redneck_billcollector
Purveyor Of Fine Spirits
While I normally wet wade if I can get away with it, now that I am moving into the semi-retired mode and have recently built my dream vehicle, I intend to spend more time on streams (and pursuing all the other outdoors activities that I love). Being in Georgia, I know we can wet wade for the majority of the year, but I have the desire to chase fish all over the country/western hemisphere with my fly rod. I just got back from the Pink Salmon run in Minnesota and it was fun, but it was not cold enough to need waders, but I plan on chasing some Great Lakes Steelhead this winter/early spring and then a Merriam's Turkey trip to southwestern Colorado in April (and I hope to tag out early enough to get in some fly fishing) and I know I will need a good set of waders for those trips. I am also planning a trip to the "Great White North" making my way to Hudson's Bay (they now have a road to it) and the Arctic Ocean in both the N.W. Territories and Alaska with the goal of catching Arctic Char DIY (along with hopefully gobs of Arctic Grayling and huge Brook trout, they would be on the way to Hudson's Bay)
I have a pair of Orvis Waders that have worked good, but it is probably time to get a new set. I have been looking at the Simms models with a zipper, which now that I am old and getting fat, sounds like a good idea. I am also looking at the boots that go with these. While I know many like felt soles, I have seen a number of streams that have signs not allowing felt soles, specifically out west. I am thinking about getting two sets of boots, one with the screw in cleats and one with felt soles.
The waders I am going to need are gonna have to be rugged and easy to repair and be easy to store out of the way. I am fortunate enough that money is not going to be a major issue and I certainly do not want to "go on the cheap" because in my 60 something odd years of life, most of it outdoors, I have learned it is much better to "spend once, cry once" than to spend multiple times and cry a lot.
Have any of y'all used the Simms waders that have the zipper? If so, I would really appreciate your thoughts on them, or any other really rugged waders for that matter.
I have a pair of Orvis Waders that have worked good, but it is probably time to get a new set. I have been looking at the Simms models with a zipper, which now that I am old and getting fat, sounds like a good idea. I am also looking at the boots that go with these. While I know many like felt soles, I have seen a number of streams that have signs not allowing felt soles, specifically out west. I am thinking about getting two sets of boots, one with the screw in cleats and one with felt soles.
The waders I am going to need are gonna have to be rugged and easy to repair and be easy to store out of the way. I am fortunate enough that money is not going to be a major issue and I certainly do not want to "go on the cheap" because in my 60 something odd years of life, most of it outdoors, I have learned it is much better to "spend once, cry once" than to spend multiple times and cry a lot.
Have any of y'all used the Simms waders that have the zipper? If so, I would really appreciate your thoughts on them, or any other really rugged waders for that matter.