Waders that ARENT BS?

[PennKev]

pcray1231 wrote:
My wader history is that none of them are BS, or they all are.

My brands have included Hodgeman, Orvis, Frog Togg, LLBean, Simms. Ranging in price from about $80 up to $400ish.

My observation? $100/year. All of them. Pay twice as much, they last twice as long. Does that make them worth it or BS? Your choice... To me it makes them all about the same as the cost/year is equal and the comfort level is nearly equal among them.

It's rare that a product's quality so closely matches it's price point, but that seems to be the case for me with breathable waders.

That said, that's just looking at breathable waders. Neoprene's last a lot longer, and come cheaper, I don't think many would deny that. But they're far less comfortable outside of mid-winter applications.

True, but also consider this:

Would you rather pay $100 every year and deal with leaking, failing waders every year, or spend $300-400 and deal with leaking, worn out waders every 3-5 years?

Of course some guys can baby a pair of cheapos for 5 years, and other guys will trash an expensive pair after 1 or 2 years, but for most people, the better waders are going to last longer and remain in better condition for that time period.

 

[mute]

Went to TCO and splurged $500 for some Simms...I feel very poor right now. I hope they last me the next 10 seasons.

 

[fishngun]

I'd have to disagree with the idea that they all cost about $100/year. For example......My first waders were Hodgeman neoprene waders that cost me roughly $75-80. After three years and a bad encounter with a guard rail they were donated to the local landfill. I next moved on to breathable waders for the same reasons that everyone else does. After some research and it seemed like Cabelas had a decent wader at a price I could afford at the time. They cost me roughly $160. I went through 3 pairs in about 4 years, so that's $480 over the course of 4 years, which fits into your $100/year idea. Tired of replacing waders all the time and dealing with wet feet before I got tired of wet feet and replaced them, I decided I was going to buy the best I could buy regardless of the price tag. Enter my Simms G3's. I paid around $400 + tax ten years ago. My math tells me that's $40/year investment and that's only going to decrease as they age more. Add to all this economic stuff the fact that they fit better, keep my dry better and are more comfortable and I'd say I came out ahead by biting the bullet initially.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

fishngun wrote:
I'd have to disagree with the idea that they all cost about $100/year. For example......My first waders were Hodgeman neoprene waders that cost me roughly $75-80. After three years and a bad encounter with a guard rail they were donated to the local landfill. I next moved on to breathable waders for the same reasons that everyone else does. After some research and it seemed like Cabelas had a decent wader at a price I could afford at the time. They cost me roughly $160. I went through 3 pairs in about 4 years, so that's $480 over the course of 4 years, which fits into your $100/year idea. Tired of replacing waders all the time and dealing with wet feet before I got tired of wet feet and replaced them, I decided I was going to buy the best I could buy regardless of the price tag. Enter my Simms G3's. I paid around $400 + tax ten years ago. My math tells me that's $40/year investment and that's only going to decrease as they age more. Add to all this economic stuff the fact that they fit better, keep my dry better and are more comfortable and I'd say I came out ahead by biting the bullet initially.

I agree, I paid $250 for my Simms Headwaters waisthighs seven years ago. That works out to $35.72 a year. Now that is a good investment IMO. BTW they have never leaked, ever.

 

[salmo-trutta]

I remember my first pair of red ball lightweights...thought they were the best thing since sliced bread...in actuality it was like sitting in a sauna.

 

[Biggie]

One time I ran into a guy while fishing the Erie tribs. It was mid April and the air temp hit 85 that day. He was wearing the old RedBall rubber chest waders. Needless to say he was looking for deeper water to wade in. I didn't know that those were even made anymore.....

 

[salmo-trutta]

Remember how the lightweights used to work their way down into your boot....uggggg!

 

[poopdeck]

MKern wrote:
My first pair of cabelas dry plus waders lasted 10 years of heavy use. They developed a small leak somewhere in in heal, and I was so pleased with them I bought another pair. Not bad for $135. (Or free with my cabelas bucks)

Double concur. Going on 3 years with mine. Not one leak. Other posters nailed it. It's fit, care and fishing styles that determine the life of waders. As my age increases and my flexibility decreases my waders seem to last longer. My mentality adds to the life of my waders as well. I don't crawl, rock climb or wade through briar patches to fish puddles for baby fish. I prefer big water preferably for big fish. Because of this I don't have a need for expensive waders. Every bodies needs are different.

 

[pcray1231]

Would you rather pay $100 every year and deal with leaking, failing waders every year, or spend $300-400 and deal with leaking, worn out waders every 3-5 years?

I don't disagree, that's a fair point. But so is this: It's always possible to completely ruin ANY pair of waters if you go through some multi-flora rose or on a barbed wire fence. Even if this doesn't happen, the cheapo waders are on par in cost. But if it does happen, the equation leans towards the cheapos, because you would much rather ruin a pair of waders that only has a few months left anyway, rather than a pair that should have years left.

Just playin devils advocate. I haven't come to a conclusion on this one yet either.

Enter my Simms G3's.

To be fair, I'm in my first pair of Simm's G3's right now. They're going strong. But they have 2 more years to go before they reach the $100/year mark, so the jury is still out. If I'm still wearing them in 3 years I'll admit they win the cost equation analysis!

And yes, as you found, neoprenes are clearly winners in this analysis, but they are far less comfortable.

Also, it does depend on usage. Brush busting and rock climbing along brookie streams is harder on waders than standing in one place and never leaving sight of the car. Likewise, how many hours you fish per year obviously matters. My $100/year could easily be someone else's $50/year, could be someone else's $150/year. The point was that double the price seem to last about double as long.

Likewise, timing matters, for me anyway. If I got a slight, slow leak that I can't repair and it's May, I probably won't replace till about October. If I got the same leak in February, I will replace immediately.

 

[dryflyguy]

Over my 30+ years of FF, I have probably tried almost every style and brand of wader out there.
And would agree with the OP about most of them being junk.
I currently have a pair of Simms G4Z's that are going on their third year now without a leak. Which is the longest I've ever had waders without problems.
So, I guess you get what you pay for.
I also bought a pair of headwaters waders last fall - $250 on sale - for backups, and fishing streams with invasives.

I do remember from my hunting days, that boots made from real gore-tex, seemed to be more water proof, and last longer than other breathable fabrics.
And it seems to me that is also the case with waders too.

 

[BrookieChaser]

mute wrote:
Went to TCO and splurged $500 for some Simms...I feel very poor right now. I hope they last me the next 10 seasons.

Welcome to the Simms club.

 

[rj32s]

You cannot beat Simm's. Some are pricey but they'll stand up to the test of time.

A friend of might recently bought a pair of Patagonia waders and absolutely loves them, although they are a bit pricey.