I'm looking at getting a pair of breathable waders soon and was wondering what you all prefer. I can't afford Simms or Baileys and I am looking at Cabelas Premium Breathable wader or Hodgnab Wadelites. What's the consensus among you guys and gals. Thanks.

I bought a pair of the Hodgman wadelite guide pants last June. I took them back to GI Joes about a week ago they were leaking around the seams on the foot. I hope this pair lasts longer I really like the breathables.

What price range are you looking at??

If the $199 Simms and Bailey's are too expensive for you, take a serious look at the new Simms Freestones.

They are just being shipped to dealers are an excellent value at $149....they are coated breathable like the Bailey's (Simms' Lightweights and Guideweight (now Classic) are a Gore-tex product.

They come complete with the excellent quality and construction that is typical with Simms products and a good freind of mine has been fishing in them for the past couple weeks and breathe better and are much more comfortable then his pair of $330 Patagonias.

Ryan,
thanks for getting me to buy those Dan Baileys. I have no complaints. You know how much I fish and I dont baby my gear. I have worn those waders through hell and back and have had no leaks tears or anything. Only complaint I have is the velcro that sinches up the gravel guards it is always comming undone. It dosent take a rocket scientist to tell you that velcro dosent stick together under water very well.

I just bought a pair of breathables this summer.I did a search on this bourd and a couple others and found that fishermen preffer the Simms.Alll I read was how tough and comfortable they were.Also expensive.Second in the running were the Cabelas Dry pluss 2's.I bought a pair of dry pluss twos in the spring and have put a couple hundred miles on them in pure comfort and no leaks.I do not fish where other people fish or have fished very often so it is safe to say that I have put These breathables through the wringer.

Do not skimp on the boot either.I had to upgrade after my first choice.Get the best you can aford.

My son and I have had Hodgmon Wade Lites for 3 plus years without a problem or leak. However the new ones that came out in 2001 to today have had leak problems, so I would stay away from them until they fix the problem and who knows when that might be.

I have the Dan Baileys and love them. Although expensive they have a life time warranty.

I bought a pair of hodgemans and after a few months the seams not only leaked but the tape on the inside was pulling away from the inside of the waders.. Second pair same thing. I will never buy another hodgeman product ever. I bought a pair of simms and fished in them for 3 years. A bargain and 360 dollars as it would have takem me 6 pairs of hodgemans to fish thoes same 3 years. time for a new pair .. i'd only buy simms!
I would second the above comments buy the new inexpensive simms waders.. You get what you pay for and only very rarely do you ever get what you don't pay for.

I got a deal on the Orvis Silver Label's, I have fished them HARD for a year,I've had no leaks and they offer a sweet warranty. I love these waders, but am still saving up for the Simms. I gotta have the best

I'm pretty sure Bailey's makes a couple different sets of waders and the "Barebones" style are down around $120 or so. If the quality is anything like their high-end waders you can't go wrong. I got mine at Salmon Bay in Ballard.

Bruce

Still haven't figured out why folks here in WA want breathable waders?
I use a pair of Cabela's nylon waders ($60). I have fished hard in them year round, for 4 years. Lightweight, easy to move in. I layer with fleece pants/long johns in the winter. In the summer, I'll wear shorts underneath or if it's too hot for that, I'll drop the waders and just put on a pair of trunks and enjoy standing in the water.
Got every temperature possible covered and the extra loot saved on pricey waders can go to important stuff... like pricey rods.

Jersey

ever worn a pair of breathables?

Breathables are better in every circumstance than any other wader material.

4 years ago I thought i'd be fine up on the Hoh in March in my simms neoprenes problem was i went bushwhacking into this spot and worked up a good sweat doing it i froze the rest of the day inspite of all the warm clothes and the neoprene. In a northwest winter to stay warm you have to stay dry. nepprene does not do that if you sweat nor does nylon.
Then there is the summertime on the Deschutes hike 2 miles up the river before light fish till the 11 am the hike the 2 miles back out in the blazing sun. no matter what your wearing under your nylons you'll be sweating and roasting and again wet!

breathables keep you warm and dry in the winter and at least dry in the summer even if you sweat badly nothing will keep you cool when it's 95:)

if you are comfortable in your nylon waders by no means should you ever wear breathables. but once you spend an hour in then your nylon waders will be in the trash so fast you won't believe it..

I am very pleased with my Dan Bailey's. The Cabalas Dry Plus are also a good by for the money. I have a friend that uses the Dry Plus and is very satisfied with the quality of the wader and the warranty.

If you can scrap up the money I would go with the DB's. I also got my DB's from Salmon Bay Tackle here in Seattle. They have an excellent warranty and are very comfortable to wear. Good luck and tight lines.

I had a pair of cabelas dry plus gold metal waders that started leaking in 2 months. i sent em back and got my replacements yesterday hopefully these work out better than the first pair...

TTT

FYI. Gart Sports has a three day sale 40% off all waders starting today. I don't know if they carry anything but Hodgmans though.

It sucks being an ogre. The cheapest breathable waders I can get are $480.

ive had a pair of hodgeman wadelites for about 4 years...they are much cheaper than the big name brands and breathe just fine...ive never had them leak on me but if they do its only a couple of bucks for a patch kit.

do like Jersey Fresh says and save your money for more important things.

your waders are going to get wet, dirty, scratched up and faded over time and their only purpose is to keep you warm and dry, not to make a fashion statement...keep this in mind, when you are standing in the river with your vest on, no one will be able to see the brand name label that you paid the extra $$$ for

I bought a pair of Hodgman Wadelites about a year ago. Many trips, with much bushwacking and they are still fine. If I had $300 dollars to spend on waders I'd still get these and spend the rest on a new rod. I heard that a lot of the Hodgmans failed because they were not dried properly after use. I'll buy a pair of Simms, someday, after I have more rods than I can ever fish, more reels than I'll ever need and my trucks paid off. That's my .02

You would have heard me say the exact same thing couple years ago. Not any more. I sprung for a pair of Simms Guide weights two a year ago, and let me tell you, there IS no more important fishing gear than light, dry, confortable waders.

I'd never been able to fish an entire season without leaks. I beat the crap out of my Simms and they have yet to develop a leak or shown any signs of wear. I was a LITTLE more careful than usual after laying down $365, but not much.

You can amortize the cost to see if they're worth the money. 5mm neo's will set you back about 70 bucks. Mine never lasted a year without breaking out the goop and climbing in the tub to find the leaks. Screw that crap. If that 350+ bucks keeps me warm and dry for three or more years, then I'd say that was money well spent.

You can get cheaper than the Simms Guides, but I don't think you can get better.

Well, I've always been a fan of the Simms as many of you may know.

I'd heard lots of good things about the Cabela's Dry-Plus waders so when Fishgal asked about getting a pair of bootfoot breathables, I thought we'd give them a try.

I was impressed with the lace-up boot that I thought would be more comfy / stable for her and things were great ... until she got in the water

The first half-hour in the water and they were leaking a little.

Day two found the wader material delaminating and she was absolutely soaked ... they got put away and were sent back to Cabela's for a refund.

We'll be going back to the Simms

Save your money for more important things..just go to Home Depot and get a roll of 3.0mil garbage bags..then go to Chubby and Tubby's and buy a pair of Converse high tops in red...one bag for each leg .wrap the top with duct tape and put on the tennis shoes...plenty good.

Ahhhh,

The Cabelas not so dry pluss. Not the first bad thing ive heard about these.

You cant go wrong with Simms, Dan Baileys or Patigonia. All of them are good and stand behind their product. Its worth 200 to 300 bucks it will be your best fishing investment.

I picked up a pair of Dan BAiley Barebones at Great American TAckle in Clackamas for $129.95. Lifetime warranty and they feel great, I'll try em out on my next day off which is Thursday. I keep forgetting most of you guys are from up North and so I hear about all the stores in your area. If I can give you guys any info about things in the SW part of the state just email me or post a question. Thanks for the recommendations on waders.

I have a pair of RONNY TITAN breathables...these waders feature a litle of both worlds,,it is breathable waders with reinforced knee and butt area with neopreme,,,they are quite spendy with a price tag the same as Simms but they too have life time garantee and are plenty worth the $$$ havent had any problem and I use them HARD

L.L. Bean breathable waders start at $149 and go to $385, and they are all guaranteed for life.

I bought a pair of $250 ones 7 years ago, they started leaking last year (year 6, not bad), I sent them back for repair this year, and L.L. Bean sent me a new pair of waders. Since the new ones are cheaper than they were 7 years ago, they sent me a $50 gift certificate also. I'm happy, the new waders fit even better than my old ones, and the feet are way more comfortable.

I'd hazard a guess that most of these "high brow" breathable waders are built in like four different factories in China, if you compare similar materials and such, they are all probably all very similar other than the name on the tag. Try on whatever waders you're going to buy, because you want them to fit perfectly. Make sure they have a good warranty, and then forget about them and just go fishing.

..and Jacob, I thought I had told you this before, but the $199 L.L. Bean breahtable waders come in up to a 59" chest, 34" inseam, and size 14 shoe... is this still too small for you?
If so, have Sos at XStream sew you some custom ones!!

-N.

I have used Cabela's and Hodgemans. and the Hodgemans wadelite lasted less then 6 mos. and the warrenty sucked. I have also used Cabela's dry Plus II and had no problems with for 2 years till the seal broke on my footies. Cabela's sent me a new pair , only charge was for shipping. Now I use Patagonia and I have had them for 2 years with no leaks or sigh of any leaks and no complaints. I know Simms are popular but heard they have had some problems with warrenty, and that is the reason why I went with Patagonias. Not to mention Simms does not give you the little extras (belt, gravel guards) , I know those things are cheap but for the price they should include them.

LL bean, Known for their awesome warrenty (consider it on of the best in the industry). Their Bomber breathables are spendy but I would bet they would give Simms and Patagonia a run for their money. On one fly review magazine, most would choose Simms but the warrenty award went with LL Bean . If I had to choose a new pair today I would seriously consider the LL bean Gortex Bomber . A little spendy at $385 but you get a wader for life.

I bought a pair of Orvis Silver Labels a little over two years ago. First weekend using them, sat on a rock that had a piece of broken glass on it. 3" tear in waders, took them to the Orvis store in Bellevue they handed me a new pair and sent me on my way. A few months ago (after much hard use) those waders started to get a little damp in a few spots. Took them to Orvis again and again they sent me on my way with a new pair. Both times I didn't have to fill out paperwork and walked out the door with a new pair of waders in a box in less then ten minutes. So pretty tough waders and a great warranty.
Tom

I'm going to check out the Orvis waders, looking at the Silver Label felt-bootfoot style. I've been using one of thier top of the line breathable fishing/raincoats for the last 2 years on the OP and 1 trip to Alaska and love it. I had a problem with coat #1 as one of the draw-strings for the hood ripped-out as I was cinching it down during a downpour, took it back to the Bellevue store and the man said "sorry it broke, let me help you pick out a new one." I had the receipt in my wallet, did'nt need to pull it out . Was on my way in 5 minutes, customer service don't get any better than that.....C/22

And I bought mine,relying on the free advice of the internet ... and this site....Just to put it into perspective.

good luck