My history with breathable waders, cheap, medium, and expensive, says figure on about $100 per year with my fishing frequency to get you to first leak. Repairs and a new DWR coating will limp through a while, and will usually drop me to $75/year. But when it changes from damp pants to dumping out water, or winter comes, it's time.
YMMV based on the type and amount of fishing you do in them. But the point remains the same. Doubling the price will pretty much double the longevity. You don't beat the curve, but nor do you lose ground.
So I don't look down on any wader philosophy. All the breathables are comfortable for me and do their job when new. From $120 Hodgemans up to $500 Simms. Brands I've owned include Hodgeman, Orvis, Cabelas, Bean, and Simms. I suppose I shop more on pocket layout now than anything, as with a Richardson the chest pouch has to be low enough to be usable.
One thing I did recently was replaced my worn Beans before they got real bad. They leak a little but it's not terrible. So now they are a usable backup to try to keep my Simms in better shape. The Beans are used for mountain streams where brush busting and rock scrambling is a way of life, and I don't spend a ton of time in water anyway. The Simms then for standing all day in deeper water. Also nice to have a spare for streams with invasives, and did the same early replacement with boots too.
