Simms Men’s Freestone Z Stockingfoot Waders

From Simms: “Loaded with smart features and built for years of abuse, breathable, mobility-friendly Freestone Z Stockingfoot waders come equipped with a convenient zippered construction for easy on/off and quick relief when nature comes knocking.

Product features: 1. In front of fleece-lined hand warmer pockets, stretch-woven pockets fit gear that you need to get to quickly, like floatant or tippet. 2. Quick, easy waist-high conversion via stretch-elastic suspenders with opposing male and female buckles. 3. Patented neoprene gravel guards cinch tight over your wading boots, protecting your stocking feet from gravel and debris.”

Product story

For years, Simms has led the wader market with durable, utilitarian and design-friendly waders meant to take the day-in and day-out abuse of long seasons on the water. I can remember back in the mid-90s when every guide at Tim Heng’s Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt, CO was wearing Simms waders, as a core element of the daily guide uniform. Back then, the waders weren’t necessarily rich with features (just front zipper pockets and gravel guards), but the expense of owning a pair of Simms was easily offset by their durability–simple, relatively expensive, but worth it.

The company’s current marketing claims, with respect to waders, hasn’t changed a whole lot in twenty years: the entire product line should provide durable, season-proof reliability, while different models are constructed to provide more feature-rich specificity and enhanced fitting and comfort. In the case of the Freestone Z Stockingfoots: “The intention behind the Freestone Z was to deliver a performance-driven wader with great fit, function and features at an accessible price point.” This current iteration was designed, in many ways, to resemble their “workhorse” wader, the G3 Guide Wader.

Design

Simms likes to call it “trickle-down technology,” but one of the important design considerations of the Freestone Z was to incorporate their “G3 fit block” (clothing design tech speak you’re not supposed to understand) on both the men’s and women’s designs. “This improved fit not only enhances mobility and comfort (by eliminating bunching, creasing and abrasion areas), it also dramatically increases the longevity of the wader itself.” Simms also incorporated their patented front-and-back leg seams from the G3s and G4s into the Freestone collection for the first time.  

Another point of focus was the gravel guard–earlier generations of the wader line utilized a “self-fabric gravel guard,” which was basically a continuation of the wader’s fabric. The new Freestones have a built-in neoprene gravel guard with the stockingfoot wader construction, intended to provide greater comfort and durability. In short, these gravel guards should fit, work and hold up better than the older versions.

Performance

We hunted down Jacob Friesen, a great young guide from Idaho, who works for Two Rivers Fishing CO. in Pinedale, WY during the summer to put a beating on the Freestone Zs. After we jammed them in his dory to work out last fall, he said, “I can fish these fifty days in September and October–does that work?” Yup, Jacob, that works.

We had a number of strong (positive) feelings about the Freestone Zs before we handed them over to Jacob: 1. We loved the zipper and zipper handle. 2. We liked the snugness of the gravel guards. 3. Tool caddy loops, ergonomic pockets, vertical pockets were great design decisions. We also had some questions: 1. Would the gravel guards work without a lace hook? 2. The wader upper seemed baggy. 3. How would the zipper hold up? 

Jacob’s takeaways after fifty days on the Henry’s Fork:

• “Gravel guards work really well, despite no lace hook.”
• “Kind of wish there was a cinch at the top of the waders–feel baggy when I’m only wearing a single layer.”
• “Really like the tool caddy loops, especially for boat fishing.” 
• “The hanger loop is great, so I don’t have to hang them by the suspenders (and stretch them out).”
• “Zipper handle is ergonomic and smooth.”
• “Pockets are well-placed and warm. Also convenient for phones and terminal tackle.”

For $479.95, Simms has done a nice job constructing a close-to-premium wader with great features, while also delivering at a modest (in today’s economy) price point.