When I bought my original pair of Freestones, they were a good product at a decent price, and I got 4 good years out of them. Over the past few years Simms decided to outsource production of their lower-end products, and quality control went out the window. Their more expensive stuff, that's still made in the US, apparently is under tighter quality standards (I'm speculating here, but I hear few complaints from folks about those products). As to why the sales rep told me what I could look forward to with another pair of (now) foreign-made waders, it was because he was looking out for me as a valued customer - I joke, he was trying to get me to shell out another $200 for their real good stuff. I'm not into labels and don't blindly buy based on brand names; what I originally got was exactly what I was looking for, then Simms decided to change how the game was played.
Regards,
Scott