Waders

[pcray1231]

Well, as a followup to my boots thread, I bought the boots, and bam, my waders are leaking. Unlikely to repair. That's my second pair of Orvis Silver labels, the first pair leaked at 2 years and I limped them through a third. This pair is 15 months old and I don't think I can repair em.

No rush, as it's summer. But lookin ahead to my next wader purchase. I'm hard on waders as I do a lot of hiking and bushwhacking in them.

Durability and price are concerns, kind of looking for the cheapest price per year before leaks. Thoughts?

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Pat,

I have a pair of these LL Bean Rapid River waders. I've worn them 6 or 8 times and so far I like them. At $ 200.00 or so they aren't out of the world expensive for what I consider to be a throwaway item.

Being a big tall fat slob I am limited in my wader choices. Most waders don't come close to fitting me out of the box regardless of their marked size. These did.

Previously I wore Orvis waders and when these fail I may go back to Orvis waders but like I said I like them so far.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/59396?feat=waders-SR0&attrValue_0=Briar/Dark Olive&productId=979084

Sign up for their email coupons on the website. I bought mine when I got a 20% off coupon which happens fairly frequently.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[RCFetter]

Cabela's is having a sale on their waders. Here's the link.

Cabela's Waders

 

[Biggie]

Say what you will about Hodgeman waders, but I have a pair I purchased as a back up to my Orvis waders and after about 20 full days of fishing they are still holding up. I paid $70. at a close out. I may ditch the high end waders go with them full time.........

 

[pcray1231]

Well, I was in KOP mall tonight. Bean store there. Prior to today I had never set foot in a Bean store nor ever tried any of their stuff. Not much fishing gear at the KOP mall location. Only had one pair of the light travel model on display. But I asked, and they had the Rapid River's in the back. I tried em on, the standard larges fit me well. I picked up a pair, $200 even.

Lotsa seams, which is usually a bad sign for longevity. But the material feels beefy enough to hold up to some abuse. I figure the worst that can happen is that they don't live up to my standards, and Bean has a remarkable return policy for that. So I guess I'm a Bean man, I'll give em a go anyway. My expectation is probably 2-3 years, if they go earlier than that I'll take them up on their guarantee. If they last that long fair is fair and I'll count myself as "satisfied".

Biggie, I've gone through 4 or 5 pairs of Hodgeman's. Wadelite series, though there were several redesigns there. Well designed wader, light, comfy, and very breathable. They all lasted me about 9 months till first leak, and I'd do repairs for another 3 or 4 months till it became overwhelming. Material just stopped being waterproof, usually started on the inner thigh. But yeah, for well under $100, that's not a terrible price per hour.

 

[RLeeP]

I go through a pair of garden variety(you name the brand, around $100), pretty much every year. having to buy a new pair every winter just something I've pretty much reconciled myself to. I'm of the view that this is just one of the wages of doing a lot of small stream tromping. You shorten the life of your waders. One of these years though before I get too old to sit up and take nourishment, I plan on buying a pair of the Cabela's Three Forks cheap but very durable stockingfoot full waders and taking them to our dry cleaner/alterations lady and having her convert them into waist highs by turning them down and taking some of the excess material and using it to make belt loops. They may get hot in the warmer months, but I'll bet a guy could plow through as many alder thickets as he pleased without worrying about ripping them.

 

[pcray1231]

RLeep, I'll probably go back to that philosophy after another pair or two. I'm still looking for that magic brand that'll last 3+ years.

I'm finding the more expensive ones do last a little longer, but not enough to make the money trade-off worthwhile. I find the cheap, garden variety to be plenty comfortable, perhaps MORE comfortable than the beefy durable looking ones. So that's not an issue. It simply comes down to price per leakless hour.

Yes, I'm hard on waders with all the hiking and climbing and brush, plus a refusal to wet wade, though I'm always tempted. The horror stories get to me.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Nothing magic about waders lasting 3+ years. Buy good ones to start. I am on the fourth year for my Simms "Headwaters" waisthighs. They run $250 new divided by 4 comes to $62.50 a year. IMO that's pretty cheap and they have never leaked.

 

[BeastBrown]

Frogg Toggs Hellbenders are 119.00 at Cabelas. I just got a pair this season. Used them about 25 times. Hiked through some rhododendron Vietnamese jungles exploring; stabbed them and scrapped the hell out of em'-they didn't leak. Did this hike 3 times-the fishing was good, lol. Thought they'd leak for sure, never did.

I filled them in one crazy river cross and took them off to see if there were any holes with the water in them- no holes.

They are breathable and better than the Gore. I accidentally threw on my heavier pair of 100% wool hunting pants one morning, instead of my fall pair, and I forget I had them on when it was 85 and humid.

They make 50 dollar jacket and pants rain combo that has become pretty famous among fisherman and motorcyclists for their waterproof breathability. I think these waders have a great fit for hiking. Cabelas reviews for this model are excellent. The model one step above these are getting bad reviews on Cabelas, the Anura.

However, I know people who have these, and they say the same things I say about mine, so...I don't know if quality has gone to hell or if those comments are a smear campaign from the other brands(it happens). People buy their rain gear now instead of the outrageous mountaineering brands that suck for $300. They are all losing money on rain gear to this company.

 

[JJZ]

Buy the Simms guides and you will not look back. Cheaper waders have more durability issues and are the least cost effective......But everyones miles will differ. I have heard alot of good things about Redington Sonic Pro waders. Top-end waders at a lower price point. There just might be a place where quality and value meet........

 

[ryguyfi]

Beans are lifetime guaranteed. Leak, take em back. For that reason only, they're superior.

I have the mid grade ones and am pretty happy with them so far. But I haven't been fishing much to really put them to the test.

 

[pcray1231]

Simms Guides are $450. To put that in perspective, I know I can get a year out of $100 waders pretty reliably, so you're talking 4-5 leakless years before they're even in the discussion of being a better value.

They may indeed be the bee's knees, but to be realistic, I don't think there's any breathable waders out there that can be expected to last me 4 or 5 years. As RLeeP states, small stream tromping is hard on waders.

I haven't had much of an issue with brush, it's the constant stretching of material from climbing and crawling, and the wear on the booties from hiking miles. More often than not my first leak comes from the soles of the bootie.

 

[Swattie87]

I go cheap with waders...I like to think of them as being relatively disposable once they develop a leak. If I spent big bucks on them I'd feel like I'd probably need to try to repair them to get more mileage out of them, and once they develop a leak it’s hard to repair them successfully and keep all the water out again. With the cheapos I’ll wear them until the leak gets too bad and uncomfortable and then ditch them, or if I think it’s a relatively easy fix I’ll try a temporary repair to get me to Christmas or the next time I can expect to receive some Cabelas cash!

Beans lifetime guarantee is nice, but at some point I’d feel bad exchanging them if they held up reasonably well and I got “reasonable” use out of them. Depends on the price point as to how long “reasonable” is, but a year for every $100 I spend is what I’d consider reasonable. $100/year is about the investment I’m willing to make into waders, and for me the cheapos are the way to go. Even the $100 ones usually will last you at least one leak free season, and usually part of a second…the way I fish anyway. If you’re just fishing larger streams where there’s less crawling/kneeling/etc putting stress on the seams, my guess is they’d hold up even longer. Right now I have Cabelas mid trim line…forget the name, but the $140 range ones. Coming up on a year, and leak free.

I haven’t had a pair of Cabelas $100-$150 pairs leak before a year yet, but if they did I’d probably call customer service and see if they’d be willing to offer me a discount toward a new pair since my “reasonable” expectation based on what I paid was at least a year of use…knowing Cabelas my guess is they’d be pretty good about it.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, these were $200 even, but gave me the impression of being fairly bombproof. That's good and bad, they're thick, so they feel like they should be more durable than most, but that also means hotter, heavier, and more restrictive.

$100 per year is about right. As I said, I expect them to last 2-3 years, on account of planning to fish less in the next few years than I normally do. If they last that long, I won't utilize the Bean guarantee. If they only last a year, I'll probably ask for replacement.

 

[h0ll0whill]

+1 Beast Brown.

I bought Frogg Togg HellBenders 3 years ago and they still are holding up with no issues. When i bought them i compair them to some that were twice the price and found them compairable. Glad I did buy them and wouldn't hesistate to purchase them again!

 

[mcwillja]

I was told by a flyshop owner that the problem with waders is how you store them after you use them. It was recommended to me to turn your waders inside out to dry because it's the mold that forms and attacks the seams it what makes them leak.

It does make sense. I looked at my waders that were leaking and they indeed did have black mold spots in the inside from not drying them out properly.

I was told you will get a year or two more out of waders if you dry the inside out first then dry the outside.

 

[JJZ]

What breathable chest high stockingfoot waders that are durable are out there for a hundred bucks....just wondering.

 

[pcray1231]

That's what we're discussing. The answer may depend on what kind of fishing you do and how hard that is on waders.

For me, while I've never gone as high in price as the Simms line, what I've found is that yes, if you pay more, you get better equipment. But it's probably not enough better to save you money. Will a $500 pair last you longer than a $100 pair? Yeah, it probably will. Will it last 5 times as long? Probably not.

Lots of companies make $100 breathable waders. Cabelas, Frog Togg, Hodgeman, Stearns, Field & Stream to name a few. Even LL Bean and others have a "travel" model in that range, and the lower line of Orvis isn't that much over $100.

And I find there's usually not a comfort advantage to the expensive ones either. Perhaps the opposite, as the cheaper ones are usually thinner and lighter, thus more comfortable.

 

[Swattie87]

JJZ wrote:
What breathable chest high stockingfoot waders that are durable are out there for a hundred bucks....just wondering.

"Beathable" and "durable" are relative terms and admittedly at that price point you're probably on the less breathable, and less durable end of the spectrum. That said Cabeals and BPS base model waders fit this mold...I forget the exact line names (they change all the time anyway). Hodgman's base line is another one that comes to mind.

It's all about expectations...when purchasing these I know I'm only expecting to get one year, or maybe two out of them, anything more is a bonus. But again, I look at waders as a $/year function.

 

[joseywales]

My first pair, just laast week, was a Field & Stream pair from ****s. I was in a rush and they had the Medium. Here are some brief observations.

My brother has been fly fishing many years, takes trip to Canada, etc. He has chest and waist waders from Cabelas (Premium Dry Plus, Breathable). He's VERY fussy, treats them like crap, but likes them a lot. Wel,, he does have a boot hanger and dryer, but he never washes these and I don't think he even hangs them on the rack.

I'll grab the Cabelas as well and keep the Field & Stream as back up. That said, they weren't hot (and I am always hot), they didn't leak. I slid down the bank, intentionally of course - everyone knows it's faster, and they didn't tear, just scuffed up on the arse. Cabelas does have lifetime warranty, just keep the receipt.

Size, I will say this. Be careful about size variances among brands. The medium fit my feet fine, but I'd rather have a bit more room elsewhere, say for climbing back up a bank. Knee to chest isn't necessary, but more room. HOWEVER, if I went iwth F&S large, the foot would have been huge. But with Cabelas the foot on the Large is more reasonable to mine (I wear a 9). Anyway, just something to look out for.