In article , Scott
Seidman wrote:

"riverman" wrote in
:


"hermit" wrote in message
...

I plan on purchasing a pair of waders for this fall's steelhead
fishing season, and would appreciate the advice and opinions from
others more knowledgeable than I.

The local Orvis store recommends breathables vs. neoprene as being
the warmest coupled with a pair of fleece pants. The issue is I am a
diabetic, and as a result I have poor circulation and require waders
that will be warm in the frigid waters we fish in here in
Northwestern, PA. The rubber hip boots I wore last year just didn't
cut it.

If anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Dick Williams


Considering that neoprenes are snug, and can cause constricting, I'd
definately go with bootfoot breathables. Wear silk long johns and silk
socks, covered with polypro sweat pants and duofold socks, and maybe
another pair of wool socks over that. Over that, the breathables. The
secret to warmth with breathables is loose fitting layers, and the
bootfeet are looser than stockingfoots with the shoes tightly laced
up. In Maine, the warmest boots I wear are very loose fitting
Muckluks, with gaitors to keep the snow off. Thats the setup you want
to emulate, I think.

--riverman



Agree with the bootfoot. Very important. Not so sure about breathables
over neoprenes. I fish the winters in breathables, because that's what I
have. The guides I know who spend much of their winters on the water all
wear 5mm neoprene bootfoots.

Cabelas sells a number of different extreme cold socks, some made out of
Polartec 200 or 300. I'd recommend those.

Scott

I used to spend a lot of my time either duck hunting or salmon and
steelhead fishing the Pacific Northwest and Alaska and if the weather
is consistently cold and you're going to spend most of the time
submerged (well if you do the full Reid nothing will help ) I
recommend a boot fit neoprene with a heavy weight wicking underwear of
some sort underneath and good wicking socks. If you're going to be in
and out of the water much though or very active they will get very
clammy, very quickly and I think Myron's suggestion breathables and
layering is the way to go.

Allen
http://www.bullmooserepublicans.com/