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Snowbee Prestige Breathable Waders

Reviewed by Terry Lawton

What a relief to take-off a pair of waders at the end of a long, hard day's fishing and be completely dry! Breathable waders do work. At least the Snowbee Prestige breathable stocking foot waders that I wore everyday in Sweden did.

The waders are very light and extremely comfortable to wear, both when wading and out of the water. Most of the beats on the Lögde river involved some walking - either to them or back to the transport at the end of the beat - as well as climbing down steep banks and through quite thick wood and undergrowth. Exertion levels were high at times. But no problems with sweating and over heating.

Fellow anglers wore another well-known make of breathables, neoprenes and nylon chest waders. Nicke who wore the nylon ones was soaking everytime he took them off. Harryin his neoprenes had fairly large damp patches and even Jürgen in his breathables was never as dry as I was. Only on one occasion did I find a small, slightly damp patch on one foot. And that was probably caused by the built-in neoprene stockings.

I wore the waders with a pair of Snowbee Superlight wading boots with felt soles. Although we all wore felt soles and had no real problems through lack of grip on often slime-covered round bolders, studs might have been a good addition. The fact that the boots were lightweight attributed to being able to get around easily. Long-term durability might be a problem but for holiday use I am sure that they will be ideal. For fishermen who use wading boots everytime they fish, then heavier, more durable boots might be a good investment.

The waders come complete with built-in gravel guards which are, I am sure, more efficient at keeping sand and stones out of wading boots than separate guards, as well as having the added benefit that you cannot loose them. The guards have a lacing hook to connect them to the bottom lace on the wading boots, so keeping them in place. There is a chest pocket accessible from out side the waders that is big enough to hold a compact 35mm camera for example. It is closed by a flap with Velcro. The front of the legs from the knees down have a second layer of material sandwiching a layer of neoprene. This provides extra protection as well as comfort when kneeling. I am pleased to say that I did not need to spend any time on my knees!

Reasonable care should be taken to prevent snagging the fabric on branches, brambles or barbed wire (of which there was none during this test), as with any item of clothing. After all, even rubber waders can be punctured by barbed wire if care is not taken when climbing over a fence, for example.

The only niggle that I have got is that I could never work out how to unclip the adjustable braces. Part of the problem was that one clip had to be pressed at the top and the other at the bottom . . . I could never remember which was which.

Since my return from Sweden I have been wearing the waders with a pair of cheap walking boots instead of felt-soled wading boots. The waders are so light I don't know that I've got them on.

For serious and regular wading I cannot imagine ever using anything but breathable waders and even less strenuous fishing will be so much more comfortable in a pair of Snowbee breathable waders. The wading boots did everything asked of them without complaint.

The waders and wading boots can be bought from local stockists or ordered direct from Snowbee. The website is at www.snowbee.co.uk