As far as getting them reconditioned I think they are long past that stage. My waders sound similar to John Revolver's, that is, the crotch, inseams, butt, knee/thighs have enough Aquaseal gooped in there to seal up a leaky tug boat! The waders look fine from a distance but, especially if you look at them inside out, you can tell they are on their last legs. That being said last night I soaked the waders inside out with alcohol, marked all the leaks and sealed them up with Aqua seal. A respray with alcohol this morn seems to show that all the leaks are sealed up well. Good for another few months lol! However I will need new waders sooner than later so best to start researching now.
Interested if anyone has used top of the line Patagonia waders and what they think of them vs the G4Z and similar. Also any experience with Patagonia warranty?
If the Patagonia waders don't measure up to the high end Simms I may end up going Simms again. I emailed Patagonia and asked them how they go about detecting pin holes leaks in their waders/jackets, and if the membrane behaves like gortex where holes will reveal themselves if sprayed with alcohol. Awaiting their response. I bush wack a fair bit and beiung able to easily detect leaks and fix them myself is important.
Yeah my warranty issue with Simms was dealt with by the local rep, but any future warranty issues would be going back to the USA. I know I would be unlikely to have a similar experience with Simms USA, but I would still be pretty worried if I ever had to mail them a warranty claim again. Who knows maybe Patagonia is no better (?)
Soon when I have time Ill go try on some Patagonia and Simms. I have heard Simms has a better variety of sizing to fit a better array of "unique" fisherman's physiques. Fit is obviously super important and I wouldnt buy Patagonia if the fit was a bit funky.