How often you fish, where you fish, and your fishing style contribute to the wear and tear on your fishing gear. Waders, boots, fishing vests, and outerwear may be subjected to some serious conditions and need mid-season attention. To extend the life of your Simms products, please follow the care instructions for garments and avoid storing any Simms product damp or wet. For specific details about Wader Care and Maintenance, please follow this link to About Repairs: "About Repairs". The following frequently asked questions should help you determine whether your Simms product should be returned for evaluation.
The first step in determining the cause for dampness is to identify what you are wearing under the waders. Even the most breathable material cannot fully transfer sweat from the inside of the waders if you are wearing non-wicking clothing or a lot of layers. Proper layering will enhance the performance of all breathable waders. For more information about layering products, please use the following link to the Layer product section of our website. We encourage you to use the Compare feature to determine which layering products will best suite your needs.
Slow, small leaks are usually the result of pinholes in the wader fabric. This is not uncommon and usually caused by brush, briar and other obstacles that you come into contact with while fishing. Pinholes are very easy to find and repair. Please follow this link to About Repairs for detailed instructions to repair pinhole leaks in your waders: "About Repairs". If you are still experiencing dampness with proper layering and after repairing any pinholes, it would be good to send the waders into the Repair Center for evaluation.
The technicians that work in the Simms Repair Center have extensive experience determining wear on Simms products. The process of evaluation utilizes documentation of field-tested products and lab testing of fabrics & materials used in our products, as well as extensive hands-on experience. All of our Repair Technicians are hard-core anglers and frequently put their Simms products to the test. This is not a profit center for Simms. Any repairs that are not covered under the Simms Product Warranty are billed to you at our cost. Use this link for a complete description of our Warranty Policy.
Due to the complexity of seam leaks, you should never try to repair them. Any self-repair that you make to a seam will void the Product Warranty and make it difficult to impossible to repair. Please use our online return process to receive a return authorization and the instructions to return the wader for evaluation.
There are many streamside obstacles and occasionally one may cause a tear in your waders. It is easy to make a self-repair to small tears (1" or smaller) in breathable waders using a Gore-Tex Repair Kit. Follow the instructions included with the Repair Kit for a watertight repair. It is best to make these repairs on the inside of the wader. Larger tears require sewing. Please follow the process to return the waders to the Simms Repair Center.
In most cases, our Repair Technicians can change the stockingfeet to a size that will fit better - for a nominal fee. Please follow the steps for our online repair center process to receive a return authorization and be sure to include your foot size in the comments section.
If you are fortunate to spend several days on the water throughout the year, we encourage you to send your waders in for an annual check-up. This will extend the life of your Simms waders by repairing small issues more frequently instead of finding a mass of issues that are beyond the point of a satisfactory repair.
Check for pinholes. Extensive pinholes and tears will prevent a 100% waterproof repair. Also, fabric abrasion on the wader exterior, usually on the seams, will occur over extended use and time. Once the outer fabric has worn through to the membrane, it is not possible to perform a watertight repair. Simms was the first to introduce breathable wader technology to the fishing industry in 1993 and has continued to develop products using the latest fabric technologies and design improvements. Please take a moment to view the current wader line-up and determine the best wader for your needs.
Please follow this link for the steps to return your Simms product to our Repair Center for evaluation. If you need additional information or don't find your Simms product on the list of items, please contact us by email at repairs@simmsfishing.com or call our Customer Service Department at 406-585-3557.
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