What to expect of high price waders?

I have been using Simms waders (as well as other labels) for many years. Fair to say I have put them all into strong fishing conditions. And yet am waiting for just one HIGH PRICE wader to get me satisfied with what I get for my money!

Different categories come to my mind when rating waders:

1. Price

2. Duration of life

3. Service

4. Breathabilty

5. Usabilty

Let’s have a look at the high price models offered by Simms.

1. Current price: 949 Euros (offered by Flyfishing Europe). That to me is an extremely high price!

2. Yet no Simms wader stood with me for more than half a year without getting at least the first leak. Quite some of these leakages were accepted to be a guarantee case. Half a year means 160-180 fishing days (8 hours per day) in my case.

3. Having a leakage means I bring back my wader into the (German) shop. The shop then ships it over to Norway (European central storage). Here it will be decided, if the leakage is a guarantee case or not. If yes, the wader will be repaired and afterwards shipped back to the shop. So I need to drive to the shop again and pick the wader up. What I never liked is that I always had to wait for my wader and drive to the shop twice.

4. The breathabilty always was excellent with Simms waders.

5. Usabilty always was fair, but I never really could use them well for fly fishing from the belly boat. Seemed to me the membrane system did not work well when sitting all day long on it. Often I got a slightly wet ass pretty soon. 

All in all I simply never was satisfied with what I got for my money!

I think Simms sells a high percentage (>80%?) of their waders in the US and in the Canadian market. Probably the average angler in these markets doesn’t use his wader for more than 15-20 days per year. So after ten years the average bear will have put his waders as long into the water as I will have within half a year. Who would claim his wader to have gotten leak after ten years?! Not me, I think!

But after 150 fishing days? Hell, I think my wader should hold much longer then just half a year, if I have to pay such a high price for them.
What I do like about some of the low price wader selling labels: They simply give me a new (and not repaired) one, in case of guarantee!

Are YOU satisfied with your warders?

Our last fly fishing week was brilliant again. Fishing every day we caught several species of fish - asp, carp, pike perch, perch and pike all included. Our 4 years old Jesaja got his first own fishing rod – yet not a fly rod though. He enjoyed catching several fish either!

Fishy week to all of you!

All my best

Bernd

Some pictures from last week…