Hunt Talk Radio - Look for it on your favorite Podcast platform

Bear Wader Recommendation

shaffe48

New member
Joined
Jan 26, 2018
Messages
388
Hi, I'll be in Alaska at the end of May flying into a river system for a black bear hunt. I already have good wading boots. I also bought some 440 denier stocking foot hip waders to wear under my rain pants. But after testing them I've decided I want stocking foot waist highs which I'll wear without the rain pants preferably. These need to stand up to lots and lots of walking through thick brush. To my understanding, breathable waders won't do that, at least in my price range. I'm eying a pair of 5mm neoprene. Will these be way too hot in 30-50 degree weather? I think canvass or even rubber might be ideal. But these seem to be hard to find, especially in the waist high stocking foot variety.

Any suggestions?
 
I wouldn't wear the neoprene you'll sweat to much in those, breathable would be my pick. You may consider only wearing them when crossing streams and change out of them. A set of Healy Henson rain bibs may be the trick?
 
Neoprene will be by far the most durable but you will pay for it in sweat.... I spend over half of my summers in waders (as I'm a stream fish biologist) and the better way to go is breathable waders. Unfortunately for me, my profession does not allow me to use breathables but I would if I could. I have couple personal pairs I use for stream fishing and all I can say is you get what you pay for. I'm a big fan of simms but there are several options out there that should be suitable for you. Just bring to aquaseal.
 
I went ahead and got the breathable version. The ones I got actually seem more durable than the 5mm neoprene which seemed to increase the temp in the room as soon as I put them on. I will have to bring the aqualseal and maybe I'll put my rain pants (which are hh) over them for good measured. The reason I went with waders instead of knee highs in the first place is because I'll likely be moving along the river a lot and maybe visiting marshes. I don't think I'll be able to cross it without a snorkel but I'm sure I'll have to cross tributaries as well. With the hip waders I keep wanting to wade to my waist and I overflow them.
 
I may have found the solution to my current and future brush bucking needs. I got some some chaps from Dan's briarproof which is located less than an hour from me in Ohio. They are 1000 denier and well made and...a little over $30. They fit right over my waders. We'll see how they do.

PS they also custom make hip waders to quality rubber boots if you're not into wading boots.
 
Last edited:
I may have found the solution to my current and future brush bucking needs. I got some some chaps from Dan's briarproof which is located less than an hour from me in Ohio. They are 1000 denier and well made and...a little over $30. They fit right over my waders. We'll see how they do.

PS they also custom make hip waders to quality rubber boots if you're not into wading boots.

This
Their warranty is second to none. I lost a boot when it fell off a truck ,yes I know, either way I called them and they custom made another boot for me out of seconds they had laying around. It's a perfect match and they only charged me shipping.
I highly recommend them

I've been using them for bear hunting in briars and swamps of ga and nc for 3 years now and they still work great. I'm taking them to newfoundland for moose this fall
 
So I think my basic system worked, but I need a better pair of waders. I had a pair of branded waders from a big box outdoor retailer. By the end of the hunt, I thought I was getting wet feet but thought maybe it was sweat. But I was able to go fishing the next day and ended up with a sopping left foot. I filled them with water in my bath tub inside out and they are leaking right where the neoprene boot meets the breathable wader. So it's not that the devil's club penetrated the 100 denier chaps but rather it's due to the low quality of the wader at the seems. So I'm taking them back..I got with Dan's and asked them if they would attach their frogleg to a stockingfoot but they said no. I don't want to give up my Simms Freestone wading boots which worked great. There seems to be more options in chest waders so maybe I'll try them.
 
Or maybe I'll try the Simms Freestone waist high waders. Can anyone report on the longevity of these?
 
Back
Top