Insulated waders

[mhall]

Alright you wader guru's what kind of chest waders do I need to keep my nads from freezing off that won't leak and won't put me in the poor house? I am going to get me some as them old Smalljaws need to eat my jigs in the winter to.

Also how heavy do you dress under them, how much room do I need in them, give me the 411 on this stuff so I won't make a bad buy.

[apb]

If you are only going to use them in winter, never any other time of year, you could get some neoprene waders. If there is the possibility that you'll use them at other times, pick up some breathable waders and just wear under armor and other cold weather gear under. I picked up a pair of LL Bean breathable waders 4-5 years ago. Used them surf fishing and hitting the creeks. Don't sweat my nads off if I have to hike some (like with surf fishing), but room to wear other stuff under neath if I fish cold weather.

[Moveon]

If you are only going to use them in winter, never any other time of year, you could get some neoprene waders. If there is the possibility that you'll use them at other times, pick up some breathable waders and just wear under armor and other cold weather gear under. I picked up a pair of LL Bean breathable waders 4-5 years ago. Used them surf fishing and hitting the creeks. Don't sweat my nads off if I have to hike some (like with surf fishing), but room to wear other stuff under neath if I fish cold weather.

Do you wear stocking foot waders or boot foot waders with those Breathable type? I've got the stocking foot waders in neoprene. They remind me of walking around in a scuba diving wet suit.

And in the summer time you will sweat in the neoprene waders.

If you get the stocking foot waders then you will have to buy some wading shoes and gaiters to keep the gravel out of your shoes. If you fish slimy smooth rocks in streams then think Felt Soles on those wading shoes. Get a quality pair of felt sole wader boots so that the felt won't fall off after a few times in the stream.

I've fly fished the Mountain Streams in the Smokey Mountains a few times and the water is cold but 3 mm thick neoprene waders will keep you warm.

Now dry is a relative term. If you fall down you are going to get wet. And falling down is easy to do when there is a current pushing against your feet/legs and moss or algae makes the smooth rocks slick as wet ice on a cold dark street.

[apb]

Boot foot with felt soles for traction on moss and wet rocks.

[mhall]

Thanks Andrew but won't I get wet with the breathables. What I'm saying is right now wading....

[psprowler]

Get breathable waders. I've had cheap and I've had expensive, both have one thing in common - they will leak at some point. The seams wear out usually along the inside legs but it's nothing aquaseal won't fix. I've currently got low level Simms and they are sufficient. BPS branded breathables are hit and miss, Hodgman's I've had no luck with, and the best pair I've ever owned were Reddington's. Get them a size bigger and layer up underneath.

On bottom:
Under armour base layer 3.0
fleece pants from Cabela's
Flannel lined khaki type pants over that (only when it's really cold)

On top:
Under armour base layer 3.0
fleece pullover
Coat (heavyness dependent on air temp)

Two pairs of thick socks, with disposable hand-warmers applied directly the top of each foot
Gloves with disposable hand-warmers applied directly to top of each hand

Ski-mask, balaclava, or tobaggan depending on air temp and wind.

I'm never cold when wading and can stand in one spot up to an hour if necessary. It was 20 degrees Wednesday when I started and I was sweating by the end of the day.

[psprowler]

Forgot to mention go for stockingfoot over attached boot, that way you can get the right sized boots. The bootfoot waders tend to be mismatched for folks (say you're short but have big feet - most bootfoots won't match up with the rest of the wader size-wise).

Breathables wick away moisture - it's a one way direction. You won't get wet with them unless you fall in or post yourself on a barbwire fence. I've done both.

[Moveon]

Wish we still had the "Like Button". Great post and very informative.

I'm looking for something to wear as a Mid Layer to stay warm and dry under my Field and Stream Camo Hunting Parka/bibs. I don't need more insulation as the Parka and Bibs have plenty of Insulate Insulation built into them.

But I want something that will wick water to the outside and though the Field & Stream Parka. The F&S parka has what the field and stream Marketing guys call Hydro-proof and I don't think it breaths like it should. The F&S Parka has a zipped in liner/jacket that can be taken out and worn as a reversible light weight Thinsulate insulated jacket itself. The Parka is ok when I take the liner out but then I don't stay as warm as I like. With the liner zipped into the Parka it's very heavy and does not let the sweat evaporate out though the Parka. The liner gets wet and the inside of the sleeves get wet as well. Not good IMHO. So maybe another layer under the Parka alone would work better for hunting in the cold weather. Fleece or Wool is my opinion would work better. Wool stays warm even if its' wet. Not sure what Fleece is made from. Hopefully it's not cotton fibers. I'm trying to stay away from cotton fibers material.

I bought the Field and Steam Parka/liner/Bib setup at ****'s Sporting Goods store about 6 years ago.

I think that the main problem with this system Is the Thinsulate inner jacket which is reversible. Camo on one side and brown on the other. I wear it with out the parka over it and it's OK for cool weather but not warm enough when it's really cold outside. But it still retains water (sweat) even without the parka over it. So that tells me that the inner Thinsulate liner is the problem. It not breathing the water though it to the parka. Wearing both the liner jacket and the parka is like wearing a 15 lb. rubber sweat suit.


Hydro-proof is suppose to mimic or be like Gortex I suspect but I'm not so sure that it's breathable or water proof either. That's what the marketing types tell us but I trust them about as far as I can throw them.

Now I wear the polypropylene type long johns that don't hold moisture ( Plastic polypropylene is hydrophobic and won't absorb water like cotton fibers. So it's not going to get soaking wet like cotton fibers from sweat.

Get breathable waders. I've had cheap and I've had expensive, both have one thing in common - they will leak at some point. The seams wear out usually along the inside legs but it's nothing aquaseal won't fix. I've currently got low level Simms and they are sufficient. BPS branded breathables are hit and miss, Hodgman's I've had no luck with, and the best pair I've ever owned were Reddington's. Get them a size bigger and layer up underneath.

On bottom:
Under armour base layer 3.0
fleece pants from Cabela's
Flannel lined khaki type pants over that (only when it's really cold)

On top:
Under armour base layer 3.0
fleece pullover
Coat (heavyness dependent on air temp)

Two pairs of thick socks, with disposable hand-warmers applied directly the top of each foot
Gloves with disposable hand-warmers applied directly to top of each hand

Ski-mask, balaclava, or tobaggan depending on air temp and wind.

I'm never cold when wading and can stand in one spot up to an hour if necessary. It was 20 degrees Wednesday when I started and I was sweating by the end of the day.

[Tim_T]

You won't get wet with breathables, but they are not designed for warmth. For winter fishing I have a pair of boot foot, Orvis neoprenes that have kept me warm in the coldest weather I will venture out in. I also have a pair of breathable Simms wader that I wear spring, fall and summer. If it were just for winter I would definitely go with Neoprenes.

[mhall]

Man................good stuff guys thanks alot. This site is awesome in the fact that you can flat out get some good guidance and learn.
Like my Dad use to tell me. When you quit learning you've stopped listening...

[GeoFisher]

Just make sure you're save and use a wading belt.

I stepped off a years ago in White River, and about drowned. completely filled up the waters.

Fortunately the water was swift, and swept me , tumbling down stream where I ended up in neck deep water, but was able to climb myself out.

It was TOUGH.....and I was a young buck when it happened.

Later,

Geo

[apb]

Yep, definitely use a wader belt as Geo stated. I should have noted that in my first post. A definite must. The breathables let the moisture out (sweat, not the moisture you get from big brown fish eating a topwater plug ) As others suggested, determine what times of year you'll be using them and go from there.

One thing that I will say about neoprene is that even when full of water, you will float in them. Now, getting out of the water on a steep bank would be another story cause you'll have the added weight of the water to lift out.