DMT
Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2009
- Messages
- 46
ABSOLUTELY shameful. You'd have to be an alligator armed chiseler to abuse a satisfaction based warranty on waders after 7 years of use.
ABSOLUTELY shameful. You'd have to be an alligator armed chiseler to abuse a satisfaction based warranty on waders after 7 years of use.
pcray1231
Well-known member
Pretty much the same as me, including buying the G3's. I hope you're right.
That said, the important part of your message is that you bought the G3's LAST YEAR. Hence, they haven't yet reached the life expectency of all the other waders you've bought over the years. i.e. the jury is still out.
I too have high hopes for the G3's, but we'll see. I think all breathable waders I've worn have been plenty comfortable. The important part is hours per dollar paid. i.e. if a pair costs twice as much, they have to last twice as long to be rated EQUALS. As such, I need about 5 years to first leak for the G3's to be considered "worth it".
echuck66
Member
- Joined
- May 31, 2013
- Messages
- 171
Not for me. For me, the better part is already realized in the comfort and light weight part. If I had to walk far in the neoprene waders, it was almost unbearable on the walk out after wading for most of the day. They pick up so much weight when they're wet.
So far, I'm very happy with the G3s, and to me at least, it's money well spent.
Oh, I almost forgot... I got at least 3x the amount of wear out of the G3s this past year as I did the neoprene waders. I went fishing much more than I had in previous years, plus I got a float tube too and wore the G3s at least once a week leading up to Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure I got a lot more wear out of them in one year than I did the neoprene waders in 2 years.
JackM
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- Sep 9, 2006
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- 17,324
Really? What if I fished 6 days per year, without any excess, and they failed in the 7th year? I would not be satisfied, and that's what they promised.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
JackM
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This reminds me. I stopped at Wendy's and got a dollar menu burger. Drove down the road and when I finished it, I realized I was still hungry, so I pulled into another Wendy's and asked them if their food had a satisfaction guaranty. It did, so I got another burger for free and was perfectly satisfied. See how I do that?
pcray1231
Well-known member
Ok, if comparing to neoprenes. Agree there comfort and weight are far superior. But that goes for ANY breathable.
I've owned Hodgeman, Cabelas, Frog Togg, Orvis, Bean, and now SIMMS G3's, all breathable, and can't say that any of them are more comfortable than any other. They're all a good deal more comfortable than neoprene's, rubbers, and other non-breathables though.
There are differences in longevity. But so far, that's correlated almost exactly to price. Pay twice as much and it'll last twice as long. No gain, no loss by going more expensive. Still looking to beat that curve with the G3's, but it'll be a while before I find out.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
I have a chunk of steel.......steel is steel.......it's all the same...right?! :-o
Same for waders/breathable materials. There are vast differences between the breathability of wader material.
As well, one must consider durability measured in abrasion resistance as well as puncture resistance of the material used in waders.
Add a big consideration concerning the design of the waders as well as as the sizing choices, workmanship and QC?
Also some waders have seams that sewn and taped while others are welded.
What about DWR (durable water repellent) which one is used, how is it applied, surface or using Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) machinery? How effective is it new and how long will it last?
How about features, like pockets where you want them, waterproof compartments, zippers, waders that fold down to waist-highs for the warm weather, etc.?
Finally look at the warranties offered by the seller.
Big differences between waders.
groove790
Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
- Messages
- 147
I've replaced two pairs in two years. The first was a leak in the leg from a hook piercing them. The second pair I slid down a rocky hill on my butt and ripped a six inch gash in them. Totally my fault. They saw the tear and directed me to the brand new replacements. They never asked how it happened or questioned fault. They didn't have the style I wanted in stock so they shipped them to me at home. I will forever use L.L. Bean waders for this reason.
A
ab4usa
New member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2011
- Messages
- 12
Not waders, but I bought a used 10' 6wt with some ferrule damage on the auction site. Had the damage repaired and loaned it to a friend for a steelhead trip. He fell and broke it. Sent it back to LL Bean and they sent back a new rod!
pcray1231
Well-known member
Yep, very similar situation to steel.
Depends on your usage. But for a lot of applications, yes, steel is steel. If you have a steel bar to bust up the ice on your driveway, you don't really care whether it has a tensile strength of 80 or 300 ksi. Cause you're gonna use less than 1. And both will last equally long because rust, not strength, is what's gonna limit the lifespan.
That's why 95% of the steel volume is still in regular old steel like they made in 1900, at like
pcray1231
Well-known member
I'm sure you could find a difference with proper measuring devices. But for all intents and purposes, no. All of the breathable materials on the market these days are excellent.
Function of the surface coat and thickness, not the breathable layer. But I'll admit that's usually packaged with the breathable layer as a complete fabric. This is probably the real difference between Gore Tex, Dry Plus, and all the others.
And again, I am indeed taking longevity into account. If you pay twice as much for a thicker layer, and it only lasts 1.5x as long, it wasn't worth it.
Realistically the biggest difference between waders is in durability of the fabric and the seams. I am taking into account durability. Nonetheless, see above. If you pay twice as much for seams and workmanship that will last 1.5x as long, it wasn't worth it.
It's not measured purely in hours of useful life. It's measured in dollars per hour of useful life.
There are differences but the best won't go much beyond a year or two. To maximize life of any of them, you have to re-apply yourself.
This is me personally, not you. But everyone puts pockets in the chest. Chest pockets are nearly useless for me. The zipper is kinda cool, but I won't pay an extra $100 to make it slightly easier to take a leak. I'd rather spend the extra 30 seconds.
I do like waders that convert easily. For what it's worth, the best pair I ever owned in this regard was a $75 pair of Hodgeman's, the the Orvis Silver Labels were nice as well. Nearly identical design. The Hodgeman's were a bit thinner which made the fold down a little easier.
gutcutter
Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 427
2013 Breathable Wader Shootout.
Check out the tests. And the results.
http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/index.php/gear-review/2013-wader-shootout-best-waders-simms-g4-simms-g3-patagonia-rio-gallegos-orvis-silver-sonic-dan-bailey-guide-ultra-redington-aquaz-cabelas-bootfoots
pcray1231
Well-known member
Thanks,
That's as good a test of breathability as you're ever going to find.
They tested a bunch, though I wish they would have tested more lower priced stuff. And yes, there are some differences, but overall, most of them look pretty good in terms of breathability.
Things start feeling sticky when you approach the dewpoint, i.e. the relative humidity near 100%. Most of us aren't gonna tell much difference between 50% and 80% humidity, though. 80% feels pretty dry, and wet skin will dry quickly in such conditions. Typically in PA summers, the outside humidity is >80%. So it's nearly the equivalent of not wearing waders at all. Realistically, what they should have measured was the difference in humidity between inside and outside the waders, but that's nit picking.
Start getting above 90% and things get stickier, fast, just as it does when outside humidity gets up in that range.
I'll put the most stock in the treadmill ones, i.e. while you're exerting yourself and sweating, and would consider it mostly a pass/fail test. There are exactly 3, out of 13, that IMO failed the breathability test. The Red Balls (which don't advertise being breathable), the William Joseph WST (which probably failed breathability tests due to an inflatable air bladder for safety), and the Aquaz Dry Zip (which I had never even heard of). Note that the last two aren't cheap waders by any means. IMO, the other 10 all passed the breathability test just fine. And that includes the Redington Crosswaters which came in at $100 with
That's as good a test of breathability as you're ever going to find.
They tested a bunch, though I wish they would have tested more lower priced stuff. And yes, there are some differences, but overall, most of them look pretty good in terms of breathability.
Things start feeling sticky when you approach the dewpoint, i.e. the relative humidity near 100%. Most of us aren't gonna tell much difference between 50% and 80% humidity, though. 80% feels pretty dry, and wet skin will dry quickly in such conditions. Typically in PA summers, the outside humidity is >80%. So it's nearly the equivalent of not wearing waders at all. Realistically, what they should have measured was the difference in humidity between inside and outside the waders, but that's nit picking.
Start getting above 90% and things get stickier, fast, just as it does when outside humidity gets up in that range.
I'll put the most stock in the treadmill ones, i.e. while you're exerting yourself and sweating, and would consider it mostly a pass/fail test. There are exactly 3, out of 13, that IMO failed the breathability test. The Red Balls (which don't advertise being breathable), the William Joseph WST (which probably failed breathability tests due to an inflatable air bladder for safety), and the Aquaz Dry Zip (which I had never even heard of). Note that the last two aren't cheap waders by any means. IMO, the other 10 all passed the breathability test just fine. And that includes the Redington Crosswaters which came in at $100 with
