The breathables will work about 75% of the time if you know about putting the proper clothing on the lower body. The nice thing about the layering as you get more experiencd you'll know exactly what combinations to wear in different weather conditions and in different water temps. I usually start with Smart Wool underwear. You can get it several different weights. Obviously the colder things are the heavier to apply. I then cover the smart wool with some kind of polar fleece. Again you can get that in different weights. If both of those get wet, they'll still keep you warm. That's why mountain recreation people wear those combinations when doing serious traveling in the wilderness. I have the breatheable waders, anybody's good waders will work fine, and I have the attached boot. I did buy special shoes that have felt on the sole so I don't slip on rocks, and they are made to go into the water so you don't have trouble with delamination after awhile. The shoe/boot combination has to be strong enough to take the abuse gotten when kicking the scoop all day.
I have both wet suits and dry suits. Neither are fun to put on. In the wet suit you are always wet, although warm to a certain degree, but you have to crawl out of that into whatever the weather is around you, wet, and tha'ts not fun either. When I surf fish with friends, I use the breathable waders and I am in the water 10' before they are. They have to strip down to shorts or something standing in the cold, and then they have to pry and struggle to get them on. When it's cold out their teeth are chattering when changing to go home and I am dry and comfortable.
Yes! Breathables are more likely to puncture and get leaks. There's an incredible product out call "Aqua Seal" and if you waders leak, all you have to do is turn them inside out and fill them with water and watch where they leak. Mark the spot and apply the Aqua Seal like advised and your leak is gone.
When you were advised to get an inflatable life vest it was the best advice given so far. Many macho people on here who poo poo the life vest. Maybe a couple years ago, I read on one of the forums where a water hunter was about waist deep in water, the last they saw him, and he didn't get to go home to his family that night. I got knocked on my butt once by a sneaker wave and was literally upside down disoriented for a bit. The wave went out and I again could put my feet on the bottom. I didn't pull the panic button then, but it's nice knowing it was available.
There's the old saying, "There are old water hunters, but there are no old-bold water hunters." Unless you have a life jacket you don't get a second chance to get it right. They are not uncomfortable. The are dependable. Must be some reason Coast Guard and all law enforcement wear them. I got mine in orange so it would be easier for the helicopter to spot me. Regards...Jim
