Simms kudos

[MCourtney]

Last fall, I was wading in my pair of Simms Freestones when I realized my backside was damp. These waders are probably 10 years old, and I probably sat in something along the way that left a 'stain' on the waders that was the cause of the leak. At home, I tried cleaning and sealing without success.

I initiated a repair with Simms, sent in the waders and about a week later, got a phone call from Simms Repairs. "Your waders are past the warranty date, however, we've decided to sent you a new pair, no charge." Great news. While on the phone, I asked if I could upgrade to a zip front pair if I paid the difference. "Yes".

I've seen some chatter bashing Simms. This is a good news story. I'm going to assume they're working hard to regain trust and are doing the right thing.
Mike

 

[FishyJere]

I had a similar experience. They lost my waders I sent in for repair and replaced them with a new pair. Quality product, quality organization.

 

[_WW_]

Well...that's a start.

 

[Eastside]

I sent my 10+ G4Z waders in for repair because my feet were getting damp. They replaced the neoprene boots and repaired a few pinhole leaks. When the repair was complete, they promptly sent them back. There was frequent communication by them during the repair process. Very happy with their service. Edit: I did pay the normal $60 repair fee; that was a bargain compared to the price of new waders.

 

[M_D]

I'll let you all know.....but I submitted a claim after reading the stuff above.

The seals on my G3 booties leak but after 5+ years of hard use, I figured that's the life of the product.

Now I guess we'll see what Simms has to say.

Thanks for starting the thread

 

[Tallguy]

Several years ago, I had slowly leaking neoprene feet on a pair of patagonia waders, after several years of use. I sent them in, specifically asking them to repair the neoprene feet, but not just replace with new waders because I wanted to promote repair it culture over throw away and get a new one requests. They replaced the neoprene feet only, and I wore those waders for several more years warm and dry with no problems.. I might recommend asking for that if you think the rest of the waders are still solid.

 

[M_D]

Got my waders back this morning and I believe they were fair with me.

If anyone else is considering having theirs refurbished, here are the details.

5+ year old G3's. Heavily used with lots of self repaired pin holes and 2 or 3 tears. I sent them in because the booty heels and welded seams were leaking.

~$20 shipping to Simms
~$60 for a new pair of booties, a couple additional repairs to the GoreTex, and return shipping.
~ 20 day turn around.

So for about $80, I have another solid pair of waders in the rotation.....seems reasonable to me.