Wader questions

[am4mu]

I am going to Taney the first week of October and on the way I am going to stop and see Michael at BCO to purchase my first set of waders. I am going to get the Chota boots, but does anyone have any input on wheteher I should get the Simm's L2's or should I splurge foe the G3's. Also what would be a good vest and what should I be thinking about for undergarments. I have looked at Simm's and Fishpond vests and they both look good.

Thanks,

Doug

[timsfly]

I have a pair of the G-3's they are great and tough as nails, the only holes were caused by me fishing on small creeks in the area, briar holes are what I call them. If you can justify the price get the G-3's. I've never had a bad pair of simms waders.

[am4mu]

Thanks, Tim

Don't you have a shop over by Roaring River? I am going to be on Table Rock the last week of this month. Maybe I can stop by and meet you.

Thanks,

Doug

[flyfshn]

am4mu...I bought a less expensive pair of Simms, so I could also purchase a set of neoprene...for the varying weather conditions. If it is cold out, I wear my neoprene....the rest of the time I wear my Simms.

[timsfly]

Thanks, Tim

Don't you have a shop over by Roaring River? I am going to be on Table Rock the last week of this month. Maybe I can stop by and meet you.

Thanks,

Doug

Yes I do, come by and see me if you get in my area.

[am4mu]

Thanks flyfshn,

I had not considered that approach. That is why I was asking about undergarment reccomendations. I will certainly check it out.

Thanks,

Doug

[flyfshn]

If you are fishing Taney and you have a pair of Simms, you will probably want a pair of good thermal underwear and a good pair of wool socks. When I fish Taney (any time of year), I generally wear my neoprene since it is cold and just wait shorts or what ever I am wearing that day and bring a pair of socks. When I fish the Meramec or other streams, I wear my Simms. Simms dry faster than the neoprene and are easier to get on and off. When I am hiking down to the meramec, I have a backpack that I put my gear, simms, boots, etc in and put them on at the stream so I dont get any holes in the brush, etc.

[Greg]

I'm definitely a Simms guy. Love the quality of their stuff. It has never let me down yet. I think both the L2 waders or the G3 would do you well. It just depends on what you want. The G3's are fancier with more pockets and features. I have the old Simms lightweights the predecessors to the L2. They have lasted 2 years and still going strong - which is good for me. I'm evidently hard on waders. I also bought mine from Michael at BCO. I finally listened to him and stopped buying cheap $100 waders from BPS.

I fish Taney all 4 seasons and I wear medium wt fleece pants under my waders year around (the temp of the water doesn't vary much) and I'm pretty darned comfortable. Fleece made a big difference to me in comfort over the cotton sweats I used to wear - much warmer and more breathable.

I also own a Simms Guide vest - I had a Simms Freestone that I liked but saw a Guide vest used on ebay. It was in great shape - almost new. I really like it. Simms even sent me a replacement foam fly patch and retractor clip even though I told them I did not buy it new. Now that's customer service!!

Good luck,

Greg

[vanven]

I second the fleece underpants. Cabella's sells a decent medium fleece pant in the $20 to $30 range depending if you can catch them on sale. I wear them 90% of the time and add a decent pair of wool hiking socks for winter. Fleece tends to stay warm whether wet or dry.

I wear a William Joseph Fusion vest that I love. It is very similiar to the Simms vests but a bit cheaper in cost. You wont find a better warranty than WJ offers as well. I wrote a review on these forums and a quick search should net you my review.

Waders are a tough buy. You tend to get what you pay for in quality, but all waders will eventually get holes and leaks. I tend to purchase waders that I think will last several seasons without breaking the bank. I have a pair of Cabella's Guide Tech waders that cost me around $200 and I am very happy with. I am a bit limited on my selection of waders. At 6'4" I can generally only wear tall sized waders and there is a limited selection of those available.

I am not a big Cabella's fan but its much closer to me than most fly shops and their return policy is generally very lenient. My next purchase of waders will probably be a pair of William Joseph if I can find a pair that fits well.

-Jerod

[Greg]

VanVen I'm 6'4" as well but the XXL size of my Simms Lightweights is definitely long enough for me as were the cheaper BPS XXL breathables I had before that. Not doubting you - I'm just surprised that you have difficulty with fit. We could be proportioned differently though. I have a buddy that is 6'5" and he's way longer through the legs than I am.

Greg