I have had 2 pairs of Orvis waders. They don't make the model anymore but it was the reddish brown ones. See my avatar. They had 3 models targeted at entry level, moderate, and top of the line and these were their middle one. Went between $200-$250.
They were fine. That said, I don't have any bad or glowing reviews of any breathable waders, and brands tried include Hodgeman, Cabelas, Orvis, LLBean, and Simms, so pretty much running the gamet. In my experience, all breathables are about equal in comfort, the Simms really aren't any better in that category than the old Hodgeman Wadelites that went for about $100. In terms of longevity, it seems you neither do better nor worse with more money spent. Spend twice the money, get almost exactly twice the longevity. It comes down to $$$$ per leak free hour and in that sense nobody has gone much above the curve, nor fallen embarrassingly below it.
I'm currently sporting Simms G3's and we'll see if they beat the curve. They were more expensive and are holding up fine. But they should, they were very expensive, and haven't reached their expected lifetime yet. So, we'll see I guess....
I suppose my advice for someone trying to get the most for the money is simply jump on any specials you find, whether it be a closeout or a fly show or whatever.
