Simms Debuts New G3 Guide Pant for 2010

Simms Fishing Products always releases a spate of new products around the time of the Fly Fishing Retailer Show, and this year is no exception. Word has come through the grapevine that Simms’ new wader will be an updated, ruggedized Guide Pant from their G3 series, priced at about $380. Water-resistant pocket zippers and a true waterproof fly make the wader easy-access, while the belt system has been redesigned from last year’s Rivertek Wader Pant to be more like a conventional set of drawers.
Better yet, Simms has opted to include the full “Guide” specs, meaning five layer Gore-tex to the knee (dark gray, pictured), with three layer above. Speaking as someone who has worn the last-edition Simms Guides in waist-high mode for the last three years, I couldn’t be more thrilled. This is exactly the high-end, heavy-duty wader pant model that guides and hiking anglers have been calling for. While the waterproof zippers may add cost (and the jury is–as always with zippers–still out on their effectiveness), the overall strength of this build makes it exactly the model many of us would have designed for ourselves (effectively, a cut-down 2006-era Guide Wader with pockets and a fly).
All in all, this promises to be a very strong entry from Simms. While not every angler will care (and the price will surely scare off some who might have cared), those of us who use waist highs have finally got the Cadillac model which the market has been missing.
Share your thoughts on the new Simms wader–or waist-highs generally–in the Comments section!