Guides and die-hard anglers who spend more than just a few days on the water every season take heed. One of the sport’s most respected brands announced last week that it has revamped its flagship line of waders, complete with new fabric tech, a new fabric pattern, and a round of overall upgrades designed to make the waders more durable and comfortable.
Simms Fishing Products announced its “most significant technical product launch in the brand’s recent history” as it introduced its revamped G3 Pro wader collection along with its new Rip Line Pro jacket and bib. While the two products are designed and built for different kinds of fishing and different angling environments, Simms notes, the ultimate goal is to provide better products that meet the challenges anglers encounter on the water.
G3 Pro waders
For fly fishers, the focus will likely be on the new G3 Pro waders — the venerable “brand within the brand” has served as Simms’ flagship wader since the G3 line was introduced almost 25 years ago. It’s hard to overstate what an important part the G3 lineup, and specifically G3 waders, has played in Simms’ history. For the better part of a couple of decades, the G3s seemed to be regarded by guides across the globe as required equipment. The G3 line has gone through a number of evolutionary changes over the years, but the products bearing that label are widely considered to be among the best in their class.
According to Simms, the new version of the G3 Pro “represents the most substantial leap forward” in the line’s respected history. We’re eager to learn more about why that is, but if the claims hold water, this would indeed be significant news, particularly for anglers who find themselves not just on the water daily over the course of a season, but in the water just as often. Simms has long been an innovator in wader tech, as well as water-proof and water-resistant materials aimed largely at the fly fishing community, so there are plenty of reasons for optimism.
While more than a few of us anglers will shirk the idea of wearing waders whenever possible — give us all a good pair of cleated wading boots and some quick-dry underwear on a nice day on the river, right? — waders are an absolute necessity during the shoulder seasons and while fishing frigid tailwaters no matter the time of year. That Simms is boasting about improved comfort and durability as it rolls out its new G3 Pros likely resonates with guides who literally put their gear through hell over the course of a single season, let alone over the lifespan of a pair of breathable waders.
The new G3 Pros have four-layer Gore-Tex on the lower half. The company says the results of in-house testing show the new G3 Pro waders to be 60 percent more resistant to pin-hole punctures — a simple fact-of-life situation that every angler donning a pair of breathable waders experiences over time. The waders feature a completely new fabric package engineered for better durability. The company has also incorporated a new patterning system to improve the fit of the products (one of the arenas where, over the last handful of years, wader manufacturers are making the biggest leaps and pushing each other to improve) and has redesigned the waders’ suspenders to make that part of the wader experience a bit more palatable.
The G3 line is among the most respected, long-lived wader lines in the fishing industry, and, as Simms notes, making big changes to such a beloved product comes with some potential risk. The G3 wader line was first designed in 2002 and made available through dealers in 2003. The line has always targeted die-hard anglers who fish dozens of days on the water, or guides who put their gear through the perils of daily wear all season long. Getting this product right is hugely important, given that guides and die-hards are known for brand loyalty.
As Simms correctly notes, the G3 line is “a favorite of anglers who fish hard, fish often, and expect their gear to hold up.” The latter is likely the most important part — a steep purchase price for a dependable set of waders really should be a long-term investment, not just an installment payment that guides and frequent anglers make every year or two to stay warm and dry on the water.
The new G3 Pro waders come in both men’s and women’s offerings. The company offers them in both stocking-foot and boot-foot models, and a zippered G3Z Pro version.
Rip Line Pro jacket and bib
The company’s new Rip Line Pro line was developed and tested by professional captains and boatmates, as well as tournament anglers. Simms claims the new jacket and bib are part of “the most advanced and durable foul-weather suit” the company has ever built.
Featuring four layers of proprietary fabric built to combat foul weather, the Rip Line products shed rain and boat spray and are resistant to water penetration. Beneath that water-repelling layer, Simms says, is a high-denier reinforcement layer that is tear-resistant, which further protects the wearer from the elements. The Rip Line Pro products also include a second waterproof membrane and an abrasion-resistant backer. Designed largely for offshore use, Simms notes that the Rip Line jacket and bib are just as “at home” on a bass boat or even on a shoulder-season float trip when the weather can, at times, be unforgiving.
“G3 Pro and Rip Line Pro come from very different places, but together they say a great deal about who we are as a brand,” said Dave Mellon, president of Simms Fishing Products. “G3 builds on more than 20 years of experience with one of the most important products in our history. Rip Line applies decades of technical fishing expertise to an entirely different challenge. Both began with the same question: What can we do better for anglers? That question has always driven Simms, and it continues to shape where we’re going.”
G3 Pro launches exclusively through fly shops and other authorized brick-and-mortar Simms retailers October 9. Come October 19, G3 Pro will be available through all channels, including online.
RIP Line Pro launches everywhere October 5.
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