Simms has a reputation for making the best fishing waders in the world. Better yet, Simms is the only wader manufacturer who makes waders in the United States.
To show off and celebrate the people behind American-made waders, Simms has released a new short film, “Wader Makers,” that’s worth a few minutes of your time.
The video offers a peak into the wader-making process and some of the employees behind the scenes on the production and testing floors at the Simms headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. If you pay attention, you can see rigs set up to fill completed waders with water for leak-testing. At another spot, it looks like Simms has a machine used for stress-testing waders underwater among river rocks and debris.
We nitpick everything . . .
Aside from the cool peek inside the factory, the key point Simms wants to share is that Simms employees are also anglers who care deeply about the quality of the product they produce. The point is less about manufacturing in America than it is about why these particular people are making waders.
The Angler Experience
“You can’t understand the problem if you’re not out on the water experiencing angling and thinking about how product contributes to that experience,” narrates Ben Christensen, COO & Head of Product for Simms.
One key takeaway is that even the workers who are sewing waders and sealing seams go to work with an obsessive focus on the experience of the angler . . . and moreover, that the people who build your waders care about the result because they have a passion that comes from personal fishing experiences.
“We nitpick everything . . . and I think it’s a good attribute in our line of work,” notes one angler/employee in the video.
But hey, we could keep telling you about the video or you could just grab a drink and spend 5 minutes watching it yourself!
Interested in more detail about our take on Simms waders and how they compare to the competition? Read our ‘Best High-End Fishing Waders‘ section, which rounds out our recommendations in our 10 Best Fly Fishing Waders for the Money guide.
