Breathable Waders with Insulated Uppers

It's not the benefit of trapping air inside the waders to aid in floatation, it's denying water ingress, which quickly lowers body temperature and makes getting out of the water all that much more strenuous and demanding due to the extra weight of the entrapped water. I've "stepped-off" into deep water in breathables and standard waders, but never neopenes. The first thing that you have to due when exiting the water is to crawl out prone and the get you feet up in the air to drain the waders prior standing. Getting back into a boat, even with help from fellow crew members is quite challenging in warm water...even more so in frigid water conditions.
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Yes, these examples emphasize the utility of a float coat over top of waders. With a zipped up float coat, you can fall in or overboard and not be saturated for quite some time. I'd encourage everyone to try it, you don't even submerge.
 
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I have the same Cabelas brand as others have mentioned and I have a pair of the Cabelas Ultimate (or something like that) 5 mm neoprene with 1600 grams of thinsulate in the feet. This last season I never wore the neoprene. Last year I hunted at -11 deg F and wore the breathables. So much more comfortable. I do hunt out of a boat and when my feet get cold, I hop in the water to warm them up.


When it gets really cold, I wear a nice pair of long john's and some fleece lined hunting pants. Never ever get cold on the upper body. On top of this I wear long john tops, turtle neck, chamois shit and either a drake pullover or a 4 in 1 Columbia wader jacket.


I am at most standing in water up past my knees so if you are in water deeper than this, don't know what to tell you.


If you are a size 9 - 10 I'll ship mine down and you can try them out. Hunting is over up here and water will be freezing up in the coming week or so. Let me know.


Mark W
 
Thanks for all the advice. I'm now leaning on breathables when I make my next wader purchase.

Mark, Thomas and I are both 11's but thanks just the same. That was a nice offer.
 
Eric

I have hunted Cabelas uninsulated breathable's for 3 seasons now. Will never go back to neoprene. They guarantee them for life as long as you have a receipt. This doesn't cover you tearing them but if a seam fails they will replace them.

When its cold I wear 1 pair of long johns and a fleece lined wader pant and have managed fine. A nice thin wicking sock and 1 pair of wool socks as well.
I will say I have only hunted for extended amount of time standing in calf high water with them and did not get cold but cant speak for standing in waist high water although I would not be afraid to with these.
They also dry faster and are lighter to pack
 
I'm with the breathable waders group. Bought a pair of Simms Guide 11 years ago and still using them. Use to go through a pair of waders every 1-2 years between fishing and duck hunting. Found out about Simms and they out wear most waders out there. Had some seepage over the years and just sealed it with aqua seal on the inside of the wader. If you buy them in the off season you can get some deals on them. Also seen them in the bargain cave in Cabelas.
Just like the others stated, in cold weather / water I wear them with long underwear, fleece pants and insulated hunting pants, with two pair of warm socks and stay warm in cold temperatures.
As it turns out the Simms waders were the cheapest waders I bought because I'm not replacing them every other year.
 
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