Simms Fishing

[RHenn]

Had a pair of the Simms Flats Sneakers for less than a year, and the material that the upper is made of started flaking off, no big deal, not wearing them for looks anyway. But the last time I wore them, the sole of one of them came apart at the instep. It kind of mad me mad that I spent that lind of money for something to last that short of time, got disgusted and tossed them.<BR>I was in my local shop where I bought them and was offered another set, but I did not want to be a pain to them, so I sent Simms an e-mail telling them what happened and that I tossed the boots. <BR>&nbsp;After I sent the e-mail, I took off to a local lake to fish for a little while, and didn't think I would hear from them for a while, due to the time difference between Florida and Montana. But when I got home and checked my mail there was an reply requesting my phone number, so I replied with the phone number and before I could take the phone out of my pocket, a fella from Simms was calling me. <BR>He was really helpful, and they are sending me another pair, even though I tossed the others. <BR>GREAT SERVICE, and customer support! The guy I spoke to told me they are aware of the problems and for me to keep the e-mail address in case I have problems and that the boots have been upgraded. <BR>&nbsp;I will buy more of their products, looking at a set of waders for when the water gets below 70 deg here, which is cold for Florida.... LOL

[ScottP]

Glad you had a good experience with Simms. If you're looking at their waders, though, I'd be extremely leery about buying any of the low end of their waders since quality control seems to be problematic, at best, and more likely non-existent. I bought a pair of Freestones in 2006 and got 4 years out of them, with relatively light use (I wet-wade a lot in the summer); when they developed minor (I'm talking pin hole) leaks in one of the boot-feet, I contacted Simms and they said ship them back to see how bad the damage was. Surprisingly, I was told that they couldn't be repaired (Red Flag alert) but they'd send me a new pair for the cost of shipping; okay, I thought. When I got the new pair I saw that there were a number of design changes (found out later they were being made overseas); fit seemed to be good, although I wasn't thrilled with the suspender clips. They worked fine for a fall trip to Idaho/Wyoming in 2010, but then in spring 2011, they developed leaks in both feet, real bad news since I was fishing some pretty cold western tailwaters. I called Simms again and the customer service rep said he'd be glad to replace the pair (no charge except shipping) but that quality control in the outsourced lines was questionable and I'd likely be calling him again within the year with the same complaint (talk about standing behind your product!), but if I were willing to pay an extra $200 I could get a pair of their Goretex waders, made in America, and I'd stay dry as a bone. Since I didn't have an extra $200 on me, or believe anything a sales rep says, I opted for the straight replacement, and saved on shipping since this entire phone conversation had taken place with me sitting at a fishing access about 20 minutes from the factory in Bozeman (surprised the receptionist when I dropped a pair of wet waders on his desk). The Simms rep was right about one thing - the new waders started leaking within the year, but this time I just Aqua-sealed the heck out of the feet.
If you're going to buy a pair of the Freestones or any of their other low-end waders, I suggest you get a couple tubes of Aqua-seal, too; you'll probably need it.

Regards,
Scott

[LadyFisher]

If I was "home" in Montana I would personally see that the folks at Simms were aware of this thread...maybe I can get some answers from here (Tucson, Arizona).