New Simms Waders

[a23fish]

I received a pair of Simms Freestone waders for Christmas. This gift is intended to supplement an older pair of Simms RiverTek waders that are about 14 years old. The Freestone waders are made with Toray, the older waders are GoreTex.

Anyone have any experience with the durability or performance of the Toray fabric?

I've been very happy with the old Simms waders, which didn't get all that much use until this fall & winter since i did most of my pre-fly fishing wading in warmer weather and used waist length Hodgman or LL Bean waders for that. But the old RiverTek waders are Medium, and get a bit snug with winter layers underneath; the extra years (and calories) I'm sure had no impact on the current fit. The new Freestone waders are Large, and the extra room will be welcome. I'm looking forward to getting them out in the water this week.

 

[joebamboo]

Just finishing up the season with the Freestones. No issues with them at all.

 

[GANGGREEN]

My first "breathable" waders were a pair of Cabela's Ospreys that I probably purchased 20 years ago. I purchased a pair of Orvis waders to replace them when I was planning a trip to Alaska (didn't want to risk the trip with a cheap pair of waders or an older pair that I thought might spring a leak), but even after all of these years, those Ospreys are perfectly fine and don't leak a drop. They were cheap too (I think around $129 at the time). Not sure if they still make them or not. I'm thinking about biting the bullet one of these days and getting myself a pair of Simms since I'm retired now and do fly fish more than I used to.