Thoughts on hunting waders for moose pros and cons of type?

[thinhorn_AK]

Just a tidbit of info for everyone, I have lived here my entire life and I have never used anything past rain boots for hunting moose.....just sayin

I'm impressed bro, I really am.

 

[kwackkillncrew]

like it has been said before neeeding waders depends on where you're hunting. of course if you're hunting high country you will not need to worry about them.

 

[AkRyan]

I'm impressed bro, I really am.

I just see allot of guys get hung up on what waders to bring. We typically remove our boots and pants if we need to cross deep water. Hiking 10 miles in waders sucks imo no matter what kind they are.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I just see allot of guys get hung up on what waders to bring. We typically remove our boots and pants if we need to cross deep water. Hiking 10 miles in waders sucks imo no matter what kind they are.

I agree, a guy who is coming up to AK for one hunt can get by with almost anything but there’s a lot of AK guys here that hunt in wet areas or do float hunts like myself where waders aren’t really an option, they are mandatory. Also a lot of us spend a lot of time fishing etc all summer before hunting even starts so having a nice pair of waders is great.

I’d never want to hike 10 miles in waders....or on a moose hunt.

 

[Voyageur]

Appreciate all the info that has been shared. Have a couple of questions.
Other than the obvious answer of water depth, are there other reasons to go with chest waders over wading pants?
What are the differences between the Simm's G-3 and G-4 models?
Thanks.

 

[Mt Al]

Appreciate all the info that has been shared. Have a couple of questions.
Other than the obvious answer of water depth, are there other reasons to go with chest waders over wading pants?
What are the differences between the Simm's G-3 and G-4 models?
Thanks.

Best to just go to the Simms site and load both boots side by side, I just went through the same exercise. They certainly look different, you can see the difference in the soles and how they constructed the body of the boot down near the sole, where most things fail. The G3s have sewn-on elements where the G4 looks more adhesive/TPU based. The G3 also has TPU, pretty much because that's what's used in a lot of boot making. I was leaning G3 - you know after all this deep research and head scratching - and my size was out of stock so I went with G4.

A good friend who works there says this: for 99.9% who use their waders for fishing only, the Freestone or Flyweight all that anyone would ever need. The flyweights are also more comfortable. He then commenced to ask why anyone would take a Ford Expedition to get groceries and compared this to using G3/G4 for normal fishing, blah blah.

He then said if you plan on waterfowl hunting, big game hunting with waders, definitely go G3 or G4.

His 2 cents.

 

[Brendan]

As an alternative to Simms, so far I'm a huge fan of the Orvis Pro Waders with their wading boots. Only downside, they don't come in a zip.

Update to above: Wore my Orvis straight through February Goose season here, muddying them up and beating them up in salt marshes, snow, and ice, and they've been great. Hardly any wear, and they released a zip version.

 

[AKDoc]

Appreciate all the info that has been shared. Have a couple of questions.
Other than the obvious answer of water depth, are there other reasons to go with chest waders over wading pants?
What are the differences between the Simm's G-3 and G-4 models?
Thanks.

My good friend and hunting/packrafting buddy has a pair of G-3's and I have G-4's, so I have many visual comparisons. Generally speaking, the G-4's are thicker material for the entire construction of the wader, whereas the G-3 has thicker material in heavy wear areas, e.g., knees and seat. Pros/cons to both...and both sure seem to hold-up great. Not a very technical answer for you, but others will be more helpful.

I got the G-4's because I can be pretty rough on gear.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Appreciate all the info that has been shared. Have a couple of questions.
Other than the obvious answer of water depth, are there other reasons to go with chest waders over wading pants?
What are the differences between the Simm's G-3 and G-4 models?
Thanks.

Other than water depth being an issue, there probably isn't much difference in pants Vs. waders other than personal preference. I like the chest waders because its generally cold and wet here during moose season, the extra height sort of adds warmth and a bit more protection as well as giving me another pocket to use. Chest waders with a good rain jacket really seal me up during downpours too.

I have pants but I usually just use them for paddling and fishing during warmer times of the year.

 

[AK_Skeeter]

Water also gets deeper and deeper working around a carcass.
Most usually say "Oh, thats not bad" walking up and gradually
the knee deep water turns into hip deep water as the work goes on in areas with hidden potholes.
With chest waders no problem.

 

[ja4wheel6]

Where you hunting? I'm about 50/50 on moose hunts where I only wore waders and hunts where I just had hips for the plane and wore hiking boots the whole hunt. Same results each time as far as success.

Simms are obviously the best. I can't afford them so I wear Redington Sonic Pro waders for probably less than 1/2 the price of the Simms. Going into my 5th season with them and I like to think I wear them more than most including tons of fishing and several moose/caribou butchering jobs in em. If you have to choose, go with a quality mid-price wader and get a top end light boot with laces. Wet stocking foot waders with the tundra swallowing your feet on each step while you hump a hind quarter is a task that is much worse when you add a couple pounds of cheap boot to each foot.

Light Wader boot?

 

[Chirogrow]

this year we got soaked and couldn't catch a break from rain to dry out clothes very often so I lived in my simms g4. Ended up packing out 2 bulls in them and I was very happy with the performance and my feet felt great. My other buddies that kept putting on wet boots and socks were not so happy. I'm headed back up next year and I'm debating on even taking hiking pants.

 

[KShunter8080]

Another vote for the Simms waders for me. First time up there this fall and they were awesome. I paired them with the Simms Freestone boot and had zero issues.