Bootie replacement

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keirns4

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Anyone on here or do you know anyone that replaces the neoprene booties on waders? I have a pair of Cabelas light weight waders that are a big glob of sealant and patches now. They are out of warranty by a couple of years. Hate to throw them away. Might cost more to have them repaired than to buy new ones.
 
Buy a new pair. You are right, it will be more of a pain in the butt and probably more expensive to have repair work done.
 
On a similar note, does anyone know if there are boot repair services that will bring mangled boots back to life? Or any boots on the market with an eye towards repairability?
 
On a similar note, does anyone know if there are boot repair services that will bring mangled boots back to life? Or any boots on the market with an eye towards repairability?

As the grandson of a shoemaker and kid who hung out in shoe repair shops, there are close to no wading shoes that can be repaired easily by your "local shoe repair shop." A couple that might fit the bill are the Simms Tributary and the Patagonia Foot Tractor.

For the rest you can contact Rocky Mountain Resole who does specialize in repairing molded & cemented boots. Whether it is worth the shipping & expense depends on the cost of the shoe...

The best advise I can give anyone who is looking to increase the length of time a pair of shoes of any type will last is to NOT wear the same pair every day. This goes for dress shoes, street shoes, hiking boots, running shoes and wading shoes. Allowing perspiration to dry with land shoes or allowing wading shoes to fully dry is a good thing for a lot of reasons.

Bottom line (and this can be said for a lot of items), if you find a pair of wading shoes you like and can afford it, buy two or three pair, rotate them and you won't be shopping for new shoes so often...
 
Anyone on here or do you know anyone that replaces the neoprene booties on waders? I have a pair of Cabelas light weight waders that are a big glob of sealant and patches now. They are out of warranty by a couple of years. Hate to throw them away. Might cost more to have them repaired than to buy new ones.

Most if not all wader companies will only fix their own stuff and that is usually only the high end stuff that isn't imported. As Cabela's isn't a wader manufacturer I would think you are SOL, however...

...have you contacted Cabela's??

I mention this because many moons ago I was in a similar situation and called Cabela's about options for a long "out of warranty" pair of their "Guide" series of waders that were leaking badly. They told me they needed to "evaluate" the issue by inspecting the waders so I drove to their Hamburg store.

Once there, someone looked at the waders and handed me a brand new pair, no questions asked...

I don't know if Cabela's is still so accommodating or if they were in my case because my waders were around $100 but EVEN if all they offer you is a discount towards a new pair...

...you will probably spend less versus trying to get a repair and will be 100% better off than owning a Frankenstein pair of waders.

Good luck!
 
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Buy a new pair. There are other spots on the waders that have worn down too but may not be noticeable. Like @jifigz said it will probably cost the same if not more to pay someone else to repair them in terms of labor cost. I don't even think anyone does wader repairs commercially as it wouldn't be profitable. So yeah, buy a new set.

I buy waders annually, and no, this isn't to toot my horn. Mathematically, even if I wore my waders for the entirety of the year (which I don't) (I used waders for about half the year) it would cost me (at most) $17 a month to be water proof. That's a meal out in town for most.

My mentality for this hobby and how I spend my money is determined by two things, indefinite tools (rods, reels etc.) and wear items such as waders and lines. I'll go crazy on the gear that doesn't necessarily wear down and can last my lifetime. Waders and lines, not so much, though I'll spend good money on fly line if one of my rods really likes it. No offense to anyone who implements the use of expensive waders and lines. It would be fun to have a crazy expensive set of waders to "flex", however I am far too clumsy and hard on my waders to entertain this notion. I don't care how good someone's waders are, they will leak at some point. Ultimately it's your money, spend it as you see fit.
 
As I wet wade about 90% of the time, I spend my "wader money" on stuff that keeps me happy while I am getting wet... ;)
 
I don't know if Cabela's is still so accommodating or if they were in my case because my waders were around $100 but EVEN if all they offer you is a discount towards a new pair...
Cabela's USED to have a good warranty, one of the best in the industry, but since the merger with BPS I know a lot of the quality has gone out the door. Even their fly shop used to be better with discontinued SAGE rods laying about at 50% off of what they retailed at and even a Winston rack! Now it seems they have a plethora of store brand crap, and the usual TFO and St Croix assortment (which they've always had). Also a line of new SAGE R8 rods. Kind of funny yo see how there's a bunch of cheap rods and then the most expensive rods. No mid-priced rods. Speaking for the Hamburg store.

Back in 2018, during my liquidation of conventional tackle I traded some gear for an older gen Cabela's Atoll. My buddy who traded it to me fished it on one summer day and broke it, stating I needed to piece my rods together more tightly as he just thought the tip flew off. We took it to the Hamburg store and they exchanged it for a new current gen one which aided me in a trade I made with that rod as I now had a new and current model to swap. Overall that was a great experience with customer service.

The Atoll was a great a beautiful rod with it's blue finish and carbon in the reel seat. Cabela's sold these at $300 and but had sold the older gen ones at $180 when they were discontinued. If a big label company made that rod it would be $500-$650.
 
Despite having their credit card and enough points to buy a small boat, I haven't tested the waters at Cabela's in a while because every time I have a specific product I'm looking for, they either don't offer it or they want MORE than most other retailers...

This WASN'T the case before the BPS acquired them...

My wife tells me all the time that buying stuff with points is like getting it for free but I'd rather not spend more than I have to just because I can get it for nothing with "Club" points....

Besides, I'm saving up for a BIGGER boat!! ;)

Regardless, I think if the OP gave their customer service department a call regarding the wader situation he MAY get something for the effort...

If not, they really don't owe him anything and he is only out the time it takes to make the call and ask.
 
Regardless, I think if the OP gave their customer service department a call regarding the wader situation he MAY get something for the effort...

If not, they really don't owe him anything and he is only out the time it takes to make the call and ask.
I concur, it's worth the call for sure, I'm just trying to project how the encounter will go down and offer my past experience, which was actually quite pleasant, but obviously before the BPS merger. I have no experiences post merger.

I think it will boil down to OP just buying a new pair.
 
I asked the same OP question on another thread, as I too have a "glob of sealant and patches" where the booties used to be. I can't recall who, but someone pointed out that neoprene usually starts to leak from material compression after walking around in them over some length of time. Leaks from holes and tears in neoprene can be patched successfully. Not so for leaks from compressed neoprene. That said, I replaced my frugally priced waders with another pair of frugally priced waders (of another brand). The old ones haven't been discarded since I'm holding onto the notion that I can find a pair of booties for a SCUBA drysuit, that can be rubber cemented in place on what will then be backup waders.
So next question... Are neoprene wet-wading socks waterproof, or do they just keep grit, mud, and leeches off your toes? I've seen them for ~$25/pair.
 
Thanks everyone. I did call BPS/Cabelas in Hbg earlier and got what I thought I would get ... no useful information. I did have a pair from there a few years back that leaked right out of the box. Had to go back up there but they exchanged for a new pair since they were under warranty. Guess I'll be buying a new pair.
 
Many companies have been forced to rethink their warranty program because of the abuse. LLBean once had the best warranty of anyone, because some would make "yearly claims" for brand new gear, Bean saw the light. So have many others. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies!
 
Yeah, I can remember people bragging about "tearing" their waders just before the warranty was set to expire to get new waders. Then they would do the same thing with the replacement pair.
 
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