First of all Hodgeman's are CRAP...any wader that you have to treat with Aquaseal before you even fish them is honestly, crap. You do pay what you get for and if you can get a pair of Hodgemans for $60 then they are, I guess, a decent pair of use and throw away waders but there is so much better on the market.

I fished a pair of Bare Supra bootfoot's for years and eventhough they sit in the garage now(b.c of breathables), they never had a leak, never had to treat them with Aquaseal and I beat up on my gear. They run around $300.

Simms has discontinued all their neoprene waders, as 2001 was the last year for their ExStream Bootfoots and 2000 was the last year for their midrange models like their NeoStocking Foot and NeoBootfoot. All of these are excellent waders with the ExStream Bootfoot the best. They feel like being trapped in a greenhouse-they do keep you warm. The EsStream's were $375 and Neo's were around $200. Expect 25% or so off these prices. The trick will be to find them as most shops will most likely be low or totally out but call around to your local Simms' dealers. You might lucky.

I would go with breathables though. If you layer up properly you will NEVER get cold. You can get into the Dan Bailey Lightweight's at $199 and the Dan Bailey XTH's at $295. They both come with limited lifetime warranties and have a very very low failure rate. I've seen only 3 Bailey's retunred in almost 18 months of sales and those few times that they were it was due to leaks where the Entrant and the Neoprene came together. If you buy 'em from a good shop they will just hand you a new pair, over the counter, no questions asked.

Then there are the Simms Lightweights and the Simms Guidewights with the Guidweights being the Cadillac of waders but they are pricey ($375). These are both excellent waders and for the money, the Simms Lightweights very good as I've yet to have to send a pair of the Lightweights back to Simms. I have seen the Guideweights come back but I guess that can be expected when the thousands upon thousands of these waders are sold. Most people you talk to, once they fish the Guideweights will never go back to anything else.

The only problem I've had with Simms is their warranty as for a while they turned pretty insurance adjusters and charged the customer for every pinhole leak etc. That has changed as of a month ago as the first repair, within a year, Simms will cover. I think though they are going to be much more leniant now as I sent back a pair of '98 Bootfoot Guideweights (which had been sent back in the past and were charged for repairs) and they repaired the leaks no charge and refelted the boots. So hopefully this a sign that things have changed.

I've got a pair of the Guideweights and love them. Will never fish neoprene again. They do have a couple leaks in them but I use and ABUSE them. I dont think twice about crashing through blackberry bushes or sliding down a steep slope in them.

[ 11-20-2001: Message edited by: RPetzold ]