for is keeping their wader assembly in Bozeman.

I sent a pair of waders back last year to get the crotch checked out. I got my waders back with new feet and an $80 repair bill. Yeesh. That's 1/4 the cost of the dang waders, and I STILL have the same waders, ANDDDDD, the neoprene feet were fine in the first place.

So, for $80, I didn't get much. I was cheeezed when that happened. I complained vehemently on some forum, maybe this one. A simms person got ahold of it and gave a passing excuse, no, not an excuse, but in typical Simms fashion, dismissed my complaint by explaining that's the procedure they follow at Simms. So.....I'm supposed to be satisfied by their corporate policies... Hmmmm....Arrogant? a tad. Take it the way they do it. Anyone happy with that doesn't understand competetive markets.

There are a lot of people who are finding the USA vs. Import wader gap and the fly rod gap are closing. They better step-up before they become a boutique industry.

One good note, if you want to part with $400, you can get a really good pair of waders, the G3's. They are Gore-Tex, made in USA with top notch technology and are no more than LL Bean's new wrap-around waders made in Asia.

Oh, and Simms now stamps the waders with a blue ink fish stamp. You probably get only so many opportunities to send waders back before they won't fix them. Who knows. I only semi-trust them. On one side, they're great, on another, well, I just can't tell some times.

Like I said, ambivalent. I'm just glad I wet wade for smallies a lot more. I don't have to worry so much about my waders getting warn out.
 
sundrunk, no problem i was hoping it was that easy , i think i will send them in and see what happens, they are 5 years old so maybe i`ll luck out....and thanks for the info
 
sylvan:

My simms started leaking in the heels after about 1 year of use.
I returned them - they replaced both booties, and charged me $75. Said the problem was a result of extreme wear.
About another year later - the replaced booties started leaking. Sent them back with same results - new booties and another $75 bill.
This was all after shelling out $400 initially for the waders new.
Both times I complained to the customer service rep that I didn't think I should have to pay for these repairs, and wanted to talk to someone higher up about it. I was told that I had no other course of action - take it or leave it. Needless to say, I'm ticked at them also.
From my experience, their customer service policy seem to be that their waders are great, and any problems that you may have are your own fault - end of story
 
yikes - this has been very informative. I had thought (mistakenly it appears) that simms were like the more expensive rod manufacturers - that if your waders leaked, you sent them back and you got a new pair. Sheesh $80 repair bill? I bought my "winter" waders at cabelas for $90. And they've lasted me 3 years of spring/fall surf fishing and winter fly fishing!

I think the best strategy for getting waders to last is:

1. Aquaseal
2. Only use them when neccessary - wet wade when possible
3. Have a backup - use your cheap waders when hiking through thorn bushes, etc
4. aquaseal

From what i've read so far, i'm not convinced of a need to pay $400 on simms
 
Hating to pile-on, but my friend, John, a guide outside of Bozeman (Big Sky) was TICKED that simms declared his waders "Worn Out" based on some standard that, as you can read above, is decided upon by simms regardless of what you want (customer ALWAYS wrong). They wouldn't fix his waders, so he's super mad at them. He works out of an Orvis shop and has said frequently "Orvis makes some really good waders" So that's who he'll be with next. I know of and KNOW a lot of people who fish in Orivs waders.
Now, like Bean's, they'll cost about as much as simms' and will be from Asia, and they might not last as long. But they might. And if they have a problem within 1 or 2 years, you'll get some recompence and not get screwed.
Those super expensive waders are big mark-up items. They are to be bought by 3 kinds of people. 1) the wealthy who fly to Montana or Colorado and decide to go flyfishing a few times. So they buy one of everything, top-of-the-line. Sage Z, Nautilus reel, Ex-Officio everything else and $600 simms waders and boots. 2) Tech-chasers. Those who cannot be caught on the water without the latest design in whatever they use. They cannot see how they could do well without the latest and greatest or would be looked-down upon by those more cutting-edge than they are. Usually identified by heavy-gage carboard tags hanging off some squeaky-clean, still creased equipment they are using. 3) Guides who get the stuff for 1/2 off and actually use it all the time and actually might wear it out before it fails or you get tired of having a wet crotch for the 2nd year in a row. They, and glossy gray and white ads get the other 2 to buy the G-4 zipper.

Waders are a wear item. They are expensive dish towels. They have to work, but as they begin to wear out or fail, they instantly become unacceptable. Unlike your fly line that slowly gets more worn until you finally decide to switch it out, leaky waders offend much more surely.
 
I've been through them all - simms g3's, l2s, orvis guides, silver labels, multiple cableas labels, columbia, cloudviel, and patagonia.
Patagonia are the only ones i get more than a year out of and when they say 100% safisfaction they mean it unlike simms and especially orvis. Plus for me - they fit the best. I have mediums for spring/summer/fall and larges for the winter. now if I could just find some aqua-sole studded boots besides LL beans. They do not fit me right....but i'm going to have to go try on their newer boots again.
 
So, I guess I'm not the only one who's not happy with Simms customer service.
I've got a question for all you guys who love their waders. Have any of you had a problem with them, and returned them for repairs, without being charged again? Just like to know if they do actually tell a customer that maybe their wader problem was due to faulty construction or materiel, and actually stand behind them, like all of the other wader co's do.
 
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