Choosing a new wader – Redington Sonic Pro’s

Is there anything worse at the end of the fishing day than being completely soaked because your waders leak?? There’s nothing worse on the river than leaking waders and unfortunately my waders now leak, badly. I own a pair of Bare Backwater waders which I purchased from Gone Fishing about 5 years ago for $300.  I have worn them probably 300 times and they have been excellent but now I don’t exactly enjoy the cold water running up and down my legs.  So, it’s time to invest in new ones.  There are a lot of different styles and makes of waders in the market. 

So, I did a little research on the internet and after surfing all the major wader manufacturers websites, the company that really stood out was Redington because of their new sonicly welded seam on their Pro series of waders.  Which drastically improves the strength of the seams in the waders.  Basically, there are no stitches in the fabric.  I would think this is somehow similar to how all new pontoon and zodiak style boats are now manufactured with welded seams. This definitely appealed to me as it was the seams in my Bare waders that were leaking and after closer examination of my Bare’s you could see the stitches separating.  I went down to Riversportsman in Campbell River and they carry all the Redington waders, from Redingtons entry level ’Crosswater’ for $150 to the Sonic Pro’s for $299.

Check out the Redington website for more information on their waders: http://www.sonicprowaders.com/standard.html

Redington has announced that it will begin consumer direct sales starting in November, via its upgraded website.   Their full product line will be available at www.redington.com

I’m a pretty big guy, more like I have a pretty big gut! So, it was the Large size for me, which fit perfectly on my short/stout frame.  It gave me a enough room to wear my polar fleece jacket and my fleece long underwear (a must in Dec and Jan!). The waders have a tough fabric exterior similar to my old Bare Backwaters.  My size 12 feet fit perfectly in the boot of the waders, in fact the boots could have probably fit a size 14 foot. The inside pocket of the Sonic pro’s flip right out and looks like it can hold your keys, your license and a few other small items.  The front waterproof zippered pocket is quite large and my iPhone fit deep inside it with room for much more items.  But what was really a nice feature was the hand warming pockets that are lined with fleece and can be zipped up to keep the water out.

Anyhow, I went ahead and bought the Sonic Pro’s for $299 at www.RiverSportsman.com .  It’s the same amount of money I paid 5 years ago when I purchased my Bare Backwaters.  Hopefully, these waders last as long or longer!  I’ll let you all know how it goes, but I feel like these waders are an excellent quality with the welded seams and should last a long time.

Category: BC, Product Review, reviews, store review, Uncategorized