December 31, 2023 – Santa was good to me this year!
So Santa was indeed awfully nice to me this year. Not sure I deserved it, but my Simms G3’s had really given out and were leaking in various places. Eight years was a good run for those waders. Previously I had owned Patagonias. They lasted as long as far as years, but previously I was only fishing about 20 days a year and now I fish 60+ days each year! When I bought the G3’s it was a splurge as they were definitely more expensive, but I must say I’m very impressed with the way they lasted. In the summer of ’22 I did some basic leak repair and bought myself another year. But when the neoprene booties begin to leak, repairs are much more difficult. So the timing was perfect for a new pair!
Now, the G4’s are quite a bit more expensive that the G3’s. In fact, I was looking for another pair of G3’s but they are now just under $700 and they rarely go on sale. I think it has a lot to do with their popularity. So last month, when I was shopping for a sale, I did manage to find the G4Z on sale and in my size for under $700, which was significant! I found them online at Red’s Fly shop in Washington. I have purchased from Red’s before and their customer service is excellent, so I had no issues laying my AMEX down (on Santa’s behalf of course!).
When they arrived, I immediately checked them over. I double checked the size to make sure they were the same as my G3’s. Yes, ML 9-11. ML stands for Medium Long. Then there were two other features that caught my eye immediately, first and foremost, the zipper in front. The “Z” in G4Z stands for zipper. This got me really excited! You see, us older fly fishermen have to pee more frequently.
Yes! Zipper = game changer for older dudes!
On my initial try out, being able to pee, whenever and wherever you want is a total game changer. As an example, when wading in my G3’s, when mother nature called because I drank too much coffee, I hand to peel off my jacket and/or vest and my next layer, before I could pop the latch on my belt, pull the straps down to my thighs and finally go! Meaning I had to find a suitable safe place for all my stuff on shore. Also, the waders, when you pull them down, ultimately stick out a ways and I was consistently dripping on the front of them. Yuck! and embarrassing if you are fishing with others. On the stream last Thursday, I was delighted! I was wading with my jacket and all my winter gear and when nature called, all did was check for privacy first, then pop the latch on my belt, unzip and go. Since I didn’t need to drop any clothing could do this while still in the water. And no bulky folded wader in front to drip on! Game changer!
There are a few other features of note that got me really excited!
Here are two: Net Hanger and heavy duty should straps with yoke
Check out the photo above! See that really nice net hanger? I carry a big net that I hang on my back. My usual rig includes a vest that I use for wading in summer, for fly boxes and tools, yes! but also for hanging my net. Now with the G4Z, I can see going without the vest. Wear my lanyard and hang the tools there, including tippet spools. Fly boxes fit into the chest pockets on the waders(see below), using the side zippers.
Also, check out that mesh yoke that the shoulder straps are attached to. This is another game changer for me. I always fought with the straps on my G3’s, don’t get me wrong, they were very well made, but didn’t always want to stay in place. Haviing a wader strap fall off your shoulder while you are casting is a major annoyance! This new yoke set-up really keeps the straps where they belong and is also very comfortable, which is also a bonus! You can also see the yoke better in the pic below:
Lets talk about pockets and zippers for a minute:
Because of the long, vertical “pee zipper” on the front of the waders, SImms now has pockets on each side. I always liked my zipper pockets on my G3’s. They held a lot of stuff. The inside pocket was waterproof and went through from one side to the other, and you could access the outside pocket from the top, which was not water proof. I tended to put my gloves there. There was also this pouch inside on a zipper that I never really used. I think the intent was to put wallet, cell phone keys, etc there, but I never used it. Well, gone is the zip off pouch on the G4Z! Yay, I’m not going to miss it! Inside the G4Z, you have a vertical pouch on the left chest location which is quite perfect for a mobile phone, but difficult to access, without pulling down on the main zipper so you can slide your hand in there. Perhaps this is a better place to carry car keys or wallet, things you don’t need to access until your wade is over. Not to worry! Your phone fits beautifully in the vertical pockets on either side of the main zipper. Problem solved! For safety reasons, I always put my phone in a pocket that has nothing else in it and these vertical zippered pockets are the jam for that!
Last, but certainly not least is Simms quality!
Simms is a Bozeman, Montana based company and they got their start in the wader business years ago, making each pair by hand in their Bozeman factory. Of course, now SImms is no longer a family based operation and lots of their products are made in Viet Nam, China and elsewhere. However, their high end waders are still meticulously made to exacting standards in their Bozeman factory! Buying American made products is awesome! Yes, you will pay more, but my G3’s lasted eight years! These G4Z’s are thoughtfully designed and extremely well made! The true test for me will be, will these waders last me ten years. Look for a blog post from me in 2033 if I’m still around! As us older dudes like to say, “This will be the last pair of waders I will ever need to buy!”
