Travel Tying Update & Real Wader Repair 18May19

While traveling and fishing I was a bit frustrated by my need to pack some of my home tying desk gear on the trip. I have a travel tying kit but I needed a real vise, a real magnifier, and some materials I knew were not already in that kit. Further, an older whip finisher was on board and I was so lame with it, given my regular use of a Materelli-style finisher that I bought another for the road... I did buy the $2.50 one from China, but I can wield it well. The kit now includes a real DynaKing vise, a small but effective gooseneck 3x magnifier, the Materelli whip finisher, more materials & hooks, etc. It all still fits in the Fishond travel system (~10"/side cube) Kala got me years ago. I will now not need to wreck my home setup for the road.

Too, I was recently very frustrated with a response from Simms regarding a pair of G3 Guide Wading Pants. I submitted them for repair (paying $12 shipping in) willing to pay ~$70 to stop their leaks. I received an unsatisfactory response that they could not repair them to integrity "with the quality they demand." I responded vehemently disappointed and disapprovingly to their post-"unservice" survey. $500 pants, repaired once for $70, represent a significant investment for me that should last more that 3 seasons (~150 outings) or ~$5/day. I disagreed with their assessment and knew the wader's real condition and decided to acquire materials needed to affect repairs myself - sheesh inconvenient, I may need to switch wader brands in the future. I bought 8oz of Aquaseal and five 3"x20" sheets of Tenacious Tape (both from Gear Aid) and invested several hours. First I trimmed the tape which'd pealed away from the waders and cleaned the surfaces; next I Aquasealed the seams and stress areas, and let the waders dry for a full day; then I cut, trimmed, and applied Tenacious Tape to the wader-bootie boundary and to the front and rear stress seams near the bootie. These areas are almost always where these waders fail - I also provided Simms design/material improvements from my field use (and fail) knowledge but not all companies act on righteous VOC. The repairs are effective but the real test is whether they will stand the test of wear and tear as that's what really wrecks the stress points. Onward.