REVIEW: Simms Guide G3 Chest Waders - New Gore Tex Pro Fabric!

[@alanmarshall7045]

Hi Andy.. The G3 's are epic. I have the older set with the gravel guard clips, bought back in 2018,but make no mistake, they are quality. I wore them on our trip down the River Dove . So when we slid down the bank, I was somewhat cautious, but thank fully we found no snags or barbed wire . They are still going strong and I have never regretted buying them. Took a trip to Iceland this May 2023 and James Norris warned me that we would have to have all our own your gear disinfected at a veterinary outlet . As Iceland are very strict on disease prevention He told me they will get stained and at worst , rot the stitching, so we hired all the gear in Iceland. The G3's have never let a drop through and I fish practically every weekend, yes I have other sets of waders which get worn in rotation, but I say again, You only get what you pay for. I would have no hesitation in upgrading if and when my current set bite the dust. Long may that be. Worth every penny. Tight lines and take care. Regards Alan

[@desertedgoatgaming]

Had them for two days so far, day 1 it was solid hours of rain, I noticed my trackpants underneath were damp at the knees, from crouching and resting my arms there, and my butt, from sitting. Thought this was odd and saw the reviews that it might be perspiration so I thought I would double check. Went back out to the creek the next day, old boots had a leak (nothing to do with waders) but one of the boots had some solid water in the bottom. Took them off when I got home and noticed the "gaiter" portion was soaked through on both of them and I had slight water in the boot that didn't have the leak. Next thing I noticed is the stockingfoots are also drenched and both of my socks underneath are damp. My best guess is through saturation and/or pressure is pushing the water through and causing the dampness. I checked for leaks and found none. I am currently waiting to hear back from Simms on if this is normal or a faulty pair and if faulty what the replacement process is (I'm not paying for shipping for something under warranty out if the box defective, I'll just return them from where I purchased as the gas to get there is cheaper than the shipping to Simms) and if this is normal I am going to return to purchased location as over $800 for waders that are water resistant and not waterproof isn't the outcome I wanted. Will update when Simms gets back to me. Update: After talking to multiple people today and last night who have been die hard Simms fans throughout the years and will no longer touch their products due to a decline in quality and customer service (one guy said his 1 star review with a video of the leak has been deleted multiple times, he wrote it up after multiple times he sent them to Simms and they didn't fix the issue, being the seam, and instead charged him for pin hole fixes with no seam fix) I've decided to just return them and instead go get some Orvis ones instead. Long story short Simms is not what they use to be. As for me the only way I could see my issue occurring is if they cheaped out on the materials used as the older G3 waders did not have the same issue as mine (but had other problem). For further clarification I did not wash them with softener or use the dry (or dryer sheet) which can and will ruin waterproof quality.

[@garyjohnson4778]

I'm in two minds about Simms. I have owned the last iteration of the G 3's and in my experience they were very comfortable to wear and lasted a good three seasons of heavy use and then just collapsed. Basically, they fell to pieces. In need of a new pair I got this new generation and they are more comfortable again, being much lighter. However, the fabric seems a bit flimsy in comparison to the old ones. I will see how they go. if they only last as long as the last pair I will be off to Orvis Pros. For the money, you should be getting more than three seasons of use.

[@JWhite-Fishing]

Great review Andy - £800 is a lot of money to spend on waders. I considered the G3s/G4s recently after accidently hooking my Vision Koskis (turned out they're fine, the fabric seems to be immune to fly hooks!) but ended up buying a second pair of Koskis as insurance. The best quick repair for a set of waders is a spare pair!

[@Sunray-Scumbag]

Haha koski magic! Mine are the same 😂 every hook strike that I think "well that's done it" and I never get wet 😂😂😂

[@iainfraser2474]

Hi Andy, as always a goor fair review but I would not justify the amount of money they cost and there have been a few worrying comments about poor after-sales service and there is no fabric made that does not tear when pulled into barbed wire.Nevertheless you were very fair in the review.

[@desertedgoatgaming]

You shouldn't trust them, you can probably find my long comment easier

[@richardwilliamson3624]

Take those waders back. The pocket shouldn’t fail that quickly or at all. Delaminating at that price is also unacceptable. Sale of Goods Act and all that

[@simongill8344]

Great video Andy. I have G3waders and until I saw your video, didn't realise that part in the wader pouch is to hold your forceps so thanks 😂

[@DavidCESmith]

Hi Andy. Unless one has a lot of spare cash or a need for such a product, it's a lot of money for a set of waders, which could still get accidentally punctured. I have a couple of Simms products, which have proved to be very good but on the whole the brand is very expensive. One reason for this is that there are plenty of discounted products available online. For instance The Wychwood Gorge waders that you previously used can now be found for under £200. This is £50 less than Simms' cheapest model. I do however agree with the idea that we should be supporting manufacturers outside of Asia and I'd like to see more in The UK. I will also add that some waders are poorly designed; my biggest bugbear being those where you have to struggle to get your feet out of the neoprene socks. If some of your fishing amounts to jungle warfare, I'd be tempted to have an additional cheap pair as a potential sacrifice. On some occasions I wear knee length gaiters over the wader to protect them. Like you, I'm a fan of waders with enough storage to negate wearing a vest or pack and over the years I've had Vision, Orvis, Patagonia, Snowbee and Scierra. I think you get what you pay for and of course it depends very much on what you need. Hope you are having a good season.

[@XsribsInflatableBoats]

Having had 2 sets of Simms over 15 years the waders are great but Customer service is terrible, I had a ruck sack fall apart, literally all the seams failed, arrogant would be one way of describing the response, woeful another. I did not ask for a replacement just asked they look at it to see if it was up to the standard they expected. Anyway terrible response from the Europe Guys (no UK based warranty) so I bought a set of Orvis Pro Waders as I was not willing to give Simms any more of my money, having just done 2 weeks in Canada, walking 10 k a day in them, so far I have to say for a good bit less money the Orvis waders are more comfortable, a better fit and stood up well to pretty heavy use. And Orvis have a UK based warranty that for other stuff has been faultless.

[@Sunray-Scumbag]

This season I got a set of vision koski waders. They are like my second skin. I fish 3 to 4 times a week average and the have never skipped a beat. From the coast chasing seatrout in march to hill lochs surrounded by thorns and rivers with slimy rocks and steep banks they have seen me though. And at a less than half the price I don't see me getting anything else. (I actually snagged mine at £199 and that was a real bargain) if you ever need another set (I hope you don't!) Consider vision waders.

[@carlstatham594]

I thought you loved the Wychwood's? What do you find the difference ..... other than price of course.

[@davidwaite815]

Hi Andy. What back support belt do you wear? I could do with one to support my creaking back! Great review btw!

[@nebraska39]

Good review, I have an older set of Simms gortex waders and I found the ankle very narrow and find them quite difficult to get on and off, are these better? also if you had a Wychwood dealership available when you had the mishap would you have gotten the same again?

[@davidmiller7771]

I have a pair of |Ocean waders 40 years , never let me down , not a leak cost £38 , tried some Simms waders , first pair worn 6 times , both legs leaked in the same place , got replacements , exactly the same , to me the are expensive poor quality , unless your a fishing snob , dont waste your money , it dose not matter how much you pay , they can still leak

[@rmwil9]

£800 for a pair of waders..not me...way to overpriced if you ask me... get a pair of wychwood gorge waders.lasted me for 5 seasons now and still going strong....the price people pay just to look good on the water.. nonsense...

[@user-um6kl3yv3f]

There is always a new goretex lol