2009 Orvis Silver label stocking foot waders

[kyle]

They only lasted 6 months? for the money they cost I'd be pretty disappointed, did they send you a new pair?

-kyle

[TexasChris]

I never called to complain. I just went out and bought a different brand.

[kyle]

Well judging by what jovalle said you should have, it sounds like they have great service and probably would have repaired your old ones or given you new waders.

-kyle

[TexasChris]

I was talking about the bailey wading boots.

[jovalle]

You should contact Bailey's - I've spoken a bunch to John Bailey and he's a pretty decent guy. I think their stuff is supposed to be economical, but I can't imagine they'd put their name on complete crap.

[kyle]

Oh my bad I thought you were talking about patagonia waders because you came in right after my post about patagonia waders and didn't specify what you were talking about, boy do I feel like an idiot lol

And jovalle, they are economical, they are very reasonably priced. I love bailys and think they are great waders, ripin does not but everybody is entitled to their opinion.

-kyle

[TexasChris]

The waders could be great for all I know. I only have experience with their boots.

[Nymphmeister]

Many of the companies mentioned in this thread have excellent customer service, LL Bean is fantastic in that regard, and Patagonia is very good. I'm surprised to hear bad things about the Orvis customer service, because while I think many of their products are complete crap, I've always thought their customer service was above average.

I guess the point I was trying to make before is that if the product is well made, you don't have to worry about customer service so much. And in the long run, quality products often cost less if you factor in how much longer they last. Also it is a pleasure to use a great product, it adds to your enjoyment & comfort. Much frustration is also saved by products that don't constantly fail on you. It's great that some companies totally stand behind their product, but when its poorly made or uses sub par materials, it WILL fail on you when you least want it to.

Personally, I'd rather conserve on my rods and fish TFO's instead of my Sages (and I do love Sage) if that's what I needed to do to put myself in Simms waders. I spend too much time in waders to be uncomfortable or frustrated by them. Even if I didn't work in a fly shop, I would still do what I had to do to pony up the $ to get them. That's my 2 cents, I'll shut up now. :P

[TroutAholic]

I've also had problems with Orvis waders, the Silver Labels specifically. The first pair lasted about 3 months before they started leaking at the seams. I sent those back for repair, and was pleasantly surprised to get a brand new pair a week later. However, the new pair started leaking at the seams after about two months. I haven't gotten around to sending them back, so I am disappointed to hear that Orvis may have started being stricter about warranty issues. I will send them back, just to have a back-up pair. I replaced them a little over a year ago with a pair of Simms G3's and could not be happier; expensive, yes, but they are much better made, the material feels considerably more durable than the Silver Labels, and yet is just as breathable, if not more so. Plus, no leaks!

By the way, I was told that leaking at the seams could be caused by leaving your waders in the car during hot weather; the heat can weaken the glue used on the taped seams. After hearing that I was very careful with the second pair of Silver Labels not to expose them to those kind of conditions, and yet they started leaking after only two months.

As for L.L. Bean, my first pair of breathable waders were from them (I think they were called the West Branch?), and they were extremely durable, though not as comfortable in hot weather as the Simms are. They lasted about three and a half years, and I average about 50 days a year on the water, plus, I am the type that will plunge through pricker bushes (can't wait to get to the water!).

Steve

[BlackLabel]

Everyone has their own opinion on waders that much is clear just by reading all this. Also everyones situation is differnt. For me if I spent $400 dollars on a pair of waders they better have trout attractant built in and be bullet proof. I do understand that two pairs of crap $200 waders are worthless compared to one pair of $400 waders. Right now I have a pair of super cheap columbia waders and they are junk they are mostly made of wader patch now and I only got them this spring. I have on order from LL Bean a pair of rapid river waders they look like they are going to be really nice but the bad is that I've had them on order for a few weeks now and I'm not going to get them until the begining of next month. I hope its worth the wait. Long story short everyone prefers differnt things for differnt reasons. If something works for you don't worry about what everyone else says just use it.