What wader for cold fresh water

[Rainyday101]

I am going to get into the cold fresh water right after ice out. I will use waders with chest belt and manual inflate life vest. Not interested in a wet suit or the idea of changing into and out of it in the cold and wide open. Dry suit is to costly.

My question is what kind of waders to get? Neoprene? Stocking foot? What do you wear under them to stay warm?

 

[Diggin-it]

Neoprene. I went with Frogg Toggs...I think they are 4mm thick. I wear long johns and sweatpants...can not feel any cold on legs in 33 degree water

 

[Rainyday101]

Diggin-it, great I will look those up. Are they the type with the boot or stocking foot?

 

[Diggin-it]

Boot...

Amphib Neoprene Bootfoot Cleated Wader

Specs:
3.5mm Neoprene bib-style wader
Reinforced Neoprene knee pads
3.5mm Neoprene booties with sliding gravel guards
Bib-style suspenders with hook & loop adjustment
200 gram Thinsulate boot
Fleece lined hand warmer
Hi-back upper design

 

[mudpuppy]

Yeah, I go with the full neoprene with boot like Diggin-it...but I have been thinking of going with the stocking foot for my next pair...Its just that I grew up with the boot kind, but they are awful heavy now for some reason...and you cant turn them completely inside out like you can the stocking kind...They are so dang heavy and awkward on land, I generally carry them to the waters edge and put them on there, it would be nice to have something not so heavy and cumbersome. Something a guy can roll up and stow in a small pack. with a pair of dive booties for the shoes, then a fellow can be sweeping the beach and if he sees a cut out in the water, and the conditions are right, easy to wader up and go in!... I bet Diggin-it will be wadered up and in Lake Mich this am...as I hope to be as well, as soon as it gets light enough to see how heavy the surf is on the beachcams..we don't get too many perfect days in the Big Lake, a really good pair of waders gives a fellow a few more.
Mud

 

[fongu]

I use the frogg toggs with the boot and they are heavy and I use under-armor underneath and a pair of jeans and shirt in cold water. This time next year I plan to have some under-armor socks to keep my feet warmer. Kooistra detectors have a pair of waterproof coveralls that zip up to the neck and you can get further out into the water withour filling up your chest waders with water, but they are on the expensive side. If you watch the Garrett video: fresh water hunting in the netherlands, you will see what I'm talking about. I intended to pick up a pair this November if I got to Amsterdam for a metal detecting trip, but have had to put my plans on hold for the time being to look after my elderly Mama. I think Kooistra detectors is about an hour or two from Amsterdam on the train. I got a good soaking last week because I was too far out and a boat came by and threw up a good sized wave and it filled me up with water. The main problem I have is my hands and arms getting icy cold in the water. I took a rain jacket top and some old gloves I used to use when soaking carbuerators and duct tape them to the jacket and it keeps me reasonably dry and warm, but I have dropped targets trying to retrieve them out of my scoop due to the stiffness of the gloves. I'm thinking about getting some of those gloves that trappers use when setting their traps in cold water and see how they work out.

 

[mudpuppy]

Yeah! You need trappers gauntlets! they come up to the shoulders...I havn't ordered anything from the trappers supply outfits in a while, but those gauntlets have been around for years. I fell through a rotten vacant beaver lodge in Jan and poked a hole in my waders, so now I slip a plastic garbage bag over the one leaky leg and try to hunt...its cold and miserable, but whats a fellow to do?
Mud

 

[Rainyday101]

Got my eyes set on a pair of Frogg Togg neoprene waders and some Under Armor.