Simms waders

[rannoch raider]

You cannae beat a bit of duct tape Alex !  I've owned a few pairs of Ocean chesties over the years and they were great apart from the condensation and on hot days. Very robust for sure. It does seem that it's fair to view breathable waders as having a limited working life. I suppose it's easier to make a decision about how much to spend on them if that's borne in mind. :

[Wildfisher]

I just had a look at my Simms waders.

Made in China.

[corsican dave]

I just had a look at my Simms waders.

Made in China.

with Simms quality control  :wink:

[Wildfisher]

I've got nothing against Chinese products  Dave, I enjoy  Honey Chilli Chicken with fried rice as much as the next guy.  Quite the reverse actually, my Chinese Simms have lasted since 2014 leak free but that has more to do with being careful and not having unrealistic expectations and that conclusion is based on years of trying out  various makes. As I said above if you wear £500 waders when fishing The Lunan they will be destroyed exactly the same as Bisons, just not quite as quickly.

[corsican dave]

yes, you're absolutely correct Fred. it's interesting that the companies are now beginning to address this issue on their web-sites & other information material.

i think the problem is that people look at "chinese" and don't realize that's just the country of origin. it has no bearing on the quality of the product; that is determined by the 'manufacturing' company. some adopt a hands-off approach & effectively buy the goods in from the third party. others are far more hands-on, providing personnel, equipment and raw materials to their own specifications and applying rigorous quality criteria to their selection of factory/ manufacturer.  all of which adds in cost, of course.

sure, Simms waders may well come from the same factory that makes them for Snowbee (? for instance). but they certainly aren't made using the same materials & production process. this isn't to knock Snowbee or blow smoke up Simms, btw; just using the names as an example

a good example of how this is works in practice is Gore. Gore will only licence & provide warranty for companies that have approved production techniques & controls, including dedicated Gore taping machines, Gore licensed fabric & Gore trained operatives & QC. almost every factory will provide taped seams nowadays, but only the Gore approved machines are used for Gore licensed product. so yes, the factory will have at least two different production streams.

[Wildfisher]

The differences in construction and material quality / weight  between my Simms and Bisons are obvious enough. However there is another difference that is less easy to quantify - how I look after them. I cosset the Simms far more than any Bisons, Visions   or Snowbees I have owned. My old Bisons are still going  and every time I'm out I can hear the hidden brambles and wild roses ripping across the legs  and feel the tiny pin pricks as the thistles penetrate the flimsy material. Yet they are still going which is amazing. All I do is turn them  inside out once a year, fill them with water and check for leaks. I just mark the leaks with a magic marker, dry out the waders and seal the holes  with RTV.  Seams are of course another matter and crotch leaks I think  are more common with the cheap waders, but not unknown on the more expensive makes either. 

Waders have come a long way, it was not that long ago  the leg seams were in the inside of the leg and rubbed together - how crazy was that?  Yes of course Simms are better than Bison, but I still would not use them on rough overgrown lowland burns like the Lunan.

By the way even when my Bisons leak we are not taking about a flood, just a bit of dampness (but I am not wading deep). It's not really a big deal. I'm usually dry before I get home. Honesty, you should see the state of them, they are manky, but a sensible choice for the job in hand..   :lol:

My advice would  be buy a good quality pair and look after them but also have a cheap pair if you fish our abused lowland farmland streams. That has certainly worked for me - I have not bought waders since 2014 when I started this system.

[rannoch raider]

Sounds like good advice. I've got an old pair of Hardy stocking foot breathables that have a slight leak. I don't actually feel any leakage until I've spent a bit of time in the water but its not very pleasant when it does start to soak into clothing. I'll sort them up and use them for the rough stuff. I've also got a pair of Simms 'Toray' waist waders that were very cheap and they are going strong at the moment. I'll definitely need a decent pair of chesties for the odd winter trip and spring time. Orvis Silver Sonic Guides are looking good. 

[pedropete]

really interesting thread, I'm in the market for a new pair of breathable for next season, my old vision zips leak like buggery, my plan was to get a new pair but straight from D.Dave thus buying some more leak free time..but going by some of the comments that route isn't as cut and dry  :tongue2 as i was led to believe..i like the idea of the bisons for jumping about the banks, and maybe keep the vision zips for the boat..minefield....!!

[SoldierPmr]

really interesting thread, I'm in the market for a new pair of breathable for next season, my old vision zips leak like buggery, my plan was to get a new pair but straight from D.Dave thus buying some more leak free time..but going by some of the comments that route isn't as cut and dry  :tongue2 as i was led to believe..i like the idea of the bisons for jumping about the banks, and maybe keep the vision zips for the boat..minefield....!!

How have you found your visions? I've heard quite a lot of good stuff about them.

[pedropete]

vision zips have been great for me,7-8yrs dry haven't really looked after them at all, so quite robust, mid-price 240 ish(I like the zip version, new ones have an added external chest pocket ) its fine for me for the bulk of my boat fishing, ill try another pair for sure, I don't do massive amounts of deep wading, not yet anyway, my mate went the bison route for the wee rivers and has been leak free for donkeys..I cant afford to buy Simms so it's not really an option.