OK, I don't suppose I can tell you any more about leaky waders than you already know. However, I might save you a bit of time the next time you fixyour leaky waders.

Fixing the waders is not all that hard, either. I use that Aquaseal stuff, which, in spite of its high-tech, bright green container, somehow smells exactly like the stuff I used to fix my inter tubes with in 1968. And not unlike the stuff I glued my airplanes together with about the same time. (I have to say that I was once again disappointed in Science. Just like gasoline mileage and jet packs, I somehow figured we'd be a lot further along by now.) The Aquaseal seemed to work fine, though, especially if you follow the instructions and use their little temporary glue-forming patches.

Anyway, anybody can patcha hole. But how do you find the hole to patch in the first place? I figured it was pretty easy - I get damp on the left knee, and on the right inner thigh. Of course, when I looked for gaping holes there there were none to be seen. Any wet spots were long gone by the time I got off the river. Spraying with a hose didn't seem to provide enough pressure to drive any water through.

I read somewhere (on the Internet, probably) that you could just hang them and fill them up with water and wait for the water to leak out. I figured this would happen just moments before the seams in the crotch gave out, having to support 8 pounds per gallon of all that water. I decided against that plan.

I then read you can pressurize them, which seemed like a good idea. Sort of like an inner tube repair. I didn't have a pool to dip them in once pressurized to look for bubbles. Instead, I used a method used by my Dad in the olden days when he was fixing refrigerator condensors - soap bubbles. I was doing it on a much larger scale, but the concept was the same.

Just to review, here's what worked well for me. First, I inflated the waders. Be careful with this, as I am guessing you could blow your expensive waders to smithereens. (You could probably blow yourself to smithereens as well, so please follow all the instructions and warnings on your vacuums or air compressors used in this project. Wear your safety glasses, etc.)

In my case, I have a small air compressor with an adjustable regulator. I turned the regulator off, and then taped the hose wide open like so:

This just shows the handle taped in the "blowing" position with some black electrical tape. Then, I dropped the nozzle down one leg of the waders, and gathered the top of the waders around the hose. I gave this a twist, and secured it with one of those "A" clamps. This allowed me to hold pressure in the waders, but not so much to cause a blown seam. I then VERY GENTLY opened the regulator, allowing the waders to inflate. They began to look like this:

You may not want to do this where the neighbors can see you...

The green item showing at the top is the front of the "A"-clamp. You want the waders to be fairly well inflated, perhaps a bit more than is shown here. You will find that the compressor will cycle on and off to maintain the pressure that is coming through the top of the waders - and through the pinholes. I found that I could leave it fairly loose, and safe, and then just squeeze the gathered wader with my hand, causing more pressure to build up in the waders when needed. [At this point, you could substitute a vacuum cleaner hooked up to the exhaust, with the understanding that you won't have as much control over pressure and will need to provide adjustment with your hand a lot.]

Finally, you could use a lot of soap bubbles, but I just mixed up a couple of tablespoons of dishsoap in a bucket. I then just dipped my hand into the bucket, and rubbed it over the waders, starting with the seams. You are looking for two things. First, you want to see movement - blowing bubbles. Second, you want to come back later and see little groups of tight, small bubbles. Small leaks. Some examples are here.

The top right bubbles are from a frisky leak. Lots of activity. The center bubbles are a small leak. In a couple of minutes it will look like a tightly packed igloo. The center bubbles had to be looked at closely to see any movement. Unlike the bubble just below the large bubble - false alarm. Once you see the bubbles, mark them with a permanent marker for later repair. Don't assume you'll remember where they are.

An interesting reason for not remembering is that I found 17 distinct pinholes in my 2 year old Orvis Clearwater waders. OK, not the best available waders (OK, the cheapest available in their line) but still. Seventeen.

The Aquaseal did a good coating job, and seems supple and robust.

I took the waders up to a four day trip to Maine (Lakewood Camps) and they performed flawlessly. This photo shows the dried Aquaseal. It goes on with a small brush, the consistency of thin RTV. As it dries it gets more liquid, and fills in the cracks and crevices. When totally dry it still has a wet sheen to it, but is very flexible.

This photo isn't the greatest, as the glare doesn't do the patch justice. You can see the black magic marker line where I marked the bubbles, and the repair goes more or less evenly above and below the seam. (The top doesn't show up too well.)

I took a few dramatic slides down muddy banks during that time so when I got home I put them into the washer. The Aquaseal held with no problem. All in all a good product.

The only real problem I had was standing around in my multi-patched waders, while everyone else was wearing $500 Simms jobs, with the built-in wading belts, zippered openings, etc., etc. But I got used to it.