Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: scruffy on January 16, 2007, 10:26:41 AM
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sometime in the near future I'm going to purchase a pair of breathable's but don't know which one to get, I've seen guys wear the Simms and Bare type if anyone can give me some insight on either pair that would be great.
cheers
Scruffy
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how much were the freestones,and a definite plus that they are higher abrasion as I'm not the most gentle type.
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I will re-iterate what others have said. Bares have a notorious bad reccord for being leaky but apparently their more recent offerings have been better but I would still be a little weary. I am currently using a pair of simms L2's. They are very similar to the freestone model, however, they are made with goretex rather than simms in house material. They also come with built in neoprene gravel guards, which I'm not sure if the freestones do. So far I have had no issue with mine so I would reccomend them to you. That is unless of course you can track down a pair of patagonias...
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I suggest Wright & McGill. They're a great wader and a tad cheaper than the others mentioned. I found them very well built and thought out.. They come with built in gravel guards(with straps to cinch them up), built in wading belt with back support, removable straps and so far are very durable!
I know Hub Sports carry them but not sure who else.. Cloudveil looks nice too but are quite pricy.
The bare's are the one's I've heard the most complaints on, although they are better than what they used to be.. Simms are a great product but have also heard "stories" in regards to service and turn around if/when a repair is needed.
The W&M's come with an unconditional 1 year warranty and a 2nd year of manufacturing defect warranty. Check them out!
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Hey Scruffy,
I have a pair of Bare Blackwater breathables:
http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/product_details.aspx?pid=020100GRN&dept_id=40
and I just picked up a new pair of the Patagonia Watermaster Waders:
http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/collection.jsp?OPTION=COLLECTIONS_DISPLAY_HANDLER&catcode=SPORTS.SPORTS_WE_LOVE.FISHING.MENS.WADERS#yc
I am sending the Bares in to have a leak in the right foot fixed, it's a small leak but being even a little wet is not fun. I really like the Patagonia's, they have a unique system that allows you to wear them down around your waist as well as the normal way, and they have a quick release system that allows you to pee in a hurry. ;D There is also a flip out part at the top with two zippered pockets for line, leaders etc. In a side by side comparison, I like the Bare's and will keep them for a back-up but the Patagonia's are more solid and seem to be more durable. They have the built in gravel guards and come with a wading belt.
Good luck with your search.
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Another one for Wright and mc gills. tuff as nails
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I currently using Cloudviel 8X for fishing and Orvis Silver lable for duck hunting... Both serve me well, no complains.. Head a few good things about the new Patagonia watermaster too...
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I have the blackwater model by bare and I really like them. I crash around in the back woods on the chehalis and I have yet to have a problem with punctures. I have how ever had a pair where the seem in the crotch started to come undone. I took them back and got a brand new pare within a week so I have no complaints. and as for the original issue of the seem coming undone, I dont fault the manufacturing for that, I have long legs and do a lot of aggressive hiking and I am pretty sure my long stride put too much tension on that seem. My new par is a size up (longer in the leg) and that has helped to reduce the stress on that seem.
In terms of breathables, make sure you have a good fit in terms of the length of the leg. If the crotch is too low, that will certainly test that crotch seem regardless of the brand or the quality.
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Hey Scruffy I have the new Simms L2 stockingfoots with built-in gravel guards and I love them ;D I will never go back to my other waders. The have 3-layer gore-tex and are very strong :) I slid down one of the rock faces in the canyen and they held up. good luck ;D
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I have some Simms G3 (top of the line for Simms). I'm in my 3rd year in them and they still look new. I'm not surprised however. I have a friend who is on his 9th year in the Simms guide model and has over 1000 days in them. He's only had 2 holes. Simms repairs the first leak for free, regardless of what kind of leak it is.
Another benefit to the Simms is that they probably have more size combos than anyone else.
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thanks for all your input :)
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Have you looked in Orvis? I had a pair of silver label boot foots that were about 4 years old. I had a small pinhole leak in the boot (my fault as I hooked a 1/0 gammie into the rubber boot) and returned them to the retail store close to seattle. They offered to replace them no questions asked (despite the age and obvious wear on my waders). I opted to upgrade to the guideweights instead which they had no problems with doing for me. I know others that have had the same service.
Most breathable waders will eventually leak, even Simms. The key is to find a company with the best warranty.
Though I can't really say whether the Orvis waders are better than Simms, its nice to know that I don't need to wait for them to get repaired or shell out more money to get them replaced.
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Also take a look at Dan Bailey, William Joseph, Reddington and Patagonia Brands.
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I have the same ones as fishfreak. They are awsome.
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The Vedder is not the best testing local for a pair of waders because just about all brands hold up quite nicely because of the easy terrain getting to the river. It's the tough hikes, going down steep canyon hills, and bush bashing that's the true test of a good pair of waders which makes the fit that much more important. Check to see were the seams are. If there's a seam running down the inner thigh it usually spells trouble and as mentioned above the lenth of the leg is super important as well. A low crotch is also a recipe for leakage.
I used a pair of Simms lightweights for 4 seasons (over a 100 fishing days) and never had a leak from the knees down, only had leaks in the butt section of the waders from sliding on my my friend down icy, rock hard snowy slopes on the Thompson which trust me, I had no intention of wanting to do. The greasy steep hills in the Chehalis canyon and the Gold are equally as treacherous. My guides have held up much better to that type of abuse because they are made from thicker material.
Conversely my buddy had the older blackwaters (Bare) and he is quite certain they began leaking on the hanger in the store when it began to start raining outside. Three returns later he was finally given the latest model which appear to be working better for him. The Guide G3's are awesome waders ( very pricey though). However, you do not want to be at the bottom end of their bootie size. I bought a pair of mediums which come with a 9-11 size stocking foot. I am a size 9 so my foot is swimming in them so they are a bad fit. Watch out for this because any pinching of neoprene in the wader boot will also cause leaking. Hope this helps.
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If your feet are swimming in the Medium size Simms waders, you have the option to go with the MS size. If that doesn't work, go with a different size like the SK. I have a size 8 foot and large chest with a 32 waist and 30 inseam and I found a pair that fit perfectly. I'm not kidding when I say that Simms has more sizes than anyone else. You can choose from 16 different sizes. Now, come to find out that there is a G4 wader. It looks like the ultimate wader, but I don't think I can justify $700.00 US for a new pair. It was hard enough to pay $425.00 US for my G3's.
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One thing about breathable waders you need to keep in mind is that if you sweat alot or get them dirty you need to wash them with a mild powdered detergent every so often or they will not work well. They will no longer breathe and you will get bad condensation on the inside. It also helps to finish off with revivex to get the water to bead up on them. This also helps with the breathability.
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The problem with Simms G3 is that they have a different stocking foot on them than on their other models like the guides, the lighweight, and the freestone. I own the former two and the medium foot fits me perfectly. If I bought a small king the crotch would be much too low for me. The kings are for people with larger waists than leg length.
Darrel, at Reaction, even tried to get the factory to put the medium foot that they make for the Guides onto the G3 as a custom fit for me but they were unable to do it because the leg is a slightly different shape than either the Guides or the Lightweight and the stocking foot won't fit on them. The new Guides coming out in March are suppose to be awesome and will have the built-in gravel guard as well and will still have the regular medium foot instead of the huge range 9-11 stocking foot of the G3.