William Joseph Knows How to Make a GREAT Pair of Waders

For a couple years now I have taken more then my fair share of verbal abuse from friends, fellow fisherman, and elderly couples exercising their dogs along the banks of the Provo River for my skin tight, suffocating, sweat inducing neoprene waders during the months of June and July.

Being equal parts stubborn and poor I simply deflected their pointed and sometimes hurtful criticism by out fishing them.

A couple weeks ago, after proving that despite my full body sweats and leg enhancing  neoprene waders I could still catch fish in 90 degree weather, I broke down and purchased a pair of V2 breathable waders from my friends at William Joseph.

Below is the post that I made upon making that fine purchase:

"I splurged for a couple new pairs of William Joseph waders; V-2's for myself and Drynamic's for my fly fishing/tying guru mother.
  

The William Joseph V-2





First Impressions: Being that I've been fishing with my old school neoprene's, these things are light and will look a lot less like I'm wearing a skin tight unitard on the water. I tried them on in the store and I'll have plenty of room to throw on a pair of thermal bottoms underneath to keep me warm in the winter months.



The William Joseph Drynamic



Up Side: Light weight, breathable, stylish and backed up by a bomb proof warranty. Remember that Badlands warranty? Guess who makes William Joseph. Yup, you guessed it.

Down Side: Being that I do have some more leg room and less ass definition I'm going to miss all of the cat calls from ladies on the river.   God bless the inherited fictional privilege of a fisherman.





I'm very much looking forward to the review on these: a day on the river is tough to beat. A day on the river with your mom, fishing with the flies that she ties herself. . . . .nearly impossible to beat. Plus, being the superstitious guy that I am if I do happen to get skunked for the fist time in my entire life (fisherman's   fictional privilege), I can blame it on the new waders being unlucky."

I did in fact get a chance to take my mother fishing on the Duchesne River that weekend and we had a great time. How did the waders perform? Flawlessly.

In the past all of my gear has been packed into a duffel bag, lugged out to my truck, and heaved over the side rail with both hands into the back. I fell in love with these waders before I could even sniff the water because due to the fact that they can be rolled up into the size of a shoe box I was able to fit everything I needed into my trusty for mentioned Black Ridge pack. Impressed as I was at this point, the best was yet to come.

The day we picked to fish was particularly hot and temperatures were in the high 80's by the time we hit the parking lot. No, friends, it's not hot in Hannah, Utah early in the morning; we got somewhat of a late start.  I would like to take this opportunity to point out that taking women fishing indeed requires a "little" extra preparation time. For example; if you would like to be fishing by 8 A.M. and you have an hour of drive time, it would be wise to set a small fire under your fire alarms at 3 A.M. so you can be on the water by 10 A.M. Enough education Messerly, on with the review.

I pulled the waders from my pack, slipped (not pulled and pried) them on, rigged up my outfit and was good to go. My mother did the same and then we both assisted my girlfriend Crystal with her neoprenes. Crystal is very good at putting up with my crap but the heat and her waders were soon to deny me of my ever recurring "one last cast and then we can go"; followed by a quick exit from the river and an awkward first ten minutes of the ride home.

The cool built in gravel guards
and my not so cool worn out boots.

The built in gravel guards are very handy and I liked that they were not only going to keep the sand and gravel out of my old wore out boots but that they also partially covered them up. New boots will be purchased and reviewed soon.

The neoprenes and an unfomfortable
Crystal.

Three hours into our afternoon I had yet to catch a fish but I was more comfortable than I had ever been not only standing in the river but working my way up the banks climbing fences, ducking limbs, and squatting down to sneak my Kings River Caddis into tight spots from the bank. I laughed at myself thinking how long I had waited to move to a breathable. Fortunately for me, I felt like I had picked up the best of the best in the process. There was no a cloud in a sky, the sun was pounding down on us and we were comfortable. . . . . well, two out of three of us were comfortable. Crystal, whom was excited and full of energy for hours 1 and 2 was looking annoyed. Her smile was gone, her waders were rolled down to her waist in an effort to stay cool, and she certainly was not impressed when I pretended to be a television news caster and asked her to speak into the branch I had extended toward her regarding her thoughts about fishing for a couple more hours. "I want to go home. There is a swamp inside my waders. Said swamp is not from an outside water source. I am done."

Being perfectly comfortable and dry I wanted to keep fishing. On the walk back to the car my pleas to make one more cast were denied, repeatedly, and not very politely.

Guys; want to fish longer and keep the significant other happier? Buy the waders.

At the end of the day my socks were as dry as they were when I put my waders on: no sweat and no leaks. Although I've definitely caught more fish I have never been more comfortable. There are velcro pockets inside the waders that provide quick and easy access to your camera or cell phone to snap a quick pick or skip a lame song on your Pandora too. These guys thought of everything.

Since that trip I have been four different times and my opinion has only become more and more positive. Just last night I crossed a barbed wire fence and make a pretty awkward dismount from the top wire; as I hit the ground my first thought as to reach for the huge hole that I was sure to find in the shin of my new waders. Much to my surprise, there was no hole. Granted, I'm sure you won't find it advertised anywhere by William Joseph that any of their waders are "barbed wire" and or "idiot" proof, I was yet again impressed.




First fish with the new waders.
Happy and comfortable fisherman.

Again, an over all and resounding, A+ for the William Joseph V2 waders. If you are in the market, take it from a guy that was VERY reluctant to spend the money and make the purchase; I promise you definitely won't regret it.