Waders

Interesting to read RRT's and West Branches experience with Simms customer service - or lack thereof, I guess.

I have sent waders back to them for repair several times. And they always notified me - first to say that they did receive the waders.
And then again after they were"evaluated" - to let me know my options.

It still seems to me that waders made with real gore-tex, are the best.
They seem to last the longest.
And if I do poke a hole in them, I can usually easily find the leak - and make a long lasting patch.

I know that, from my hunting days - real gore-tex boots always seemed to be superior to other brands too
 
The breathable wader portion is never a problem for me. Glued seams or "super-sonic" or whatever each brand calls them are also a waste. I basically never leak at the seams or stitching and if I get a hole in the breathable portion it is easily fixed with tear-aid and aquaseal. It is the neoprene bootie that is always the weak link for me..I basically always get leaks in the bootie itself first or where the bootie meets the nylon.
 
I've had the Orvis Silver Sonic Convertible-Top waders for a good 3.5 years now. Beat the hell out of them time and time again - trudging through brambles, climbing rock faces, etc. and the only leak that I've had was because I slid a good 20 feet down a frozen bank and put a couple of pin holes in the side that I fixed myself. The ankle covers that pull over the ankles on the boots have holes here and there as well...but haven't torn yet. Can't complain at all about them given how much use I've gotten out of them.

I'd rather buy a middle of the road set of waders with a good warranty rather than cheap waders without a warranty. I like Orvis products because I've never had any issues getting any of their products fixed in the past via warranty. That said, all waders leak, from the cheapest of the cheap to the highest end waders.
 
My experience is similar to everyone else's. It's not an exact science, but in general, more expensive pairs have lasted longer than el cheapo's for me. That being said, from a cost per year perspective, I find that generally you get about 1 year of leak free performance for every $100ish - a little more maybe, you spend. So if all you're looking for is leak free performance, and not comfort and features and stuff in the higher end pairs, in the long run it doesn't matter much whether you buy cheap or expensive. It all works out about the same over time.

The sweet spot for me has been LLBean Kennebec's. $250-ish, though they can be had for less if you time it right with a few of the quarterly or so storewide promo's/discounts Bean offers.

I'm on my second pair of Kennebec's, and aside from some acute pinholes as the result of multiflora rose (that's not the waders fault), they both lasted 2+ years leak free at the seams. I'm going into my third full season with the second pair now. The seams aren't weeping yet, but I feel like they're close, from visual inspection. I got a third year of use out of the first pair with minor leakage by doing repairs myself before pitching them. The Kennebec's have been relatively good on the comfort front too, cut baggier, which I like, and I seem to sweat less in them, relatively speaking, than other manufacturers I've had.

Admittedly, I've also started buying cheapo Sierra Trading Post closeouts of the brand du jour that I use as beaters on the real brushy streams. When these leak, unless it's an acute obvious tear or hole, I don't try to fix them. When the seams start to leak, I pitch them and buy another pair of whatever they have on the cheap at the time. So that's probably helped the Kennebec's last longer to some degree. Got a new pair of Kennebec's for $150 still in the box during a good sale when they were updating the model last year too.
 
Based on a lot of the replies I got, and the fact that today was the last day of a 20% sale, and the 1 yr. warranty I just bought LL Beans.

 
Wader choice is always frustrating.

You spend more money, hoping for more quality and reliability, but you have no guarantee of that.

But you almost know in advance that if you buy cheaper waders, you're going to have leaks.

So you're torn mentally between spending more, and hoping, but then wishing you had spent less as soon as they leak, or spending less, and wondering if you would've stayed dry longer if you had spent more.

Danged if you do, danged if you don't...
 
By the way, Simms don't have to be expensive.
I got both of my headwaters - USA made with goretex.
for $250 each on clearance on the fall.
Any decent pair of waders will cost that much
 
Swattie87 wrote:
My experience is similar to everyone else's. It's not an exact science, but in general, more expensive pairs have lasted longer than el cheapo's for me. That being said, from a cost per year perspective, I find that generally you get about 1 year of leak free performance for every $100ish - a little more maybe, you spend. .
Click to expand...

I strongly agree with the cost per year idea. With that in mind I also like not having somewhat leaky waders EVERY year or every other year so I buy whatever Simms has in the $400 range and run them into the ground. I don't think I've ever had to aquaseal the seams in less than 3 years. Pinholes, on the other hand, are not a problem with the waders, that is a PA vegetation problem.
 
I've had great customer service from Simms.

My g3's developed a leak late one winter. They were out of warranty. I called Simms and they said to send them back. I told them I didn't want to be out of waders being it was fishing season. They sent me loner waders free of charge and I sent mine back. I got good communication and got my old g3's back in about 3 weeks. They didn't get the leak fixed. I called and told them and they said keep the loner waders and send my old pair back to them and they'll consider it closed. That was 3 years ago and that pair is still going.
 
My son and I never had leaks in the upper part of the waders. Always a seam in the neoprene booties or where the bootie meets the upper part. From that perspective, I won't complain about Cabela's waders. Added sealant once and still fishing them. My hesitation in buying them again is the 60 day warranty. And notice no one on this forum ever talks about Bass Pro Shop waders. I don't trust them with wading gear.
 
Ads for products and/or commercial sites are not allowed on PAFF.
 
Would never buy Simms again. Bought Patagonia and was overall pleased. Simms was terrible. Said I wore my waders out (less than a year old) Was their top of line at time. They offered me a certain amount off on another pair. Forget it. I have old Cabelas neoprenes for winter which are very good. LLBean was okay and so was Orvis but warranties have changed and like others said "they all leak".

They can send a man to the moon but they cannot make decent waders.

They call it planned obsolescence. I call it a rip off.
 
I have a pair of Redington Sonic Pros that have held up pretty well for a few years, but I notice that the neoprene bootie is wearing thin at the balls of my feet. Is there a good way to reinforce this, or do I just wait for the inevitable?
 
My LL Bean waist highs are getting beyond repair, so I went to order another pair and they've been discontinued. Can anyone recommend other waist highs that you've been happy with?
 
A few months ago I bought a pair of waist high Dryft waders. Really like the fit, they’re quite comfortable. As for the durability I can’t speak to that since they aren’t very old but I personally feel they have a good design. Price was reasonable compared to some others. Their website has some good info you may want to check out.
 
laszlo wrote:
My LL Bean waist highs are getting beyond repair, so I went to order another pair and they've been discontinued. Can anyone recommend other waist highs that you've been happy with?
Click to expand...

You may want to consider trying convertible type waders. I've been wading with them for quite a while now and have been very happy with them. What I like most is they have suspenders and not just a belt to hold them up. Most of the time I wear them as waist-highs, but converting them to chest-highs when needed has been handy.
 
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