Breathable Waders?

[JP]

I’m in the market for stocking foot breathable waders to use surf fishing and float tubing. I’d like to know your experience (good or bad) with these and recommendation. I’m considering Hodgeman Stream King (a Sport Chalet exclusive), Hodgeman Wadelite, Albright Trinity or something from BassPro, Cabela’s, or Sierra Trading Post. I don’t want to spend more than C note. I’m leaning toward the Stream Kings as they can be bought locally and appear to be a little nicer than the Wadelite’s.

[Wingnut]

If you're going to purchase one pair of waders, breathables is the way to go. Light and versatile, a little cool in the winter months but not too bad. Hodgman makes pretty decent waders, reliable and inexpensive. I have a couple of pairs of the Wadelite series waders, stocking foot and boot foot... never had any problems with them.

Good luck out there. :Cool:

[City Dad]

Ditto what the Wingster said. You can always throw on a pair of longjohns if it gets really cold.

IMHO it's good to go with something from a retail store which you can try on before purchasing. There's no worse surprise then recieving a package, getting stoked to go fishing and then realizing that they don't fit right or are somehow defective, etc..

And re-enforced knees are a very nice feature.

(and I always keep my eyes peeled when I go into a tackle/sporting goods store. You never know what's going to be on sale. I picked up a pair of Frog Toggs for sixty bucks.)

[JP]

If you're going to purchase one pair of waders, breathables is the way to go. Light and versatile, a little cool in the winter months but not too bad. Hodgman makes pretty decent waders, reliable and inexpensive. I have a couple of pairs of the Wadelite series waders, stocking foot and boot foot... never had any problems with them.

Good luck out there. :Cool:

Thanks Wingnut, I really value your opinion. It's good to know the Hodgman have worked for you.

[BassEngineer]

I just bought a pair the other day at Sports Authority. I got the $99.99 pair of Hodgmans for $75. The Wadelites are $75 right now. I haven't tried them in the water yet, but them seem comfortable.

[JP]

I ended up buying the Hodgman Stream Kings from Sport Chalet. They were normally $99, on sale and because my purchase totaled more than $100, it was discounted by $25. So they only ended up costing me $69. IMO the are a little nicer than the Wadelite's.

[kozaki]

JP, I just purchased a set of Stream Kings as well (have yet to test out). I liked the pocket features compared to the Wadelites. Also, the xl on the Stream Kings is a lot slimmer fit than that of the Wadelites- the SK fit me much better with plenty of clearance for layered warmth. The employee mentioned that he thought the Wadelites were phasing out- who knows (maybe that's why they were on sale?).

Did you pick out a pair of boots yet?

-greg

[ikeman]

Hodgeman wadelites. Not too expensive and do the job. Just throw some thermals under your pants in the middle of the winter and you are fine...

[JP]

JP, I just purchased a set of Stream Kings as well (have yet to test out). I liked the pocket features compared to the Wadelites. Also, the xl on the Stream Kings is a lot slimmer fit than that of the Wadelites- the SK fit me much better with plenty of clearance for layered warmth. The employee mentioned that he thought the Wadelites were phasing out- who knows (maybe that's why they were on sale?).

Did you pick out a pair of boots yet?

-greg

Greg, I really like my Stream Kings. I've used them twice now without any problems. A friend of mine purchased a pair as backups for his $300 Simms. He fished them last Saturday and was impressed.

As for boots, I found a $5 pair of aqua socks at Sports Authority that I'm using now. I'll probably upgrade to booties from Bob Marriot.