Is there such a thing for under wader wear?
I've struggled to find a particular type of pants for under wader wear during warmer weather, and thought I'd toss it out to you guys to see if anyone had found something like what I'm looking for. Like most I'm sure, I've always seen a dramatic difference in the performance of my breathable waders when I had a layer (or layers) of wicking material underneath them, as opposed to bare skin or pants made of materials that didn't wick moisture very well. In colder weather, I have everything covered, between lighter weight form-fitting layers (like Patagonia capilene or Simms Waderwick) and/or midweight fleece layers. My challenge comes during the warmer months, as much because of to and from the stream challenges as anything.
The place where I most frequently fish during that time of year has a fair amount of foot traffic in and around the areas where I would normally park and get geared up. I'm not an overly modest person, but as a family man I am respectful of the fact that the parents who brought their kids to the park for a picnic probably aren't thrilled to see some guy sitting on the back of his truck stripping down to his underwear in order to get into a breathable layer and then his waders, nor to reverse the process at the end of the day. So what I've sought to do is come up with some type of pant that I could just wear to and from the stream and that would be made of a moisture wicking material, so that I could just slip the waders on over those pants and be on my way. The typical stretch polyester layer isn't going to get the job done, because I would obviously look pretty ridiculous if seen in those anywhere other than on the stream or onstage holding a ballerina above my head, and summer weather here is way too hot to wear them under jeans with the intent of stripping the jeans off on the back of the truck. Likewise, the midweight fleece, while a little more presentable off-stream, is too hot to wear at that time of year. What I've been using is a couple different brands of those zip-off pants that are often used for wet wading or surf fishing. While they're quick drying and beneficial in those applications, I've learned that they don't wick particularly well under waders, leading to a persistent clamminess that's probably better than jeans or bare skin, but not much. Having looked into it a little more now, I've learned those types of pants are typically made of nylon, where the wicking products are typically made of polyester, which apparently makes a huge difference. So what I'd like to find is something that has a cut and fit that's similar to regular pants (as opposed to a pair of tights), but that's made of polyester or some other wicking material, and that isn't so heavy that you'd be miserable on a summer day wearing it in the restaurant on the way back or at the gas pump. Has anybody found anything that seems to satisfy those combined objectives? Thanks for any constructive ideas.
