Author: Nick Satushek

You may be familiar with waist waders, but are you still using full chest waders every time you go fishing?

There are a lot of reasons why you may want to consider using waist high waders for some of your fishing adventures. From comfort to backups, there are a lot of reasons to consider using wading pants instead of full waders at least some of the time. Read below for 10 reasons why you should consider adding a set of waist high wading pants to your gear collection.

1. Waist high waders are comfortable and easy to use

Especially on warmer days wearing waist high waders can be much more comfortable than full waders. Most of the time when we’re fishing out of a boat we never wade deeper than our waist, and in small creeks and rivers it’s easy to cross in many places without wading deep. Waist high wading pants are the easiest and quickest waders to get in and out of. Since they only pull up to your waist there is no shimmying or working the shoulder straps up and into place. For quick and dirty fishing missions they can’t be beat.

2. Wading pants work great as a backup set

Rotating between multiple sets of waders means you aren’t fishing your main chest waders every time you go out. This means you can thoroughly dry them out between uses and get an overall longer usable life out of them. Things happen with normal use, and if you need to do a repair or send your main waders in for repair it’s nice to have a backup. Wading pants are great for that as they cross over to many other uses, and generally cost less than comparable chest waders.

3. Versatility.

A large percentage of the average anglers fishing trips do not involve wading beyond waist deep. This is leading to more and more people realizing the benefits that waist high waders provide, for comfort and ease of use. Should you only own wading pants? Probably not if you intend to wade new waters and do deep crossings at times. Owning a set of full chest waders and wading pants helps you choose the right tool for the job.

4. Long term durability

Having and rotating between multiple sets of waders will extend the usable life of each. By allowing a wader to fully dry out between uses it helps to keep the materials from breaking down over time. The main reason to fully dry your waders inside and out after every use is to avoid mildew growing on the inside which can damage the fabric and seam tape. Some amount of condensation will always be present on the inside of waterproof breathable waders, simply because of how the waterproof breathable fabric functions. We recommend rotating between different sets of waders while on multi day fishing trips, or at home if you’re fishing every day, and hanging each to dry fully between uses.

5. Waist waders are better for summer and warm weather use

Wading pants are cooler during periods of warm weather. Heat is trapped in the core area of chest waders, making them a great option for cool weather. But when the mercury climbs and the water is still too cool to wet wade (or unsafe to do so) a good set of waist high waders is invaluable.

6. Wading pants rule for packability

If you’re like us then you probably enjoy getting out beyond the crowded access points and exploring areas where you are more likely to encounter bear tracks than signs of other humans. Wading pants are lighter and smaller than full waders, so pack down and fit inside backpacks better. For this reason we like to carry the SEEKR waist high waders in our backpacks up into alpine lakes for summer backpacking trips.

7. Wading safety

Waist high waders limit how deep you can wade, which can help prevent wading too deep. A lot of guides prefer their clients in wading pants, which helps keep them in shallower water and avoids the need for an emergency rescue. If you tend to wade beyond safe limits at times, maybe consider trying waist high wading pants to put a cap on how deep you can go in.

8. Great for boat fishing

If you do a lot of boat fishing a good set of waist high waders will suit your fishing style well. When boat fishing all day then the deepest you’ll likely wade is knee deep or so to get in and out of the boat. Having waders on will keep you dry from rain, and give you the option to wade deeper than rain boots will allow if needed.

9. Style. Wading pants just plain ol’ look cool.

‘Nuff said.

10. Value (cost) of waist waders is lower than full chest waders.

Coming in below the cost of comparable waders, they make a great second set for warm days and to use as backups. The SEEKR waist high wading pants complement our S14 chest waders well, while in the GD series you can set yourself up with the Session GD Wading Pants for the full featured and most durable option. For the ladies we offer a full featured women’s waist high Session Wading Pant option that complements the S14 Women’s waders well.

And those are our 10 reasons why you may want to consider adding a good set of wading pants to your fishing gear collection. Check out the styles we offer below and click through on each to read more details.

DRYFT Waist high wading pants