Orvis Waders?

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Author Message   Rick Cordova (Imx) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 12:20 pm:    I have a pair of the Silver Label "No Sweat" bootfoot. Looking thru the catalog I found the Hiking waders, has anybody used them before, if so what are your thoughts?   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 06:24 pm:    NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Simms, nothing but Simms. I have the Simms Lightweights ($215 but I think the price recently dropped even more) and they beat the shit out of my buddy's top of the line Orvis Guideweight waders, he has just now sent them back for the 3rd time and is getting his money back to buy the Simms. His fiancee has sent her Lady Clearwater waders back two times now and the next time they are going to be replaced w/ simms as well. Trust me anybody who knows much about fly fishing will tell you to stear clear of the Orvis waders and make for the Simms (jump in here and help Muskyman). I have heard at countelss "my Orvis waders started leaking" stories but not one about Simms.   Rick Cordova (Imx) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 08:39 pm:    Carter, thanks for you thoughts, I have heard that Simms are great. The only thing is that I just purchased my pair and have used them. If or I should say when they leak I'll look into the Simms. I was just thinking, which style of the Orvis waders would be better the guy said that he would let me trade if I wanted. Do you use a bootfoot or socks w/different boots. Also Im a greenie to fly fishing, the reason I went with Orvis is that my buddy has them and really likes them. So I went out and bought all Orvis gear, rod, reel, etc. now Im hearing about other great brands that are a lot less expensive. Oh well it's just money, that why I drive a Rover.;)   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 08:46 pm:    I use stocking foot with some nice simms boots, don't skimp on the boots you need lots of ankle support for walking over slippery rocks you can't see. Don't feel bad about plopping down for the Orvis, granted I think they are over-rated to the highest degree but this is a difficult sport to get started in and very few get it right the first time (I sure as hell didn't). Just remember to have FUN.   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 08:46 pm:    Where is Muskyman???? He has been MIA for a while now.   Kim S (Roverine) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:19 pm:    Carter, think about it ... He is probably actually out somewhere enjoying himself Kim   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:21 pm:    Are you saying bitchin' about stuff on dweb isn't enjoyable or something Kim????   KJ Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:35 pm:    Spoiled rich hard-up bitching poseUr brat...... Karen   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:37 pm:    Isn't there suposed to be a "chauvinist" in there somewhere too??? Nice job w/ the capital "U" btw   Phillip Perkinson (R0ver4x4) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:38 pm:    Chacos and Patagonia stand up shorts are all the waders I NEED   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:41 pm:    You a saltwater guy or just don't mind the cold and stay away from the water in the winter??   KJ Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:44 pm:    Dayum Carter, you're right! And I also forgot the newly-bestowed "smart ass"! I'll try to do a more complete job next time. Karen   Phillip Perkinson (R0ver4x4) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:49 pm:    try to be in when the water allows. i am poor and cant afford the nice Orivs stuff   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:51 pm:    FWIW the "nice" Orvis stuff ain't that nice, better quality stuff for less $$$$$$ can be had w/ other brands in most situations.   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:55 pm:    Well let me clarify that a little, most of the nice Orvis stuff is nice (except the waders -sorry to anyone who owns them but they suck) its just for the same price you can usually get stuff that is even better from other places (and you can get stuff that is just as good for less).   Camille (Gwagenbabe) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 09:56 pm:    Isn't it POSER?   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 10:04 pm:    Take it to the other thread if you have to bring it up again.   E Snyder Posted on Sunday, January 05, 2003 - 10:45 pm:    I've used the silver label "no sweat" stocking foot chest high waders for several seasons with no problems. Definitely need full ankle support boots, felt soles, (studs optional). The lightweight canvas boots are no go. Velco wrap gravel guards worth getting, also.   dougc Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 02:56 pm:    Sierra Trading Post has Patagonia SST+ waders for cheap. I think I saw a study saying they are better than Simms. Still, I've got Simms lightweights due to tradition and habit...DougC   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 07:41 pm:    They still have those things on close out????, Damn. I remember that study and I think the patagonia ones came out on top for breathability, I have felt some and my simms feel stronger -they did appear to be made better than Orvis ones though.   PaulM Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 09:12 pm:    Dan Bailey waders are the shit.... Simms are very good waders, BUT, they have lame customer service and they are about $100 more than the competitors.   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Monday, January 06, 2003 - 09:21 pm:    $100 more than the commpetitor's????? How do you figure that?? -What is your experience w/ their customer service? I haven't ever heard any reports and am curious   PaulM Posted on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 - 11:27 am:    Check out the prices of the Dan Bailey guide weight waders or the Patagonia SST+'s. They are generally in the mid $300's, while the new Simm's G3 wader is priced at a whopping $475. I should have mentioned that I'm comparing the latest and greatest products from each company. I've owned 3 different brands of waders over the past 5 years. Pair 1 - Simm's lightweights. Blew out the seams within 2 months. Had them "repaired" a few more times then finally said no more. Gave the last repaired set to a friend that fished a few times a year. I was recently in a local shop talking about waders and he indicated that Simms had the most returns of any wader in the shop. And the salesman was a huge Simms fan. We talked about various customer service issues and he mentioned that Simms can be a bit difficult to work with at times. Other than that, I've picked up a few tidbits every now and again about Simms customer service on the various fly fishing boards. Mind you they aren't bad, but don't compare to Patagonia when it comes to customer service. I asked Simms a number of times to simply replace the waders. I was polite. Pair 2 - Patagonia SST+. The first pair lasted about a year and 3 months. Over 120 days of use! I bought these on closeout for about $150. Great wader, but I figured they should have lasted longer and contact Patagonia. Had a new pair within 3 weeks! My current pair has probably over 200+ days, with a few minor leaks that have been reparied. I also had problems with the Patagonia wading boots. Replaced immediately. Great customer service. BTW, I purchased the Patagonia's because I was tired of waiting of the Simms waders to be repaired and wanted to go fishing! Pair3 - Dan Bailey Guide Weights. One this pair in a raffle. Great pair of waders. Nice fit and good material. The only dealing I've had with this company is when I needed to exchange sizes. No problem!   muskyman Posted on Tuesday, January 07, 2003 - 07:34 pm:    my .02 before you start talking brand names I guess it would make sence to talk about what kinda water a guy is gonna fish. I have a early pair of Simms lightweight and they have there place without a doubt. but if you wore them to go winter steelheading here in the midwest you will freeze your ass off no matter what you wear under them. for those conditions it has to be 5mm neoprene, I like both lacross and Cabelas. both are under a $100 and will last you a good long time. if you decide to wear those same 5mm on a warm summer day in a shallow trout river your gonna cook like all hell. so more important then brand is matching the wader to the environment. next is care, all waders will die an early death if they are not taken care of. Leave your waders wet in a hot car after fishing and they will fall apart at the seams no matter who made them. I try to treat all my waders as I do my flylines because they are both made of polymers I dry them and leave them to air out when ever possible. neoprene waders need to be hung to prevent creases that will later break down and leak. breathable waders should be hung as well to dry and kept in a dark place when not in use. a friend of mine once took a pair of Simms that had been in his display window for a year in the sun on a trip only to have the seams come apart on the second day of a 10 day trip in new zealand. he lost a day of fishing tracking down another pair. allright enough fluff here's a inside tip...ever hear of a borger boot? it is a boot that was designed by Gary Borger. Gary is a proffesor at the university of wisconsin and a very famouse flyfishing instructor.his boots as well as thomas and thomas ,Orvis,Dan baileys and a number of others are all made by a company call Weinbrenner shoe company located in merrill Wisconsin. they have a outlet store that sells seconds for dirt cheap. I think I paid about $30 for the borger felt soles I have and about $35 for the thomas and thomas felt soled studded pair I have. this is peanuts compared to what they cost retail. if you call the outlet they will check for your size, if they are out they will take your name and call you when they have some in your size. good fishing thom   scott hodges (Sugarlandman) Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 09:59 am:    For what it's worth I have a pair of Hodgeman breathable waders (5 years old now)that have seen their days in both saltwater along the Texas coast as well as fishing for Steelhead in Michigan. I clean them with warm soapy water after each and every use, then hang them to dry. I've used them countless times and have never ever had a problem with them leaking or seams falling apart. They only cost about $150 if I remember correctly. I think the real key is taking care of them after each use FWIW. Best regards, Scott   John Kruger (Johnnyk) Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 10:42 am:    muskyman is right on! Call Weinbrenner's or La Crosse Footwear's outlet to get a great deal. However, I still advocate hip boots for almost all fishing experiences. Do you really need to stand in chest deep water, (ok maybe for River crossings). My 5 year old La Crosse hipboots ($35) have served me well all over North America and are easy to transport. Yes, I do get wet once in awhile, but I don't mind. John www.teampb.com   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 08:45 pm:    Down south anyways: Hip boots = burning your ass up hot Breathables = relatively cool So where you been Thom?? Draging muskies up through the ice???   muskyman Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 09:05 pm:    hey Carter was up in northern wisconsin and upper migh out playing around, nope no musky thru the ice...but I did catch some nice lake trout a buncha northern and plenty of eater walleye. but I really didnt fish that much . I spent most my time wheeling the trails and 2 tracks of the national forests. thom   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 09:13 pm:    Don't worry, the musky through the ice part was a joke, from what I hear they are hard enough to find when you are covering large amounts of water much less sitting on one spot all day. Damn I envy the walleye though, haven't eaten any of those in a while, fried I think they are some of the best eating fish out there. Ice fishing doesn't seem like much like my style so I don't blame you at all for spending most of the time abusing that Jeep () Scout (bet you get that a lot huh??)   muskyman Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 09:30 pm:    man you need to go ice fishing with me! if a guy cant catch more fish thru the ice then open water fishing he is doing something wrong I took a day out and guided a couple guys for Lake trout, we caught about 10. they caught a double, one 15lbs the other about 8lbs. they where both just on cloud nine. lakers are like bonefish they just fight and fight. when I went to land the 15lb'er it spooked and ran out 70feet of line all the way back to the bottom it took him almost 10min longer to get it back to the hole. see the secret of ice fishing is not to sit in one spot when I ice fish I make swiss cheese outa the ice, I use my GPS to locate my spots and a three color vexilar flasher to watch the action . I leave nothing to luck.   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 09:59 pm:    Well that sounds more like it, nothing much freezes at all down here so I think "ice fishing" and start imagining that movie "grumpy old men"   thom mathie (Muskyman) Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2003 - 10:30 pm:    this is a baby... the flashers makes it like a video game you can see your jig going up and down 70ft down you can see the fish move in and respond, if they take it you set if not you can change what your doing to get them to strike. Carter you wouldent believe how much fun it can be.   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 10:10 am:    Ohhh that has to be great, just like that damn fishing game they have at radio shack where it vibrates when a fish bites only this time they are real!!! Just need a couple feet of ice down here and I would definitly give it a try.   muskyman Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 10:23 am:    couple feet of ice?...what you gonna drive to the spots? 4" clear ice your good to go...6" good to go with a snowmobile one of my favorite things is watching the look on a newbie ice fishermans face when the ice starts talking to you. on a cold day the ice starts talking/cracking under your feet it can be really unnerving till you get used to it. but the good news is the more noise the ice is making the stronger it is it only cracks when its freezing and expanding.   Carter Simcoe (Carter) Posted on Thursday, January 09, 2003 - 04:48 pm:    Wow, I thought you had to have more than that we generally don't even get so much as an inch of ice in Arkansas though.