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SweetAndNot16
PostPosted: Sun May 17, 2020 10:02 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Jul 2019
Posts: 78
Location: Illinois

I’m looking to buy my first pair of hip waders but don’t know what direction to go. I need something that’s durable and will last, doesn’t matter if it’s a older pair and discontinued.

Any recommendations?

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skeettx
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 5:18 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Amarillo, Texas

Sorry, I use chest waders, never quite trusted the long boots.

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Riflemeister
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 6:09 am  Reply with quote
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I'm with Mike, I had hip waders and invariably the water was just a little deeper than I thought and I'd end up with the boots full of water. Not that I've never filled up chest waders, but it took a lot more effort and stupidity.

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double vision
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 6:28 am  Reply with quote
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I haven't bought hip boots in many years, but I always had good enough luck with LaCrosse boots. Their old plant is just 20 miles from here.
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Square Load
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 6:39 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 16 Feb 2006
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Location: Flagstaff, AZ

I have a pair of Lacrosse hip boots that I bought in '94 for a hunting trip to Alaska. Believe it or not they are still watertight despite being used a lot and have never had a hole in them in 26 years. Best money I have ever spent.

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Swampy16
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 11:38 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Posts: 453
Location: New Jersey

I’ve had good luck with Cabelas waders but they were pre-Johnny junk.
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SweetAndNot16
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 1:51 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Jul 2019
Posts: 78
Location: Illinois

Riflemeister wrote:
I'm with Mike, I had hip waders and invariably the water was just a little deeper than I thought and I'd end up with the boots full of water. Not that I've never filled up chest waders, but it took a lot more effort and stupidity.


Yeah, seems like I would be better off going with chest waders instead. Can you recommend any brands?

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Nasty-G
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 2:59 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 10 Apr 2013
Posts: 120

Back in older times all I used was LaCross hip boots. This was when they were still made in LaCrosse. Then switched to Cabelas fabric upper hippers, non insulated. They have served me well. Now all I use is the LaCross Grange and just stay away from deeper water. This is for upland hunting or edge/bank walking. On ocasion I push my luck & get wet feet but not often.

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skeettx
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 3:13 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
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Location: Amarillo, Texas

I get my chest waders two or more sizes too large and then
add felt booties. LOTS warmer when duck hunting.

Also, you might need boot restraining straps when hunting in
deeper mud.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Boot-Straps/722084.uts

Mike
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T-Bone
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 3:43 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 31 May 2009
Posts: 153
Location: Orofino, Idaho

I heavily suggest a pair of breathable chest waders over hip boots. They are as easy to walk in as hip boots and you don't have to worry about stepping into that surprise underwater hole.

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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 6:44 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Gentlemen,

I use stocking foot waders, both hip and chest with wading boot, check out L.L. Bean for 100% replicable stocking foot waders, and use them for fishing and hunting both.


Pine Creek/Dave
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Brewster11
PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 8:45 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Feb 2009
Posts: 1301
Location: Western WA

I use both chest waders or hip boots as needed. Hip boots are essential if you have to bushwhack a half mile through swamp water. But it always seems I’ve brought the wrong ones with me. When I need hip boots I’ve got the waders, and when waders are needed the hip boots are in the truck.

But the fabric Hodgman hip boots I got at Wallys are excellent. They are light and tough, far superior to the old rubber hip boots that would crack and rot after a couple seasons from ozone.

B.
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Dave in Maine
PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 4:14 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 12 Sep 2010
Posts: 1972
Location: Maine

I got 20 seasons of trout fishing and occasional duck hunting out of a pair of Red Ball boot-foot chest waders. I would have gotten more but for stomping a hole in one of the boots while wearing a set of Salmon River Cleats. Those cleats were the expedient solution developed along upstate NY's Salmon River to deal with rocks made excessively slippery by rotten salmon carcasses feeding underwater growth. In short, they were quarter-inch composite fitted to the outside of the boot sole with a dozen or so steel golf-shoe cleats screwed through the composite and the whole mess laced over the outside of the boot. Heavy, but as effective as calks on logging boots. Which reminds me - I have to order some calks because I ran out of golf cleats, they're not made any more because golf courses have outlawed steel cleats (too much damage to the locker room floors, I'm told) and it looks like calks are my only solution to keep using the Salmon River cleats.

As to choosing between hippers and chest waders, it comes down to the use you're looking at and where you intend to use them. By way of example, if you're going fishing in the mountain West, you can deal with getting a bit over the top of hippers because the ambient air is likely so dry you'll dry out before getting home. If you're busting brush, you'll want heavier fabric. And so on.

That's one of the beauties of living today, where the selection of waders is a lot more extensive than one kind of hippers and one of chest waders. Still, you almost certainly don't need to spend $400 or whatever they're charging on the tippy-top of the line stuff.

My personal preference is for chest waders because I can always roll them down around my waist if it gets too warm or confining to wear them up to my chest. Similarly, I prefer boot-foot waders over stocking-foot because there are fewer things to forget at home. And I prefer cleats over felt soles because I don't want to risk spreading rock snot or something, and felts take forever to dry in the car.

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John Singer
PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 4:59 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 03 Sep 2014
Posts: 398
Location: Rochester, MN

I have both hip boots and chest waders. For most trout fishing and pheasant hunting in some locals, I prefer the hip boots. They tend to be more comfortable and easier to put or take off.

For duck hunting and fishing in deeper water, chest waders are better. They keep your rear end drier.

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fin2feather
PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2020 6:53 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Kansas High Plains

+1 on the Hodgmans; I have a pair with lug soles and a pair with felt.

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