Repairing breathable waders..

[Osmosis]

Does anyone have any tricks for repairing waders?
I have 2 pairs that have small leaks in the calf area.. They are frogg toggs and did not come with any type of patch kit (patch or adhesive)..

There are no visible tears, so I figure I should hang them up and fill them with a hose to find the exact location of the leaks. once I find the area I'm assuming I must clean them well with something like alcohol.

Will a raft patch work? silicon? epoxy? Shoe Goo? Maybe cut a piece out of one pair to use as a patch for the other?
Or am I better off scrapping them for another pair (I do get them for $50 after all).
Thanks.

[Arctic]

The other day I used some black rtv, and a tiny tiny bit of epoxy mixed together, and smeared front and back on those nasty brutes I wear. Fixed the tiny seperations in the material from wear and tear, but I bet it would work for the little holes you have in yours.

A raft patch with alot of goop always works. Do it up as best you can both inside and outside making sure all edges are liberally coated. But when it is about half set, trap some air in the leg, and try to stretch the area a bit, and work it a little. After you screw around with it, apply another skim coat around the edges you already have done. I have not done this in years, but it does work. You'll figure it out dude. But the silicone/epoxy thing is actually holding up well. Only fished in 'em three times, but hell, that is a lifetime the way I bushwhack through the water. But uh, if you scrap those waders. The garbage can is in my truck, throw 'em in there.:p

There has to be a cheap patch kit available though. I'm sure of it. If there is not, someone is losing money.

[Chinook SSSF]

2 words.....Aqua Seal.........fill with water, mark the leaks, dry, use credit card to flatten Aqua Seal bead roll down the leak. That simple....

[Arctic]

Is this available through our local, retail outdoor shops, or is it a special purpose product for something other than wader reapir. I do still have a large slit near the chest area that needs repair as well.

[Chinook SSSF]

Fishermans has it 'sometimes, just ask for it by name. its a flexable rubber glue thats water tight, thinking it was made for wader use. Never looked it up online

[RollinontheRvr]

I found that the best place to get Aqua seal from is a dive shop. I used a wader patch kit that I got at Sportsmans Warehouse for a straight line slice I had in one leg, it hasn't failed me yet.


The place I have a problem with is the feet, both in breathables and in neoprene. I went to the dive shop because every where I went the Aqua seal was dry in the bottle and unusable. I tried neoprene seam tape with an industrial strength neoprene glue and I still leak...Um, I mean my waders leak...:eek: I tried Aqua seal on them first though...bust...no go on that one, sure was a bitch to clean off.


OBTW...I don't stand on my neoprene feet unless I have a piece of carpeting on the ground first just so I don't step on any rocks or such.

[Osmosis]

Thanks for all the input!
I didnt want to sweat myself frozen hiking around in neoprenes anymore.. I'm pretty sure the leaks are from blackberry thorns so it sounds like the aqua seal will work well.

[Chinook SSSF]

Yea its an easy fix if they are small pin holes

[doubleventuri]

I carry a bottle of "Loon Outdoors" UV wader repair when Im on the river. It dries in seconds if you can get direct sunlight on it, and if it is a overcast day they make a key chain light that dries it quickly too. The light also works great for charging UV sensitive material (glow-in-the-dark)

[Arctic]

Al, I got some of my old dive gear back from from Kodiak. I asked Dan to throw in something for wader leaks... He sent a part used container of AS. I guess folks get tired of my crap takin up space, but the AS worked out great. I had a foot seam blow out in my garbage bags I use as waders. Much bigger than a pinhole leak, and the stuff flexes with your movements very well...So far. Let me know the next time we talk, I'll bring it over.

[FireFish]

Taking some time to surf around and read some of these other sections. Lots of good info here. Something that I have been using for years on Breathable waders and neoprenes is a product called Plasti-Dip. Usually you find it in a can and it's primary use is to dip tool handles in to give a flexible bonded rubber coating for a handle that is easy to grip.
It just so happens that they make it in a spray can as well. This stuff is great. I used it years ago on my neoprene waders when the seems on the lower legs started leaking. I would spray along the seams, let it dry add another coat. A few coats later, I got a couple more years out of those waders and they never leaked. I also did the same on my breathables. It bonds to the area that you spray it on, it's flexible and moves well with the wader. No cracking, holds up in heat and cold, I think the stuff is great. They now also have it in clear, so you don't have to have the obvious black, blue or red patch on the outside of your waders.
Plasti-Dip, can be found in most hardware locations.... And it's very reasonably priced... :)

FireFish.....;)

[kingfisher20]

Yeah I found that wader cement tends not to be very effective. That Plasti-Dip sounds like the ticket. I started using automotive glue and that stuff works a lot better than wading cement.

[FireFish]

I also forgot to mention, that if you can't find the clear, turn your waders inside-out. Spray the Plasti-Dip along your seems, guarunteed not to leak...;)

I'm hoping others give it a try and report back on weather they had success or not...

FireFish... :)

[spactrukn]

I really like where this thread is going. I do happen to have a pair of breathables that have a leaky heel. I tried shoe goo and that didn't work at all, it just made things a little worse because it doesn't bend very well and it makes it difficult to get my boot on. I think I'll try turning them inside out and giving them the plasi-coat treatment. Good tips guys, thank you.

[FireFish]

Spactrukn, after you use it make sure you post on your results. I'm hoping others will have as good as results as I have.... Good Luck...

FireFish...;)

[spactrukn]

I will post my results. It may take me awhile to get around to fixing them though. I think I'm going to try to get some of that shoe goo off of there first. Not sure if I can but I'm gunna try.

[ScouterJames]

Simms has some good videos on testing and repairing waders

http://www.simmsfishing.com/site/gallery/gallery_display.html?gallery_id=00006&media_id=00021