Ive have a few pairs of waders over the years. Mine last about 3 years then start leaking. I was fishing today and had wet socks and jeans. I must not take care of them properly. I had a pair of stocking foot waders from Cabela’s. They were great for 6-7 years then they leaked. What kind of waders do you suggest? I don’t use them a lot. Thanks for any ideas.
Hodgmen…
Hodgmen…
I bought some this year from this site and love them so far
I bought a pair of Hodgmen many years ago. They have never leaked, but on the other hand they have shrunk around the middle.😡
I have a pair of Cabelas brand and love them, but bought before the merger so? Before that I had a pair of old Winchester waders that lasted a long time until finally a leak in the crouch area, that was a rude awakening one cold morning.
Mine always eventually leaked in the crotch too because that is where there is stitching.
Hodgmen…
got a pair of them….and for a while now…….. good waders!!!!!!! 
Ive been doing some research into the Tidewe heated waiters. They look interesting. They seem to have some durable stuff but dont know anyone personally that have used them yet.
I must not take care of them properly. I had a pair of stocking foot waders from Cabela’s. They were great for 6-7 years then they leaked. What kind of waders do you suggest? I don’t use them a lot. Thanks for any ideas.
I have fished trout and salmon on 3 continents and I’ve been through 8 pairs of breathable waders and 2-3 pairs of the old school waders before breathable waders were available.
My observations:
1. With breathable waders, you are doing very well to get 6-7 years out of a pair. It gets to a point where you’re just chasing so many tiny pinhole leaks and seam leaks that it’s a lost cause.
I use a sharpie marker to write the date of purchase inside all my waders. After 3-4 years, if they started leaking badly, I’d make 1-2 efforts to patch them and then it’s game over and on to a new pair.
2. Simms have consistently been the best breathable waders available. They have at various times had issues, but in general, they have had the best quality available and they will stand behind defective waders. I have tried other brands and everything other than Simms has been hit/miss. I’ve had the most issues with Cabelas waders.
3. Whatever brand you get, get a good fit. Waders with a lot of extra material will crease and catch on things a lot more easily.
Frogg Togg/Rogers Sporting Goods breathable waders are #1 in my book. I’ve tried em’ all and these are the waders that have held up the best. I’ve tried Lacrosse, Hodgeman, Cabelas(both Herters and Cab brand), Banded and Gander Mountain(Columbia).
Have not tried Simms, but I’ve heard many love them like TFG.
You might be hard on them.
Anything with taped seams, keep out of the extreme heat, like in a vehicle during summer.
I have waders from when I was 14. Still dry. Cabelas 7mm neoprene
For breathable waders I’ve tried a few different brands. Once I bought Simms there was no reason to try anything else. I’ve repaired my original pair a couple times. They are still serviceable and are going on 15 yrs. I went thru and sealed the pinhole leaks in my replacement pair which are now 7-8 yrs old. Pinhole repairs on breathables are quite easy to do with a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol and some seam sealer. The other thing that one should do with breathables is to reapply the water repellency to the waders. I’ve yet to do it but it keeps the fabric from getting water logged and helps prevent things from breaking down faster.
I bought a pair of breathable waders from picsfun and have been pleasantly surprised on the comfort level. Durability will be determined at a later date.
For fishing or duck hunting??
Duck hunting – it’s tough to beat Rogers. Pretty durable imo. I have not used their breathables but their neoprenes have been great. Can usually find good deals on them too.
No comment on fishing specific waders.
Grouse and Tegg pretty much nailed this down. Fit is very important otherwise the seams take a beating. Keep them clean and treated with products like Nikwax and RestoreX.
If you have a slow leak, use soapy water and a shop vac to find the leak. Put the hose on the output spot on the shop vac, and use it to inflate your waders. Hold the wader material in one hand and don’t squeeze it all the way shut as you don’t want them to explode. I did that with my first pair of breathable (inexpensive Cabelas waders) and found a couple of pinholes in the neoprene rubber booties right away. After drying the spot off, I applied some UV cure glue and hit it with the light. Back in action!
SR
I could always put Wonder bread bags on my feet like in winter boots in the old days.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>ssaamm wrote:</div>
I must not take care of them properly. I had a pair of stocking foot waders from Cabela’s. They were great for 6-7 years then they leaked. What kind of waders do you suggest? I don’t use them a lot. Thanks for any ideas.I have fished trout and salmon on 3 continents and I’ve been through 8 pairs of breathable waders and 2-3 pairs of the old school waders before breathable waders were available.
My observations:
1. With breathable waders, you are doing very well to get 6-7 years out of a pair. It gets to a point where you’re just chasing so many tiny pinhole leaks and seam leaks that it’s a lost cause.
I use a sharpie marker to write the date of purchase inside all my waders. After 3-4 years, if they started leaking badly, I’d make 1-2 efforts to patch them and then it’s game over and on to a new pair.
2. Simms have consistently been the best breathable waders available. They have at various times had issues, but in general, they have had the best quality available and they will stand behind defective waders. I have tried other brands and everything other than Simms has been hit/miss. I’ve had the most issues with Cabelas waders.
3. Whatever brand you get, get a good fit. Waders with a lot of extra material will crease and catch on things a lot more easily.
8 pairs of breathable waders? While I’m sure they existed before then, but I never saw any kind of breathable wader before maybe 15 years ago. They really haven’t even been that popular until the last 5 years. I’m not saying you haven’t owned that many, but I’m guessing the ones you have been using are a totally different technology than what is used today.
I wish I could help with what waders are good anymore, but to be honest, I think there is only one good wader manufacturer left in the world, and they don’t even make my size. Simms makes a fine wader, the only problem, the biggest boot they will handle is a size 14, and that’s even custom orders. If you are bigger than that, as I am, you are SOL. I’ve only ever got 2 seasons out of neoprene waders. If you duck hunt at all, they don’t last any longer. It seems neoprene is a thing of the past, same as canvas. Breathable was the only option. The only waders that will handle a size 16 is from Bigcamo.com, and I had exactly 2 choices. They were $500, and while they are ok, they are so ludicrously big in belly, a 500 pound man could fit in these. I had to modify them with my own elastic drawstring.
While I do not miss neoprene at all, I never like them, I’m not all that impressed by breathable. They dry a lot better overnight than neoprene or canvas, but they still feel like wearing a plastic bag.
Hodgmen is a trash brand now, and it is really sad. I miss the days I could go down to fleet farm, look through the pile of USA made Hodgmen canvas waders, find my size, and walk out the door for about $30-40. The waders never failed, the boots were what went. Now it is the other way around, nobody makes a wader that outlasts the rubber boots.
8 pairs of breathable waders? While I’m sure they existed before then, but I never saw any kind of breathable wader before maybe 15 years ago. They really haven’t even been that popular until the last 5 years. I’m not saying you haven’t owned that many, but I’m guessing the ones you have been using are a totally different technology than what is used today.
I have hardly met a fly angler in the last decade who wasn’t wearing breathable waders.
Breathable waders were out and were totally common in fly fishing well over 20 years ago. Simms was producing breathable waders in the mid-1990s. I don’t recall exactly when I got my first pair, but I know I was using breathable waders in 2000 because I brought a pair over to Scotland that year for a fishing guide I know over there because they were much cheaper over here.
I’m also counting 1 pair of Cabelas waders that leaked within a month and were returned. Also, keep in mind that I own and use more than 1 pair at a time, so it’s not like I waited until one pair was in the trash before I bought another. Right now I have a pair of Simms chest-high guide model waders, and I have a pair of Orvis waist-high waders which are awesome for in the summer.
My pre-merger Cabela’s are holding on great. Seem to see a lot in the Bargain bin these days. Miss the Fall Tent Sale at the La Crosse factory they had every year. Great deals on blems.
I’m a duck hunter, not a fly fisherman. In the duck world, you did not see breathable waders 10+ years ago. They are really only becoming popular now.
I duck hunt… breathable waders were certainly out more than 10+ years ago. An old hunting buddy and I both had them, bought them on the same day at the PDC Cabelas store. The last season I hunted with him was the fall of 2004. I have had 3 more pair since and now run a set of Cabelas breathable that are about 5 years old and started to leak a bit last spring and have a pair of Rogers breathable that are yet to get wet. But I like the fit of them.
Sounds like Cabela’s are decent and the rest are poor except for Simm’s. I’ll get another ok pair and have it last for a couple years I guess
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
