For those of you that use them, do they give you enough room to really layer up in cold water and still be warm? I have a full line of my old military issue "black" polartec cold weather clothing wich is extremely warm, yet thin and flexible. I want to continue to tube places like Success, Isabella, Castaic in the winter. Any extra suggestions would be great!

I do know one guy that uses them but doesnt come online. I do know he wont use any other kind of wader anymore. He also told me that if I get them to get a much larger size so you can layer on the warm clothes

I have some cabela's premium dry plus and they are great!I haven't been cold(layering is the way to go).You might want to get a size bigger so you can layer up with out having to worry about the fit.Also if you get them from cabela's you can talk to a product specialist and they can give you the skinny.
Hope this helps,Swampy

I also use them and have had no problem getting enough layers under them to stay warm. The max I've used was three layers: long johns, sweats, jeans.

Haven't had to yet, but my Hodgman Wade-Lite waist-hi breathables appear to have plenty of room for 'expansion.' I first ordered the XXL's off the web (around $95 total, with shipping included), but they were *comically* large. :+ The XL's work fine for me.

Guess you need to try some on & see what size works best for you.

Otherwise, all I know is, mine are great! I've been nothing but comfortable any time I've worn them. And I'm guessing this winter will be no different.

- jeff

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Every day Congress convenes, we lose a little more of our LIBERTY!!!

(-- Mark Levin, radio-show host/KSFO 3-6pm)

I formerly worked for a company that makes breathable waders. You should be okay with polartec fleece under your wader. I highly suggest you invest in some midweight underwear, something that wicks (Capilene from Patagonia, REI's midweight wicking underwear).
People get cold in active sports because they are sweaty and if it soaks their clothes on their skin the wind chill or weather will make them lose their core temperature. When in waders, the cold water outside your wader around your legs and midsection will refrigerate the sweat that is accumulating inside. So a wicking underwear like Capilene will sponge the sweat from your skin and move it to the breathable part of your wader fabric. You can wear your polartec over the underwear, it will not impede the wicking.
Also to note, do you have a neoprene footed wader or a sock footed wader?
Neoprene will be much warmer but stinkier. Again invest in a good wicking sock for the same reasons above.
Lastly, guys, keep your breathable wader clean. Salt crystals from your sweat will render your breathable wader useless. It basically clogs the breathable membrane. SO WASH your waders regularly!
Take care, have fun... grrlfeeeesh

PS---Most breathable waders are designed to layer product underneath. Usually a polarfleece and a long underwear were fitted onto the wader in the design during sizing.

Wow,thanks for the tips!It sounds like you are the one who knows waders.How would you wash the breathable kind?(Hose,washer ect..)
Any advice would be appreciated, Swampy

Try to treat your wader like a piece of equiptment. Different intervals require different maintenance. Also if you read any of the tags that came with your wader, it should have come with "care and feeding instructions" if you still have them it is best to follow those.
However, most major manufacturers use a very similar fabric from each other. A breathable wader has 3-5 layers of technical mumbo jumbo synthetic/polyester materials sandwiched together to make it breathable.

For your regular cleanings, you can just hose down your wader (inside out) on your front lawn or whatever. If you are a saltwater fisherman, you need to hose down both sides. Salt crystals are your enemy. If I'm on the beach, I try to use the outside shower the surfers use to wash off the sand. Then I hose down the inside when I get home.

For deep cleaning, put the wader in the washer on cold with just a teeny bit of mild detergent. You need enough detergent to break up any oil buildup from your body. Basically just take a small handful of detergent and throw it in.

Okay now here's the tricky part. Drying. If you have a 5 layer fabric wader you need to renew the DWR coating on the outside. Unless you're a geek (like me, who just knows), how would a person know if you have 5 layers? The easy tip off is if you spent over $200 retail for the wader... you most likely have a DWR coating. The DWR coating is the waterproof part on the outside, renewing the coating is a normal part of maintenance. In order to renew the coating you run your wader through the dryer on LOW. Low is really important! HIGH will FRY! About 10-15 minutes will do the trick.

Also, check your seams perodically (on the inside). Where your seams come together, there should be a seam tape over it. Sometimes you'll see dot patches too, they usually cover the suspender attachment. Keeping the integrity of the seams are important because if you're going to spring a leak, it will be on a seam. Regular cleaning is important because the salt from your body will crystalized in the space between the tape and the inside fabric, it will accelerate the separation of the tape. If you see any separation of the tape from the seam, you can buy a glue for it (at any nicer outdoor shop). If it's big separation, send it back to the manufacturer for repair or if you're under warranty they'll replace the wader.