Leaky Wader Seam

[PATroutMan]

I have a pair of compass 360 waders that have started to severely leak along the seams. They are breathable material waders.

I have done some research on what to use for repair and have been seeing that aquaseal works. Anyone have any other suggestions that may work better?

 

[salvelinus]

Aquaseal will work fine. I have always wanted to try one of the Flex Seal products like the tape or spray to see if they would work. I have a leaky spare pair of Hippies I am going to try it on.

 

[Bamboozle]

I don't know if they are under warranty, but you may want to check first because many manufacturers won't honor warranties if you attempt to repair seams.

 

[RLeep2]

Aquaseal is the only product I've ever had any real success with for these types of leaks. I've tried the Flex-Seal type stuff a couple of times and the results have been pretty poor. Some folks say they've had good luck with the Goop products, particularly if they are thinned down with xylene or toluene. Every time I've tried Goop, whether thinned or not, it works for a brief to modest period and then tends to peel.

Life's too short.. Aquaseal works.

 

[PennKev]

RLeep2 wrote:
Aquaseal is the only product I've ever had any real success with for these types of leaks... ....Every time I've tried Goop, whether thinned or not, it works for a brief to modest period and then tends to peel.

Life's too short.. Aquaseal works.

Agreed. Aquaseal all the way. The stuff just works better than other products.

 

[Swattie87]

Aquaseal is the best I’ve used, though understand that while it works very well on acute tears and pinholes, larger scale seam failure is a different deal. Typically the seams on waders fail from walking/hiking in them and stretching/stressing the seams over time.

Seam leaks along large portions of the waders is usually terminal and indicates the waders are near the end of their life. If that’s what you have, AS will temporarily slow the leaks, but probably won’t stop them in full, and they’ll continue to get worse. No reason to not spend $7 on a tube and give it a try, but I’d be in the market for a new pair too.

I typically have two pairs of waders going. When a pair gets to the AS the seams stage, they get demoted to the backups/beaters. I buy a new pair and the existing backups get tossed.

 

[ryansheehan]

I feel like waders and I just don't get along, I've had more seams fail than most. I use a combination of aqua seal and tape which has worked best for me. I tape the inside and aquaseal the outside, the tape is called tear-aid. That being said Swattie hit the nail on the head there will be more leaks coming once a seam goes.

 

[Bamboozle]

Swattie87 wrote:
Typically the seams on waders fail from walking/hiking in them and stretching/stressing the seams over time.

Which is why I have always advocated baggy waders versus the "skinny jeans" varieties offered these days. Less stress on the seams.

 

[dryflyguy]

Repairing seams is pretty iffy. But if there is no warranty in play, It would definitely be worth a try.
And I have done it successfully on my Simms waders.

I also only use aqua seal - it gives you the best chance at a long lasting repair IMO.
Once you find the leak, be sure to dry it out thoroughly on both sides.
And then apply aqua seal on both sides too

 

[rrt]

New waders!

 

[jifigz]

Aquaseal or tear-aid and aqua seal. Or even nylon ripstop tape and then aquaseal. I have put the tapes over significant holes torn from briars before and then aquasealed over that and it holds up great. And then leaks start elsewhere. Waders are a pain..

 

[PennKev]

Bamboozle wrote:

Swattie87 wrote:
Typically the seams on waders fail from walking/hiking in them and stretching/stressing the seams over time.

Which is why I have always advocated baggy waders versus the "skinny jeans" varieties offered these days. Less stress on the seams.

I've had a bigger problems with baggy waders than with waders that fit more like pants. Granted, you want them looser than a pair of jeans or dress slacks. But still, too much bagginess can cause the folds of material to rub together and wear badly in specific spots. Even worse if there are seams along the areas of excess bagginess.

 

[PATroutMan]

How many years are you guys getting out of your waders?

 

[dryflyguy]

The only brand that have lasted any length of time for me - Simms.

Currently have a pair of G4Z's that are around 8 years old, I believe.
I did send them back for bootie replacement after about 4 years however. And have done several aqua seal repairs myself the last few years.
Also have a pair of their headwaters that are going strong after 3-4 years. Had to patch a few pinholes in them

 

[RLeep2]

>>How many years are you guys getting out of your waders? >>

All listed waders are waist highs. I can't wade past my center of balance and expect to live to tell anybody about it. So, I don't buy waders that might so tempt me.

Cabelas/Frogg Toggs/etc. lower end (under $130 or so) - 1.5 - 2 seasons with quite a bit of patching.

LLBean (particularly the no longer offered Kennebec waist highs - 3 seasons

Simms Freestone wading pants (not the $440-plus ones, the $200-250 ones) - Beginning their 4th season with some seam patching.

I don't take very good care of stuff and that might be part of the issue. I think though that anybody who fishes a mix of water types and has breathables that hold up well for more than 5 seasons or so may not fish all that much. That said, I've never owned any of the really top of the line stuff like the better Simms or Patagonia, so I may be talking out my exhaust pipe....

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I tried flex seal.....It did work, however I sprayed it on the inside and it was all over my clothes from the rubbing after the first outing.

 

[Swattie87]

PATroutMan wrote:
How many years are you guys getting out of your waders?

It depends. The more you spend, the more life you get out of them generally, but in terms of life per dollar, it all works out about the same IMO. I fish mostly small streams, lots of hiking, and am tough on waders. My experience is that for roughly every $100 I spend, I get about 1 year of leak free use out of them for most pairs...Meaning until the seams start to fail. Through some proactive use of AS, I can extend that a little bit, and live with some slow leaks for a little while, especially if it's Summer. Little tears or pinholes are easy to fix, and the repairs on those generally will outlast the seams. It's the seams (or the seams on the booties) failing that render most pairs un-usable in the end.

I've been using LLBean Kennebecs ($250ish sticker price, though you can usually wait for one of Bean's 25% off everything sales, and get them for under $200) for a while now. I've been getting 2-3 years from those before the seams start to fail.

I've also had some cheapo Cabelas house line pairs, and some lower end Frog Toggs and Allen pairs. Generally bought on sale when I was in a pinch for a new pair on the quick. They were all about $100-ish, and I would generally get about a year out them.

One pair of Allens, I paid about $80 for on sale from STP. They're about to enter their 3rd season of use and are still going good, though they've split time with a pair of Kennebec's over that span. Low on features, but the Allens have been a good bargain so far, and have saved miles on my Kennebecs on the really brushy small streams.

 

[ryansheehan]

I've had a number of issues with my kennebec waders, they leak in the back of the booties after a few trips. I do have the a pair of the newest version now that I'm hopeful will last me a little longer. I haven't had a wader last me a full season in a very long time. Orvis, simms, chota, redington, bean doesn't seem to matter, the seams or booties leak quickly. The good news with bean and orvis is the customer service is excellent. I'm thinking when these bean waders leak I will try the new orvis pro waders that came out a few months ago.

 

[Swattie87]

I should also probably clarify that my tolerance for what constitutes a "leak" is pretty high. In my mind it's not a leak until I can wring water out of my pants or socks. I probably have some mild damp spots, especially along seams, much sooner that I don't really notice or care much about.

Water is a worth adversary.

Ryan - The one thing with Beans...They run baggy and big, including the booties. Normally this is a good thing...better breathability and less seam stretching as someone mentioned earlier in the thread. One potential bad thing though is you can end up with extra bootie material you have to stuff into your wading boot. I think this can actually cause the bootie material to rub and wear in ways in wasn't intended to. I've actually gone to buying my wading boots a size bigger to accommodate the Beans. I know you're a tall guy...Are the booties too big on the size you end up buying? Just a thought.

 

[sarce]

Frogg Toggs these days are only lasting me 3-4 trips. Got a pair for some winter trout fishing, 4 trips later they had so many holes I had to take them back to the store. Return was no trouble at all, but the replacement pair already has two major gashes from a bank side thorny plant. No durability at all. This was after only 3 trips. I had better luck with the full rubber hip waders, they usually lasted a year or two of heavy use, but ****'s stopped selling them.