rubber and nylon

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:29 am

after sorting ot my sumer rod and reel, its time to consider my next expence.....Waders...

as i see it, there are three types, rubber, neoprene and nylon..

what are the pro's and cons ofeach, and what does everyone use?

graham

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:04 am

Hi, from my own personal experience only one type are suitable and thats the breathable ones. They are not cheap by any means but as has been pointed out time and time again you get what you pay for.

Neoprene are a definite no, no as you will sweat so much that you wil be soaking wet at the end of a session.

nylon has the same effect but will let the cold in.

Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:24 am

i was under the impression that neoprene would be breathable but rubber and nylon wouldnt be

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

Are you talking about chest waders?
If only thigh, then it matters less, but neoprene is for cold weather, definitely too hot for summer.

Nylon chest waders would be pretty unpleasant I think worn any length of time, especially moving around a lot. Ok for standing in a river, but not plying the sea shore. They sweat too.

Rubber is better and I think has a natural breathability - or at least my feet are a lot less sweaty in rubber boots.

But for long wear with activity the high-tech breathables are the best (Simms, Orvis, etc). Go for the stockingfoot and wader boots. They are very expensive, however.

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:36 am

Take it from me mate neprean with keep you warm but not dry as you will sweat like anything as i found when even in winter when I took them off the sweat nearly froze before I could get back in the car.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:39 am

i'll be getting the chest highs i rekon, will be mostly used for standing in the shallows of the north sea when i'm spinning for bass. when winter comes back roud i'll be back in my floatation suit. and iff i'm panning on staying dry then it'll be tracksuit bottoms or shorts

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 7:57 pm

what about pvc???

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 8:28 pm

You must be joking?
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 3:20 am

ok, thats a no then

http://www.gerrysfishing.com/shop_details.asp?productID=9813&tabID=55

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:30 am

No offence my mate but apart from sweating I shoud think that they would come with patches supplied for the rips and tears you are most likely to encounter. Especially if you fish from rocks and suchlike.
The only advantage of something like that would be that they would stop the wind cutting through you.

I know that chest waders are not cheap but when fishing you need the best. I have breathable ones for when I go Salmon fishing and the are the DB.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:33 am

what are yours kieth?

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:45 am

Mine are the breathable ones, not to heavy, and don't restrict movement and are made by Shakespeare, not too sure as to what I paid for them now but I have had them 3 yrs and they are still as good as new. Always hang them up when finished with them because if you fold them they tend to crease and make a weak point.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 10:18 am

I don't know anything about waders but after 40 years in the rubber industry I can tell you that Neoprene is a trade name which is now used as a generic name for a type of synthetic rubber polymer.

Whether neoprene is better or worse than rubber in this application depends upon the formulation of the compound rather than the actual basic polymer.

The term rubber is also misused, "rubber" really is a natural product whereas many items which we think of as rubber are actually synthetic, nitrile, butyl etc. Something advertised as being "rubber" may be nothing of the sort. (Neoprene items are sometimes described as "rubber")

What has this got to do with this thread? well "rubber" will make you sweat just as much as neoprene will because neither are permeable, it's the design of the "garment" which determines whether or not you'll be wet, damp or dry on the inside.
Also it's the overall quality of the "garment" which will determine its suitability for what you want - it's no good going for something which is "neoprene 'cos it's warmer" if the material has the thickness of tissue paper, nor do you want something which is so thick that you cannot move comfortably.

For the record, wetsuits are made from a closed cell foam with a neoprene base.

Frank

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 12:57 pm

boxerman, woud you then have any opinion as to how nylon would compare?

graham

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:33 pm

geordiesandman wrote:

boxerman, woud you then have any opinion as to how nylon would compare?

graham

Nylon fabric is permeable, one way to make it waterproof it is either coated with a "rubber" or polyurethane coating which takes you back to the same problems as neoprene or rubber.

The other way is to have two layers with a membrane sandwiched between (or one layer with the membrane on the inside, depending on application) this was the invention of W Gore, hence Goretex which allows the fabric to breathe by allowing air molecules to pass through but won't allow water molecules to pass.
This is great for jackets & trousers for walking, riding and even fishing, but no good if the outer surface cannot breathe, which it would be in waders - it's also turrible expensive.

Another weak point would be the seams as nylon has to be stitched and cannot be moulded, always a problem with walking and bike gear.

As I said before, I know nothing of waders I think that the only way to decide is to look and feel at what is on offer, and/or what other people are using then make your mind up from there. The trouble with mail order is that you don't know what you are getting unless you buy a known product - Shakespeare Supapaddlers or whatever.

The only other way is to take pot luck and hope they'll be OK.

Rgds
Frank