These waders so far have been great. Here is my review so far.
The little black connectors that hook the suspenders to the waders have an open loop for whatever reason, I guess so you can remove the suspenders. They were really bad about coming off when you put them on and if the one on the back comes off you have to remove the waders to put it back on. I hated them so I took the little black connectors off and replaced them with carabineers so now I can remove them if I want to but they won’t come off if I don’t. No big deal, problem solved.
Neoprene built in gravel guards. I don’t like them at all! They collect all those little hitch hikers in the weeds. And those dreaded little balls with tiny needles sticking out everywhere. I’d like to see them replaced with gravel guards that are hitch hiker proof. Not a big deal either but worth pointing out.
The waders are 5 layer and are much thicker them my old guidelites from Hodgeman. This means they are warmer which for me is a good thing since I only wear them in cold weather. This also means they are tough as hell which is a good thing since I’m hard on my equipment.
The breathability is outstanding and I have had no wader sweats at all. However breathability only goes so far so beware pooting in these and deep wading later in the day. You might get a blast from the past if you know what I mean. I'm sure Phartzen Waders knows what I mean.
The waist wader feature is great on these hot fall days, especially when I’m guiding and not in the water as much or as deep. I really love the big Velcro adjustable belt built into them!
The conversion to chest waders is very simple and works great. They nailed it, nuff said.
These waders wear comfortable and look good. The only negative thing I’ve found is that they are a little small around the lower legs. Not a big deal as long as I can still wear my insulated pants and be comfortable, and I can.
Made in Montana and they reek of high quality craftsmanship! You can tell as soon as you pick them up that these are some solid waders.
Overall I’ll give them a big thumbs up and would recommend them to anyone in the market. Head over to Fly South pick a pair up and fondle them, try em out. Talk to the guys in the shop they can probably sell you on them even better than I can.
