Over the last six months I've had couple different pairs of waders hit my doorstep to wear, abuse, and review with one pair being the new Redington SonicDry Fly Waders. These waders arrived just about the time they were showing up online and in fly shops and I've spent the last couple months wearing these on quite a few trips in warm weather and in cold, wading open water and rivers, and banging around in boats. So far I've been pretty impressed.
These waders rock and here's why...
First things first, these are the first zippered waders that I've never worn, and maybe I'm getting old (I do turn 40 in September...), but this is a feature that I could really get used to. In and out of the waders was a snap and taking a relief break is certainly way easier than peeling the waders down past my waist. The zipper is so far water tight and it's YKK so very unlikely to fail.
These waders live up to the name of "SonicDry" and in all the different climates I have worn these in so far, from around here, to out west, to Michigan, I've been bone dry underneath. The 37.5 tech is doing it's job keeping these waders dry from the inside out which living in the south is no easy feat.
As far as comfort and cut, the SonicDry Fly Waders get high marks for fit and the designers at Redington seemed to removed a lot of the unnecessary fabric from the top down. These waders fit like a favorite pair of pants, with more than enough room for ease of movement, though not overbuilt with a lot of extra fabric around the body or legs. The feel to the hand and during wear is that the Surgeshell fabric is durable and can take some abuse while being reinforced in all the right places through the legs. The sonic welds are each done with double taped backing which create seams that should not fail and keep these waders watertight for countless days on the water. The 3mm neoprene booties, cut to ergonomically fit each foot, also didn't have a lot of extra foot material in the heel area that most waders have so you get a much truer fit. Both the suspenders and belt are comfortable and wide enough to do what they are supposed to do which is up your waders up and snug around the waist.
Added features to the SonicDry Fly Waders are the fleece lined hand pockets and the well thought out pockets on the chest area both on the exterior as well as the interior. The interior boxes are big enough for a fly box and it wouldn't be to hard to go sans a gear bag or vest with just the essentials slid into all the available pockets.
The warranty on Redington waders are covered under a one year from date of purchase for defects in materials or workmanship. I'd say it's always a good idea to carry along a tube of Loon Outdoors UV Wader Repair for those times that your waders hit a snag or unexpected leak.
All in all these are a great wader with a lot of features and if I was going to chose something to nit pick about it's that after years of there being quite a bit of difference in price between sonic welded waders and the other guys, the prices of the upper end of sonic welded waders now seem to be bumping up into what I would consider a premium price point. The SonicDry Fly waders are priced just shy of $500, and though being totally tricked out with the zipper front, external/internal pockets, and a lot of tech you can't see, it's still a lot of money to pay for waders. If anything it's making the decision on a premium pair of waders much tougher for the number of choices that anglers have available to them now.
For more information check out the Redington website.
These waders rock and here's why...
First things first, these are the first zippered waders that I've never worn, and maybe I'm getting old (I do turn 40 in September...), but this is a feature that I could really get used to. In and out of the waders was a snap and taking a relief break is certainly way easier than peeling the waders down past my waist. The zipper is so far water tight and it's YKK so very unlikely to fail.
These waders live up to the name of "SonicDry" and in all the different climates I have worn these in so far, from around here, to out west, to Michigan, I've been bone dry underneath. The 37.5 tech is doing it's job keeping these waders dry from the inside out which living in the south is no easy feat.
As far as comfort and cut, the SonicDry Fly Waders get high marks for fit and the designers at Redington seemed to removed a lot of the unnecessary fabric from the top down. These waders fit like a favorite pair of pants, with more than enough room for ease of movement, though not overbuilt with a lot of extra fabric around the body or legs. The feel to the hand and during wear is that the Surgeshell fabric is durable and can take some abuse while being reinforced in all the right places through the legs. The sonic welds are each done with double taped backing which create seams that should not fail and keep these waders watertight for countless days on the water. The 3mm neoprene booties, cut to ergonomically fit each foot, also didn't have a lot of extra foot material in the heel area that most waders have so you get a much truer fit. Both the suspenders and belt are comfortable and wide enough to do what they are supposed to do which is up your waders up and snug around the waist.
Added features to the SonicDry Fly Waders are the fleece lined hand pockets and the well thought out pockets on the chest area both on the exterior as well as the interior. The interior boxes are big enough for a fly box and it wouldn't be to hard to go sans a gear bag or vest with just the essentials slid into all the available pockets.
The warranty on Redington waders are covered under a one year from date of purchase for defects in materials or workmanship. I'd say it's always a good idea to carry along a tube of Loon Outdoors UV Wader Repair for those times that your waders hit a snag or unexpected leak.
All in all these are a great wader with a lot of features and if I was going to chose something to nit pick about it's that after years of there being quite a bit of difference in price between sonic welded waders and the other guys, the prices of the upper end of sonic welded waders now seem to be bumping up into what I would consider a premium price point. The SonicDry Fly waders are priced just shy of $500, and though being totally tricked out with the zipper front, external/internal pockets, and a lot of tech you can't see, it's still a lot of money to pay for waders. If anything it's making the decision on a premium pair of waders much tougher for the number of choices that anglers have available to them now.
For more information check out the Redington website.
1 comment:
You nearly had me sold until I saw the price tag. No way I'll be replacing my proven Simms for $500 waders. These look nice, but I'd have to have a 50% off coupon to consider them.
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