Fleece Pants - Best pair for the best value?

[billhouk]

Steelhead season soon and I need some advice on fleece pants. Any suggestions for underwader layering?
Thanks!

[oldfrat]

I have a pair of fleece lined nylon wader pants I got from Cabela's, but I note they are not selling them now. Maybe these would work for you.
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/2...Processed=true

Don't wear anything cotton under your waders. If you don't have synthetic underpants, try using your swim trunks.

[billhouk]

Thanks for the suggestion. Not to worry about the synthetics, I teach LNT (center is located in Boulder). I have ski pants, can I wear them under the waders instead of "fleece"? I'm new to this and the coldest water I have been in is mountain streams early in the spring. I'm headed to Lake Erie tributaries in November...

[jklett]

If you have an Old Navy nearby, they have fleece pants for $20 or so. I picked up some last year and they're almost too warm for anything but the dead of winter.

[billhouk]

Thanks, I'll take a look there.

[DUB]

I use Under Armour long johns, then $20.00 Fleece I bought at Sportsmans Warehouse (clearance). Pryor to that I had some cheapo fleece from Wally World that kept me warm until it fell apart after a few trips.
In extreme cold I wear the Under Armour, then a pair of cotton, yes I said cotton, long johns over that. Followed by the Fleece. Make sure the synthetic material is on first as it whicks the moisture away from your skin.



Last winter was brutally cold on the Frying Pan river. This pic was taken at -10. The average (first thing in the morning) temp was -5. I never had issues except at times I thought my fingers were going to fall off, or that it felt like my nose and ears were on fire.

Just my opinion.

[John Rhoades]

I have a couple pair of heavy weight Patagonia fleece pants. They are not inexpensive - probably close to $100 per pair these days - but will last a lifetime (or nearly so), so they are a bargain in the long run. Mine are at least 15 years old and I wear them on cold days here in Montana during the summer, as well as during the winter, and they are still almost good as new. I also know from experience that if any Patagonia product fails I can send them back to the company for repair or replacement.

[DUB]

Whether you go low end or high end as John Rhoades suggests there is one item on fleece I wont do without. Stirrups. Yep, you may look like a girly man wearing them, but they will prevent your fleece and everything under the fleece from riding up your leg.

[Tyro]

Reddington makes a decent pair of fleece waders with stirrups.

A lot of your question depends on your own situation.... How cold will air and water temeperatures be when you are fishing? Will you be moving a little, a lot or not really at all? What is your own personal cold tolerance?

My guess is that you would want to look for something like Polartec 300 or better. If you go on the smaller side of things you may want to supplement with some polypro thermals. Layering in cold weather is always a good thing!

[zaxaca]

I bought a top and bottom from Hodgman years ago and still use them. These aren't the same ones, but at less than $12.00 each you don't have a lot of downside risk:

http://www.hodgman.com/Fleece-UnderW...-P2032C46.aspx

http://www.hodgman.com/Fleece-UnderW...-P2033C46.aspx