Help with waders...

[briansII]

.......and the #1 reason to wear waders.

Candiru

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_d49URTp2U

briansII

[FlyinFish]

Ok guys, I ended up ordering the Patagonias: http://www.ramseyoutdoor.com/product/pi ... f0111_0939

And not a moment too soon, cause I got the last one in my size and the others went shortly after.

I tried a couple pairs on at the Orvis store to get a feel for what dimensions I need. Unfortunately, the Endura waders I was looking at for $150 don't have built in gators. So that was a deal breaker.

The Patagonias are priced right at $130 and they have a pretty good warranty policy. I'll give them a try and see how they do! If I don't like them, the Hodgemens or Cabelas ones will be my go to...

Thanks again for all the input.

PS - the Orvis wading socks don't come out for another couple days, FYI

[midger]

I have both the watermaster lights and the watermasters. Patagonia makes a good product and their warranty is great. The watermaster IIs were a replacement for a five year old pair of SSTs that Isent in for potential repair. Patagonia sent the new pair gratis to replace the SSTs which were dead on arrival. The lights are my standard backpacking pair and the ones I use for the Owens, Kern, etc.

[FlyinFish]

Sweeeeeet! Now I really hope they fit! They sound perfect... pack, Owens, pretty much what I was thinking...

[FlyinFish]

So, to follow up... I got the Patagonia WM Lights and tried them out this passed weekend. They worked out pretty * well! Fit good, kept me totally dry, nice and breathable, neoprene shaped feet fit well, and the gravel guards were great. The one roll out pocket was nice for carrying a few things at the chest. I would have liked external pockets, but this was a basic model wader. Straps and belt were snug and flexible.

Don't know what other feedback to give. They were pretty awesome. For $130, with built in gators, anatomical feet, and a belt loop, that's a great price. And even the full $200 price is great for what you get.


My old hiking boots finally gave up and they wouldn't fit with these waders, so I picked up a new pair of boots. I got the Merrel Moab Ventilators. I wanted to go with a company I knew made good hiking shoes. The Ventilator is designed to, well, vent, so it actually drains water really well. It's light and flexible, yet still nice and cushy. Also, it comes in wide sizes for my feet and also for * the neoprene feet. It's a mid/hi top, so the gravel guard doesn't slip up off the back of the shoe. All around awesome shoe for what I wanted to do and only $90. If I want to switch to just wearing it for hiking, I can throw in my insoles that I have and the fit is just fine and not too big.



I did catch the waders on some left over barbed wire at the Owens What the crap! Justin and I almost got died. It was in the ground just like a branch. Fortunately it only tore a 1 inch hole into the gator guard. Quite the battle wound for the first time out. I'm just glad it wasn't on the wader itself...

I love my new gear

[midger]

You can fix those small tears with Aquaseal (or use aquaseal w the cotol accelerator if you want them done faster). Loon UV wader repair also does a good job, but make sure not to apply it in the sun--it goes off and hardens very quickly. I used it to repair a small hole I punched in the knee, and my knee, of my patagonia on the EW last fall. No leakee.

[briansII]

Does Patagonia include a small repair kit with the waders? I've used the kits that have a small piece of wader material to patch a tear. For longevity, I like plain ol' Aquaseal. I've used the UV stuff and it works well for a quickie repair, but I've also had some spots peel off.....the UV Knot Sense too. That hasn't happened with Aquaseal. After my next repair, I should have over 60 Aquaseal spots on my favorite pair of waders.

briansII

[FlyinFish]

Yup, came with the little repair kit. I'll get some Aquaseal as well.