Waders for full sized men

[megasupermagnum]

Why, oh why do waders barely come in mens sizes? Seriously, work boots are bad enough, why do waders stop at average mens foot sizes? It always has been tough for me, but this is getting ludicrous. I am 6'5", ideally a size 14 EEE boot with a human sized toe area (not the pointy style they keep trying to cripple us with), but size 15 usually works good enough. I am about 300 pounds, 38" waist, 48" chest. The killer for me is the boot sizes. For a size 15 boot wader, the selection shrinks every year. I have always hated neoprene waders, so I'm glad to see they are all but gone now. Unfortunately I now have precisely two choices at BigCamo.com, the only place that carries mens size waders. Banded Redzone Elite 2.0, and Drake Emperor. Both can be had in good boot sizes, but the smallest body is the Banded at a claimed 66" chest and 62" waist. The Drake is even worse at 71" on the chest, and 77" at the waist! That's not all, there is an emperor plus size for an 86" waist!!! Between them it was really only one option for me.

So I got the Banded Redzone Elite 2.0 waders today in size 15. What a clown suit this is. I cinched the belt down just about about as far as it will go, and it works ok. The boots fit great, but they made them of such thick rubber, they look like size 20 boots, I'm not kidding. They loaded these up with a ton of pockets and doodads for nothing. I don't want a dang LED light in my pocket! I don't want a permanently attached fleece handwarmer inside on my chest. I don't want these 10 zippers. Just give me waders! The chest area... what were they even thinking? I'm a big dude, and I could fit TWO of my big gut in this thing. I'm in no position to judge, but you would have to be almost a 500 pound person to fit these waders. If you fit these waders, you should not be wading through water.

So here I am, one week from duck opener. I tried my best to beg Simms to custom make me waders. Their custom orders are already $900. They will not make them in a size 15 boot. I told them I would pay them anything they want, name the price. They wont do it. These Banded waders are Chinese garbage, but I paid $500 for them anyway since they have the market cornered. What happened to the days you could go buy inexpensive canvas waders that, while somewhat uncomfortable, lasted for a while? They always made bigger sizes, and it goes down every year. I never liked neoprene waders, but at least I could buy a size 15 that fit a human fit for wading.

I don't care about the cost, is there anywhere I can find a size 15 waders for a normal human being? At this point I'll duct tape some rubber boots to some cheap stockingfoot styles if I have to.

[Winger Ed.]

It might be practical to take a old pair to a tent & awning, or car/boat upholstery place to use as a pattern to make ya some.
The lower legs could be sewed/glued onto a pair of the rubber boots concrete workers or cold water fishing boat crews wear.
If you're willing to spend that much money on them, and as simple as the project is, it should be do-able.

They'll have, or can order in the right material, and will have the big commercial sewing machines to put them together.
After that, painting some sort of rubber 'goo' over the stitch lines shouldn't be a big deal.

For folks that can recover a GM high back bucket seat, or make a Bimini cover for a boat from scratch-
making a pair of waders is about as hard for them as asking a fine restaurant chef to boil ya a hot dog.

[waksupi]

Not many companies make man size clothes. I go to buy gloves, and the XX large I can barely get on.
It won't help for waders, but for shoes, I found the Healthy Feet website. Only place I found comfortable shoes for my 14 EEEE feet, and they wear like iron.

[akajun]

Personally when I was duck hunting hard I hated built on boot waders. We hunted in sticky mud and every step was a figth to keep them from pulling off. I loved the old neoprene stockingfoot waders. We used them with a pair of old lace up boots or high top tennis shoes. You could wear thick socks or thin, and the wider shoe to accommodate that gave you a wider footprint. They never pulled off my feet and were easy to repair with a cheap tire patch then throw away when they were too far gone.

[megasupermagnum]

I've been looking for a while now, and there really is no good option. What I've decided to do is sew some velcro straps to the top of these Banded waders so I can adjust the chest area. I'm not sure about the inside hand warmer. There's already an outside handwarmer as well. I'm probably going to cut the inside handwarmer out of it, and throw it away. I already dumped the LED light and battery pack.

As for stockingfoot with boots. No way I'd ever go back to those if I had an option for a boot foot. They are nasty in October, and in late November, it's not uncommon you need a knife to cut the boots off. The thought of putting wading boots on for a second day in a row is still uncomfortable, and I haven't used stockingfoot in years. The best thing would be boot foot with some adjustment straps around the ankle, but it doesn't seem anyone want to make good waders. They only want to load them down with 10 pounds of trash, and sell them for crazy prices.

[Fishman]

I feel your pain, but from a different perspective. I am a little too rotund for standard size waders and the stretchy kind are all neoprene and I hate them.

I will second Akajun's suggestion to look at the stocking foot in your situation. I'm not sure what you mean by having to cut them off with a knife. The most comfortable waders I've ever used, hands down, were dry-fit style stocking waders, generously cut, with a set of wading boots. I could literally wear them out the door to drive to the hunting spot, they were that comfortable. I don't know if they still make them, but the biggest challenge was durability, mainly in the knees. If I had it to do over again, I would have gotten some heavy fabric, and glued it to the knees and shins and kept those waders. However, as I said, nowadays I wouldn't fit in them anyway.

[megasupermagnum]

No, I suppose you wouldn't have too much problem with stockingfoot waders in Texas. Up here the best hunting of the year happens below freezing. If you hunt with stockingfoot waders below freezing, there's no such thing as unlacing them. They turn into a ball of ice and mud, which you can't get off without a knife. If you were really patient, maybe you could heat up some water and melt it off, but what a mess. Even in October, there isn't much less pleasant than waking up to a crisp morning to put on a soggy pair of muddy boots.

[megasupermagnum]

I feel your pain, but from a different perspective. I am a little too rotund for standard size waders and the stretchy kind are all neoprene and I hate them.

Try some of the new breathable styles. I hated neoprene too. As much as I dislike what I got with these Banded waders for the price, I have to admit the comfort is far and away beyond what neoprene waders offered. They feel like wearing uninsulated Carhartt bibs. I'm sure they will still be hot, but it sure seems like I'll be able to wear these next weekend without ending up drenched inside from sweat. Even non-insulated neoprene waders were death traps until it got below around 50 degrees.

[akajun]

No, I suppose you wouldn't have too much problem with stockingfoot waders in Texas. Up here the best hunting of the year happens below freezing. If you hunt with stockingfoot waders below freezing, there's no such thing as unlacing them. They turn into a ball of ice and mud, which you can't get off without a knife. If you were really patient, maybe you could heat up some water and melt it off, but what a mess. Even in October, there isn't much less pleasant than waking up to a crisp morning to put on a soggy pair of muddy boots.

Didn't think about the freezing aspect, that doesnt happen in LA lol. One other thing I did like about neoprene waders was that they wouldnt drown you. Regular waders, should you fall or get thrown out of the boat even with a lifejacket will prevent you from swimming and even floating, and you will not get them off in the water. Neoprene hugged your body and offered a bit of floatation. I never put on my waders in the boat until we got where we were going, but I would with neoprene.

[Gator 45/70]

Didn't think about the freezing aspect, that doesnt happen in LA lol. One other thing I did like about neoprene waders was that they wouldnt drown you. Regular waders, should you fall or get thrown out of the boat even with a lifejacket will prevent you from swimming and even floating, and you will not get them off in the water. Neoprene hugged your body and offered a bit of floatation. I never put on my waders in the boat until we got where we were going, but I would with neoprene.

We went to water survival school at UL many years ago, One of the things we were taught was water survival in hip waders, I almost drowned..lol But I now know how to get air into the waders to keep you afloat

[megasupermagnum]

What's it matter? If you are in a boat, you have a lifejacket on, or at least you should. If you are wading around randomly, it should be shallow enough it doesn't matter. I suppose freak accidents happen, like falling in a hole, or finding a drop off, but I don't wade in places like lakes or rivers without having my hand on my boat anyway unless I am 100% sure what is below.

I did find a neat solution to my problem, that also boggles my mind why they didn't come this way. The top edge of the waders is rolled over, but is left open on the end. I fed a thin bungee cord through this like a belt, and I'm working on a way to adjust the tightness now. I'll probably steal a stopper from something for now. No modification needed, comfortable, and reversible.

[akajun]

We went to water survival school at UL many years ago, One of the things we were taught was water survival in hip waders, I almost drowned..lol But I now know how to get air into the waders to keep you afloat
My alma mater
Did you do the upside down helicopter thing in the pool? I worked on campus and the guy let me and a buddy try it out, very confusing.

[akajun]

What's it matter? If you are in a boat, you have a lifejacket on, or at least you should. If you are wading around randomly, it should be shallow enough it doesn't matter. I suppose freak accidents happen, like falling in a hole, or finding a drop off, but I don't wade in places like lakes or rivers without having my hand on my boat anyway unless I am 100% sure what is below.

I did find a neat solution to my problem, that also boggles my mind why they didn't come this way. The top edge of the waders is rolled over, but is left open on the end. I fed a thin bungee cord through this like a belt, and I'm working on a way to adjust the tightness now. I'll probably steal a stopper from something for now. No modification needed, comfortable, and reversible.

Big heavy waders prevent you from swimming even if you have a life jacket on if you could even still float with the life jacket. We had a 20-30 min boat ride down a ship channel that intersected the inter coastal waterway. If you couldn’t swim to the bank or be very buoyant you’d get hit by a tug or barge. It was just good practice not to wear them. The guy that taught at UL in the post above told us about neoprene being safer.

[Gator 45/70]

My alma mater
Did you do the upside down helicopter thing in the pool? I worked on campus and the guy let me and a buddy try it out, very confusing.

Oh yeah man plenty of times, I learned early to watch out for the guy with the twitching eyes,Hes the one that will panic, Kick you in the face and general freak out!

[megasupermagnum]

If your life jacket doesn't make you float, what good is it? I don't play around with inflatables, I wear a full foam lifejacket rated for my weight. It floats me fine, I've used it plenty. If you are wearing one, I don't see how it would be that hard to ditch waders if you couldn't swim with them. If you were that far out anyway, not many people could make that swim, you're best staying with the boat. For a 20+ minute ride, sure, there's no reason to wear waders. This thread is about duck hunting, which while you could on big water, mostly takes place on small lakes and sloughs. I'm not going to be wearing them if I'm crossing to an island 10+ miles out on Lake of the Woods.