Let’s talk about…….waders (new blog series?)
My sleep patterns are all over the place at the moment. I woke up at 4am on Saturday morning thinking about a blog review I wanted to write about a particular pair of breathable chest waders that I happen to think are essentially the perfect mix of durability and price, and I got to thinking about the intro to the review - and in turn I then got to thinking that if I wasn’t careful that review was going to end up longer than a frigging novel. Not I might add because there is so much that I want to tell you about these waders - they work! - rather that I have been regularly wearing some sort of chest waders for my fishing and indeed photography for around twenty five years now, and there’s a lot of thoughts and ideas in my head about waders (exciting eh?!). So I got to thinking about it, and I thought why not put some of this stuff into an article on here. I thought I’d go with the blog post title “Let’s talk about”, make it about waders today, see where I get with it, see if any of you here get much out of it - please let me know in the comments section below, feedback is so helpful - and then we can see if it’s worth breaking down more of the specific items of gear we use into a bit of a series of these “Let’s talk about” posts……………..
BCWs - Breathable Chest Waders
Anyway, waders, and more specifically for me, breathable chest waders and sometimes breathable waist waders which if you don’t know are trouser length breathable waders which I really like using out on the rocks especially because if I end up in the water with my auto-inflate lifejacket on then I believe they are far safer than chest waders - see a blog post of mine here about it here. Many, many moons ago if I wore chest waders for any of my fishing they would have been the regular and pretty heavy rubber variety where the boots are fixed to the waders and are usually some sort of wellington boot style thing. The waders like these that I know the most about these days are made by Vass, and whilst I can find a use for them for some of my surf fishing where I am not up and down cliffs and/or across lots of rocks, even then I can’t pretend that I remotely enjoy wearing these far heavier chest waders when compared to a far lighter and easier to move around in pair of breathable/lightweight chest waders.
The good old days
I first came across breathable or lightweight chest waders when bait fishing was still very much my thing and I started to do some photography work with a fly angler who has become a very good friend and who I admire the hell out of. Nick Hart was wearing these waders which looked a whole lot lighter than the heavy things I was sweating to death in, and via my work with a tackle company at the time I was able to get my hands on some Scierra waders and wading boots and I started to implement them into a certain amount of my own (bait fishing). As my bait fishing began moving over to lure fishing for these stunning fish we know as bass, plus as my fishing photography work began to revolve a fair amount around fly fishing, well breathable chest waders became more and more important to me - and the more time I started to spend lure fishing for bass and putting my waders and wading boots through this rather unique kind of fishing, the more I began to realise how much these waders which let’s face it are actually designed for a freshwater environment really didn’t like a harsh, rock-strewn saltwater environment that much.
You know how much I despise the word expert and all that it implies, but I do have a pretty strong inkling that there are very few UK anglers who have been using breathable chest waders (please can we call them BCWs to save my typing?) as long as me and as much as me for their saltwater fishing here in the UK or Ireland. I like to think that 20+ years of using and abusing god knows how many pairs of BCWs has given me enough experience and knowledge to at least be writing this blog post and trying to help a few of you out with some of the crap that gets spouted about these items of fishing tackle. Please note here that I am deliberately referring to BCWs as an item of fishing tackle, because with how I fish here in the UK and Ireland, BCWs are easily as important to me as a good lure rod or spinning reel.
Any viable alternatives to BCWs?
And yes, I have tried a few different alternatives to BCWs over the years - leggings, wet-wading, kayak stuff, you name it, I’ve tried it, and I have come to the conclusion that for saltwater based fishing like we do here in northern Europe where the sea is not at all warm and our style of fishing kinda forces us to spend time actually in the water and/or very close to it and getting splashed or rained on or what have you, a decent pair of BCWs and indeed BWWs (breathable waist waders) are non-negotiables for me. I can’t go fishing without a rod and reel and some lures, and into this category I also put a pair of BCWs. This might not be the case for you I might add, but I have done enough of trying other options and them not working for me to know what works for me - BCWs are vital for my fishing and indeed photography and I will spend what it takes to get a decent pair of them, just as I will spend what it takes to get a lure rod and spinning reel which I really enjoy fishing with.
I’ve used a few!
I don’t know how many different brands of waders I have worn over the years, but it’s a lot, and I have also worn and properly used all kinds of BCWs at a bunch of different price points. Some waders “breathe” better than others and of course a pair of BCWs can’t exactly “breathe” when you’re wading out to say your waist, but for whatever reason some BCWs cause me to sweat more or less than others when I am moving around a lot (surely a “Let’s talk about………..what to wear underneath your waders” is something worth looking at on here?). The one wader brand I have never worn is Patagonia, but I have worked around enough freshwater guides who rave about them to want to try them out. I can’t tell you anything about the BCWs from Vass because the sample pair they sent me way before they came to market failed pretty badly and I never got any more further down the line samples to try. Brands of BCWs or BWWs that I can remember wearing over the years are Vision, Scierra, Greys, Hardy, Simms, Hart, Savage Gear, plus I am sure a few others I can’t remember.
There is no getting away from this
Before we talk about how much this item of fishing tackle cost, there is one unavoidable fact here which in some ways negates any complaints that any of us might have if and when a pair of BCWs fail on us in saltwater - because they will, believe me, but some last much better than others. Saltwater kills waders just like it kills the internals of some spinning reels, and the unavoidable fact here is that BCWs are designed for freshwater fly fishing, and categorically not saltwater lure or fly fishing where we are putting them through so much more than they are made to do. It’s frustrating for sure, but it’s the way it is although I do have a pair of interesting BCWs here which are made by Hart and they claim that they are specifically for saltwater lure fishing - the Hart 25S Air STR Chest Waders. I need more time with them, but generally when you buy a pair of BCWs and go out lure fishing for bass you need to know that you are using them in a way that was not intended. Over a lot of time I have found out which BCWs do in fact hold up to my saltwater fishing really well - lots don’t! - but even then it becomes a cost versus time exercise, and what you are okay with. A couple of weeks a year of fly fishing for salmon on a river can’t really be compared to a lot of bass fishing in saltwater (there’s obviously salmon fishing and then there’s serious salmon fishing), and it always makes me laugh when I meet an angler who delights in telling me that their waders are ten years old and still going strong. “How often do you fish, how do you fish, and how much does your ghillie do for you?” usually gets me the answers I need, and these anglers always look a bit shocked when I tell them that if I get a year of perfect use from a pair of BCWs then I am more than happy.
How I look after and repair my BCWs
I have got a lot longer out of a pair of BCWs before I might add, but I am talking about 20+ years of using them hard and spending all sorts of money on them. How you fish, where you fish, and how often you fish is most likely different to me, so take me almost as a worst case example here. I am not lightweight, I walk fast, I fish a lot of rough ground, I am out and about a fair amount, and I wear BCWs a hell of a lot. Look after your BCWs - they do need washing down in freshwater as often as possible because breathable materials hate saltwater - and a good pair should last you okay. Hang them up when you are not using them, and I also like to turn them inside out after fishing to dry any sweat based moisture build up, plus the neoprene socks need an airing if you want to prevent them getting smelly. Make sure to wash your wading boots out if there’s any gravel or sand in them, because this will rub against the neoprene socks on your waders and eventually create a hole. If you slip on sharp rocks or catch yourself when trying to vault a barbed-wire fence then it is obviously not the fault of your waders, but get some Shoe Goo (same stuff as the far more expensive Aquasure wader repair stuff, and forget about those repair patches and glue which are usually supplied with BCWs - I bin them) and get accustomed to patching up the odd hole or tear. I tend to turn the waders inside out, secure some gaffer tape over the hole or tear, turn the waders back out, smear some Shoe Goo over the offending bit, and leave them to dry. It won’t look pretty, but it works. BCWs and also regular waders can and do suddenly fail on one of the seams, and you will know all about it because you will suddenly start feeling wet and then wondering if you have gone and wet yourself by mistake. The really good waders I know and trust don’t usually go on the seams out of the blue, but a lot of fishing and movement in these things is going to stress the materials and seams over time. How long that time is can sometimes be far too short an experience with rubbish BCWs.
Come on then Henry, how much do I need to spend?
So we’re going to have to talk about price at some point, and I know that some anglers are going to think no bloody way am I spending that much on a pair of waders when I can get them for far less. That’s obviously just fine - you might not even need them anyway but if you have got to here then you either do use them or you are thinking about them - but as I said, BCWs are non-negotiables for me and all I am trying to do is help a few of you out if I can. Via so much real time with so many different waders there is no point me trying to horseshit you here - I haven’t yet found a pair of BCWs for under the £150 mark which I consider worth using longterm for my own fishing, and to be perfectly honest I am up around the £200-£250 price point to get really happy. Yep, we are not talking about a cheap item of fishing tackle here, but I can’t do without them and I know what I can spend on a lure rod or spinning reel. BCWs are just as important to me and I sort of made peace with the fact that the fishing I love to do so much requires me to own a decent pair of BCWs if I am to do it effectively in some very up and down weather and conditions.
Now the good news is that I don’t personally think it’s worth spending a whole lot more than £250 on a pair of BCWs for bass fishing, or perhaps what I should say is that from bitter experience I can assure you that a far more expensive pair of BCWs is not buying you a longer wader-life in a saltwater environment. I am actually starting to play around with a pair of BCWs around the £350 mark, but aside from a better cut/fit and they are supremely comfortable to move around and fish in, some better fixtures and fitting, and without a doubt I am sweating less in them when I walk a lot, I will be surprised if these particular BCWs last much longer than my current go-to ones, the outstanding Vision Koski BCWs - review to come, most likely Wednesday. You can spend some seriously scary money on the top of the range Simms G4 waders (£800 anyone?), and whilst the expensive Simms BCWs are seriously comfortable and so on, unless something has drastically changed from a few years ago then they will not withstand our fishing any longer than something like the considerably cheaper Vision Koski BCWs. If I had a burning desire to spend £800 on a pair of BCWs I would personally buy two pairs of Vision Koski, keep one as a spare, and use the £300 change to spend on wading boots, wading studs and lures.
There is one brand of BCWs that I trust above all others
Those Hart 25S Air STR Chest Waders I mentioned earlier are interesting, and at the sub-£200 mark I am hoping that they work out because this would be really handy. You can see the specs of these waders here - note the reinforced, non-breathable legs, and breathable upper section, and whilst without a doubt the non-breathable legs do build up a bit more sweat inside, remember that I am not lightweight and I always walk fast. If these “reinforced for spinning from rocks” Hart 25S Air STR Chest Waders last then they could be a very viable option. I did get excited about a brand new pair of BCWs recently which I think are around the £150 mark - comfortable, lightweight, some decent features although they have just about the worst designed gravel guards on them I have ever seen, but after a good bit of use they went and failed on me out of the blue where I thought they might, and I can’t recommend them. I can only ever talk about the gear I know and use myself, but a hell of a lot of time with BCWs has convinced me of two things - firstly I can’t do without them for my fishing, and secondly, the fly fishing brand Vision make the best and best value for money BCWs which do actually work in my world. Other wader brands can and do work, but finding that sweet spot of price versus longevity can be an expensive mistake. I am often trying out different BCWs for my fishing, and if they end up working properly for me then I will always tell you about them here, but it’s BCWs from the fly fishing brand Vision which I prize above all others for my own fishing and fishing photography……………….