ORIGINAL: Loopy

Just get the freakin' Simms. You know you want em'.

My first pair of Simms went 4 years of hard use. The way I took care of them was to throw them into the backseat when wet; I probably put 100 days a year on them. Finally they started to seep just a little; my right foot was getting more than sweaty if not exactly wet after a day in the water. I got lucky and found a fly shop going out of business selling Simms at half off so I picked up a second pair. Later I picked up a closeout from Orvis on neoprene bootfoots for icy water, they're on the third year with no problems.
I've heard a lot of good things about Cabelas waders. I can't directly comment on their customer service because the guys I've talked to haven't had any problems with them.
The kid selling me the first pair of Simms hit it when he said I could buy a cheaper pair of waders every year or so, or I could buy a good pair every 5 years. The bonus was 5 DRY years.

Cabela's Guide Tech. waders & Cabela's Lite-Weight studded boot.
A very strong wader for the price. I put a lot of hours and miles on the water and I just bought my second pair after 8/9 yrs.

i have orvis and do have the bootie problems too.  sent them back to orvis and they send me a new pair, $20 shiping and handling fee.  this time i told them to send me the sonic seam model.  hope they last more than 2 yrs.

ORIGINAL: damayor
... There is a reason they are the industry leader...

Marketing and an image built off extensive pro-forms???

Price suks, but getting wet show more

Just recieved my pair of Simms freestone breathables with 4mm stocking foot.  I am wondering if jeans and long johns an a pair of hunting socks with 2 insulated wollen shirts will work for this Fall/Winter.  I previously owned cabelas 5mm and 3mm neo bootfoot.  Great waders but but super heavy.  

I have patigonia 3rd year still going great .

ORIGINAL: silverman31

Just recieved my pair of Simms freestone breathables with 4mm stocking foot.  I am wondering if jeans and long johns an a pair of hunting socks with 2 insulated wollen shirts will work for this Fall/Winter.  I previously owned cabelas 5mm and 3mm neo bootfoot.  Great waders but but super heavy.  

 
Don't wear jeans under breathables.
A couple of reasons but jeans will wear out the inside layer of your waders.
Also, cotton jeans absorb and hold water/moisture. 
Get fleece pants, hunting or fishing or ski types.

Listen to Dano on the jeans. That inner layer of your waders is important. If it starts to peel, you will leak. Just about any fleece pants will work, the ones with elastic bottom bands are a little easier to tuck your socks into. Long undies will work too, but most are cotton and don't wick your moisture if you sweet (which you will do if you hike, even in 0 degree temps if layered) which then makes you cold. Under Armour type wicking material first is best for cold, even regular undies. There are a ton of manufactures now that make a similar product.

If you can find Galyan's Shaw Grigsby Signature waders, they are manufacured by Simm's. Althought DSP bought Galyan's about 5 years ago. I have a pair, that lasted me 3 pretty hard years of fishing, and the 4 past years which I probably only used 10 times per year. I do give them a good cleaning and Nik Waxing once every other year or so. Only issue that I have are the elastic in the suspenders is completely stretched out. I had the Cabela's Dry Fit prior and lasted maybe a year without leak, then another year with slow leak until unbearable... The Nik Wax didn't work on recharging them, I think it is only good for Gore Tex. The Cabela's were the ones that I found out about not wearing jeans under, so using properly, not sure how long they would have lasted.

+1 and the fleece pants are more comfortable to wear then jeans under waders.

ORIGINAL: dano

ORIGINAL: silverman31

Just recieved my pair of Simms freestone breathables with 4mm stocking foot.  I am wondering if jeans and long johns an a pair of hunting socks with 2 insulated wollen shirts will work for this Fall/Winter.  I previously owned cabelas 5mm and 3mm neo bootfoot.  Great waders but but super heavy.  

Don't wear jeans under breathables.
A couple of reasons but jeans will wear out the inside layer of your waders.
Also, cotton jeans absorb and hold water/moisture. 
Get fleece pants, hunting or fishing or ski types.

ORIGINAL: moose22dog

LL.BEAN!!! lifetime waranty!!...enough said!!!

I'd buy them if their sizing fit 6'4" - 200lbs The longest Rapid River I saw were 33" inseam with a max 11.5 - 12 shoe size....are you kidding me?

^lmao..

yea, cause that's the only waders Elwood keeps on stock ;)

Simms was the best wader manufacturer for many, many years. It seems that in the past few years their QC and service after the sale has slipped, if not significantly, then certainly noticeably. Things to bear in mind when discussing and choosing which waders are best for you:

What is your physical build? If you are a prototypical Sm, Md, Lg or XL, chances are that you will find a far wider breadth of waders to choose from that will fulfill your needs. Stress on seams is perhaps the single largest culprit for leaks, outside of actual tearing. If you are appreciably stout, short, tall, or anything outside the norm of the Sm-XL range, you will find it harder to find an inexpensive pair of waders that will suit you. When Simms and Patagonia offer 24 various sizes, you will inevitably end up finding a pair that are well suited to your body type, and thus will ultimately have far less strain on your seams than if you are pigeon-holed into an off the rack size.

How much do you hike in your waders? If you are a from-the-parking lot to-the-streamside type of angler (nothing wrong with that) you will certainly have fewer issues of wear and tearing than the hombre who climbs vertical cliffs of shale and thorn bushes and spends as many hours hiking in their waders as actual water time. Consider how much trudging around you tend to log in daily.

Care. If you continue to charge recklessly thorugh bushes, thorns, fencing et al... you are far more likely to puncture your waders than if you were to take caution when trekking through such environs. Again, nothing inherently wrong with either tactic, one simply needs to be realistic in evaluating what type of wear your waders are likely to see. Do you stand on a carpet or cardboard when putting your waders on, or are you liable to stand in the neoprene booties on bare asphalt, gravel, etc...?

I have owned many a pair of waders over the years. Simms, Patagonia and surpringly Orvis have been the best for me, and have had decent results from Cabelas and Redington. Had poor experiences with LL Beans, but as noted, this may be unique to my needs and use.

Spend what you are comfortable spending, take care in getting the correct size, and then treat your waders as if you want them to last. Everything else is gravy.

loomis,

I know that you know that I know that, you could have just gotten right to his obsession with simms... i think dru and I MAY be making a one dayer this weekend.. i have to wait until he gets out of bed.  back to old habits now he's back from AK

i just texted you... we headed mup or what?  i'm feeling a one dayer and then a long trip soon after