Gear ?'s - Waders and Vest/Pack

[char]

I seem to have sprung a leak in my neoprene Hodgmans I've had for years. I'm looking at the Patagonia Rio Azul since they fall in my price range. Any thought on those waders? I know they are pretty light and I'm wondering about durability.

I also need to upgrade my vest. I'm using a photographers vest that was a hand me down. It has worked fine for a long time, but also is in need of replacement.

Vest or lumbar pack? I've been looking at the Fishpond water dance guide or just getting a vest in the same price range. $100 or so. I tend to get away from the truck so having storage in the back pocket or enough volume in the lumbar pack is important.

[gretch6364]

I have really enjoyed all my William Joseph packs and they can be found at some great price points. (Fishpond makes great stuff as well)

As for waders, I can't say enough about how great my Reddington Sonic Pros have been.

[snapt]

2nd the Redington SOnic Pro's. I've got 100 days+ on mine and have beat the shit out of them and they're still going strong. Great warranty for my customers so far too.

[DeathVan]

@gretch/snapt: Are you guys sold on the front zipper deal? Why or why not?

re: packs
The lumbar packs are nice, but don't hold a jacket, lunch, beers and a real camera.
They will also not hold any fish if you are packing out.
-I use a backpack

[gretch6364]

I went with the non-zip version. It saves you $100 and you get a hell of a waiter for $280 retail. I am still pretty young and flexible, so it I don't really have to much trouble peeing just yet and don't have a bellie yet, which is really the only benefits I can think of for them.

For me, the biggest downside was the ease of rolling down the top and wearing them as just pants, which I do ALOT, and did not want to give up...so I guess, no, I am not sold on the zipper deal...haha

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

I picked up some Patagucci waders at their outlet sale 3 or so years ago and have been happy with them. They were well under $200 and came in tall sizes, which for me was nice so I didn't have to get a pair of XL waders for length but that were built for someone the size of a VW beetle. For packs I've got a Fishpond Wasatch clone made by Allen Fly Fishing combo vest/pack. Picked it up a few years ago, forgot about it and never used it, if you're in Portland you can try it on and we'll make a deal.

[char]

What if hypothetically speaking I could get the Patagonias for substantially less than the redingtons...

[gretch6364]

Patagonia always treats their customers great and is good about repairs. The two main reasons I like the Redington's is the welded rather then stiched seam,s and they have, so far, been tougher then other waders I have tried. Our water in CO is thin, and there is a lot of scrambling, so I tend to beat on waders climbing up and over rocks and then sliding back down on my butt.

Patagonia is good stuff too.

Edit: One other thing, I have only heard good things from a couple guides I know about the sonic pros as well, guys that were going through a set of Simms a year, got two out of the Sonic Pros...these guys are obviously on the water way more then me.

[snapt]

I have zips and standard sonic pro's. Both are nice, the zip is nice for taking a leak and changing layers. At the dealer show this summer they told me they'd sold 10,000 pairs so far and had 12 come back for warranty at that point. Patagonia's are nice and they're pretty awesome with warranty if you paid retail for them.

I won't ever own a pair of Simms waders again.

[DeathVan]

I won't ever own a pair of Simms waders again.

Explain your displeasure please.

I fish and hike the shit out of my latest pair and they have held up better than any other I've had.
-one small leak in the crotch is it, I'm sure it was from straddling one particular tree with a Big pack and my tube on my back

edit: not sponsored

[NMmatt]

FWIW, I beat the living piss out of my Simms waders for 6 years, sent them back on a whim when I returned my Dry Creek boat bag (zipper sucked), and they replaced them with brand new Freestones for free. Just another POV.

I have looked on and off for a replacement for my decade old Cabela's fishing vest (although I mostly use a fishpond waterdance lumbar pack). Haven't found it's equal, so I keep it beer stains and all. It's nice to have both - and sometimes I even wear both. IMO it's not worth paying a lot for a vest.

[snapt]

Explain your displeasure please.

I fish and hike the shit out of my latest pair and they have held up better than any other I've had.
-one small leak in the crotch is it, I'm sure it was from straddling one particular tree with a Big pack and my tube on my back

edit: not sponsored

I send plenty back that leak out of the box or within a short period of time. Their business model isn't sustainable and as a result their quality control seems to get worse. Great folks but not the quality they used to be. YMMV.

[gretch6364]

Sorry...I was not bashing Simms...I meant it as a compliment, since they are the historic standard that everyone compares things to. I am sure some of you can immagine how hard a full time guide would be on waders here in CO, where you spend more time hiking and wading then you do in a boat.

[DeathVan]

Thanks for the replies, I see your points.
-and although we don't have the big rocks out here we certainly do have a shit-ton of salmon berries, devil's club, alders and the like.

fwiw: my buddy just got picked up by Redington as a field tester, I look forward to seeing what he gets

***Hope to fish with some forum folk this summer down there, planning a trip.

[Hugh Conway]

For keeping in a car/truck I was going to suggest the Patagonia lumbar pack (a small, kinda ugly, but light and functional one) but it appears they've William Josephed it.

[Meadow Skipper]

What if hypothetically speaking I could get the Patagonias for substantially less than the redingtons...

Hypothetically speaking, do it. I <heart> my Patagonia waders - very sturdy and they back their shit up.

[snapt]

Also the Patagonia stealth atom sling > any vest/pack out there.

[Sagamoron]

I've had lots of issues with Patagonia Waders and boots. For a long time the soles on the boots weren't stiched, just glued. That never held. Once, I actually took a bad fall when the front of the sole came loose on my right boot, it got wedged in a rock, took me out and I ended up ripping a huge hole in the waders when I fell. Sent both back and they had to nerve to patch the waders and not replace them. After the patched section was leaking like a faucet, I sent them back I was told they were too old and purchased on the pro-program and wouldn't be warranted. Got a hold of a manager, told him to look up my purchase history for the last 5 years and decide if not sending me a new pair was worth losing a customer over. They sent a new pair... I've used them a handful of times, took them off yesterday from Steelhead fishing and my right foot was soaked. Always cleaned them and hung to dry. I take care of my shit.

I'll make the store ship them back this time, and demand a new pair but I'm tempted to flip them on ebay and go with something else if I get a new pair.

[Hugh Conway]

They had the never to patch waders that you ripped because you fell?

[Sagamoron]

They had the never to patch waders that you ripped because you fell?

I fell b/c the soles on their boots were attached with a shitty adhesive not stiched on like Simms, Korkers and others. The toe section of the sole came off while I wading and got wedged between two rocks causing me to fall when tried to walk forward. I don't make a stink when its my fault, but they even acknowledged that gluing was a bad idea and had switched to stiching them on.

[plugboots]

Wow, I was just about to order the Simms G3 Guides, and now it looks like I should get the Reddington Sonic Pros. I have 10? year old Patagonias, and I have glue repaired them too many times. I can't get them to not leak anymore.

Any of you guys work in a shop and want to sell me a pair of medium longs? I'm a 42 chest 34 waist.

BTW, I like a vest, and if I hike in a long way, I take shit out of it, and put that stuff in whichever pack I use. In the salt I use a small chest pack, and sometimes I use that for those creeks I fish that are more climbing than fishing. Any cheap on sale thing.

[ak_powder_monkey]

Buy waders with pockets, put boxes in pockets, wear a lanyard...

Way cheaper than a vest or a pack

[Lexi-Bell]

I send plenty back that leak out of the box or within a short period of time. Their business model isn't sustainable and as a result their quality control seems to get worse. Great folks but not the quality they used to be. YMMV.

What exactly do you mean their *business model* is unsustainable?

[ak_powder_monkey]

I send plenty back that leak out of the box or within a short period of time. Their business model isn't sustainable and as a result their quality control seems to get worse. Great folks but not the quality they used to be. YMMV.

Yup my latest pair leaked out of the box... After I sent back a pair that leaked out of the box... That being said Simms are the only waders I've ever had make it through a season. And I'm tough as hell on waders, I just plan on sending them in every year, so I have two pairs.

[neckdeep]

My patagucchi riverwalker boots only lasted through 60 days of use. The glue and stitching was of poor quality and at about 55 days they were unusable due to the bottom and tops of the shoe separating and shredding and half the lace hooks were torn out too. Still, they outlasted my last pair of simms vibram soled boots by over 15 days and the felt was still performing ok when the boots disintegrated.

So, what is the deal with Simms? Is everything in their boot and wader lines declining in quality or is it the stuff made in asia. I'm so fucking sick of top price brands delivering cheaply made schwag from anonymous third world factories and writing off the poor quality control, shoddy fit and substituted materials as just part of the cost of doing business. Vasque used to make world class boots but now the soles split in under two years. Seems like you can no longer trust simms or patagonia to consistently deliver quality across all their product lines. Three pairs of Burton Driver X snowboard boots and each set had some poorly made component (the speed laces, the liner foam, the gluing) start to fail within a few months and undermine the entire top of the line, way too expensive boot. I'm just fucking sick of it. Let's face it, the chinese really are finding new ways to pee in our coke.