tips for making waders last?

Mine are neoprene and I keep them hanging in a closet inside the house. I have had them 5-6 years and they are still in good shape.

I have given up on trying. I have accepted the fact that a pair of waders might last me 2 seasons then it's time another pair.

I hang mine inside and have had this pair for 6+ years. Hodgeman fwiw.

I bought a pair of 3mm neoprene (cabelas brand) for $225 from cabelas in mid January 2013. Kept them inside all summer, but by the end of November they were leaking (no punctures, just leaking at the seam). Went back to cabelas and got store credit for them. Then I bought a $124 pair of cabelas uninsulated waders. By end of January, the camo nylon was ripped to shreds and pulling away right where it attached to the boot, exposing the rubber underneath. So at the end of duck season I returned those too, although they weren't leaking yet I didn't want to take a chance that they'd bust on the opening day of duck season next yr. They shouldn't have been ripping to pieces at any rate after 2 months of hunting.

I'm pretty disappointed with the cabelas brand crap now. I'm hard on my waders but I store them correctly and they should last for a season no matter what you do to them.

how much wading do you guys do? anyone else here pretty hard on their waders (wading medium-long distances in thick flooded timber, and hunting a lot) and still getting 3-4 years out of them?

I put a pair of Drake LST through hell for 5 years. 3 years went by fine, then got a crotch leak, but dealt with it. This past year they totally blew out on me while I was hunting with your brother. Went chest deep and the flood came.

I am trying a pair of Lacrosse Swamp Tuff now.

I have had a pair of thick Cabelas neoprene for years. I can't make them tear up. I hate the color. I think they are too light colored for where I hunt and would love to buy a darker pair. But I am too cheap to buy another pair when the ones I have still work. Used to take the time to hang them up in the garage, now I usually end up throwing them into a pile in the garage and have to dig them out every year.

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Timber is the death of waders, there's really nothing you can do about it

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dammit. this is what i was afraid of. can't they make some indestructible rubberized canvas or something?

They'll last for some people, I just think it depends on how lucky you are with the crap you bump into under water. That, and not stomping around like a complete dumbass


Eta: Has anyone tried patching with Flexseal?

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Has anyone tried patching with Flexseal?

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I use clear window caulk.