Many of us have been there. You step into the river and feel the cold water rush onto your once warm feet. On this occasion it was during winter and I was fishing for grayling with a friend. I manfully fished on and, of course, made a big show of how much water I emptied from my waders at the end of the day.
It was time for a new pair. These were Orvis Silver Labels and I had a sniff that they were very soon to be replaced by a new version employing the same Sonic Seam technology as the Redington Sonic Pros I rotate with the now defunct Silver Labels.
Sonic Seams, if you haven’t heard of, dispense with the need for stitching and all joined sections are welded and reinforced in a process that the makers say will dramatically prolong the life of them.
I’ve had six pairs of the Silver Labels. I like them a lot and rank them right up there with the original Simms Guide waders that were almost indestructible. To me they have outshone waders that are a lot more expensive and have stood up better to day-in day-out use than anything else I have used.
When I ordered them I was hoping these would be as good.
They still have four layers, which to me is essential as I have written before, as the rivers I fish and guide on have a lot of brambles and the high banks of my home river means I often will need to enter the river on my backside. Anything less than four layers and you risk a wet day.
There are some little tweaks and additions have also been made. Firstly the booties have been shaped a little better to resemble a foot. This does make them more comfortable. For the fashion conscious they also have a neat pattern on the sole. They also say that the gravel guards have a quick drain panel but I can’t say that I have really noticed this.
The Silver Sonics also have a system that allows you to change them to waist high waders by simply adjusting the straps. They call them (straps) suspenders in the brochure but it just doesn’t feel right referring to waders and suspenders in the same sentence. I haven’t tried this out yet and for the most part probably won’t but I can imagine a warm day fishing the tiny streams on Dartmoor I might just be tempted.
One thing I really like is that there is still a pocket on the front of the waders which only the brave would ever put a camera, car keys or phone in but they now have a clear and if closed properly, waterproof pocket that will do the job easily. I am sure if there is a need to check the iPhone or Blackberry you could probably operate it without removing your phone. This is a really good addition.
I have been wearing them since March now and have no complaints so far. As the Silver Labels did, they keep me dry and so far seem happy to stand up to the daily abuse I give waders.
It is at this stage that I feel I have to hold my hands up and say that yes, I am an Orvis Endorsed Guide but before this could be accused of smacking of favouritism I have to also say that these were not a freebie on the basis of writing something nice about them. I paid for them out of my own money and bought them from a shop.
So now I have come clean but you can be sure that if I didn’t like them I wouldn’t have written about them and probably would have bought another brand. Having said all this, they are really good, are about the same price as the previous pair I owned and employ a new technology that I hope works and have had some thoughtful changes made to them that makes my life on the river even more comfortable. Seems like pretty good value to me.
They are available from all Orvis Stores and Orvis retailers. I got mine from the Orvis Burford store from Keith. Apart from being a top bloke, he loves and knows a lot about fishing, enjoys talking about it and also firmly believes in customer care, everything I have ordered from him always turns up the next day. He is a credit to the organisation.
