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PATAGONIA - SWIFTCURRENT EXPEDITION ZIP-FRONT WADERS
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ip-front waders are a little bit like an air fryer. Okay, if you don’t have kids then perhaps that analogy may be lost, but bear with me here. You know when there is that one thing that people just won’t stop going on about. Everyone keeps telling you how good it is and why you just have to get it, but you don’t believe the hype. You hold out for a long time until finally relenting. One day in and you wonder how you ever survived without it. I remember seeing Platon Trakoshis in his zip-front waders on the Breede about four years ago and questioning the logic and extra investment. As he turned away to take a slash, he said something to the tune of, ‘no, you don’t understand.’ Well I do today Platon. I do today.
FRONT ZIPPER So let’s start with that zipper. In 2020 Patagonia released what they regarded as their ‘most innovative, feature-rich waders to date.’ As one would come to expect from the likes of Patagonia, every attention to detail was considered. To begin with, the YKK Vision zipper is completely watertight. This might seem like a throwaway comment but to me that might well be the proverbial weakest link in zip-fronts. If that thing fails, you’re done. The zipper also features a neat closure flap (with rust-proof stainless steel clasps) and the entire mechanism is easy to access and operate. Once open (zipped down) you simply slide off the Y-shaped, padded shoulder straps and step into (or out of) your waders. (I use an old Island Style wetsuit changing mat for this. It’s the best R350 you’ll ever spend watersportswarehouse.co.za). In addition it’s quite easy to zip open and take a leak (another big selling point on zip-fronts for Platon back then, or so I recall, but we won’t go into that). FIT Now, I’m not the world’s tallest human so in the past waders have often been a juggling act of ill-fitting compromise between height, shoe size (bootie fit) and chest-size fit. With the Swiftcurrent range there are some 17 sizes (normal and ‘extended’) with various combination options between girth, height and shoe size. I tested the SSS which refers to ‘Small Short’ (ed. Jazz is frequently referred to as one of our tame Garden Route gnomes, the other being the similarly diminutive LeRoy Botha). Aside from the huge range of basic fits and sizes, these waders are highly customisable. The Y-shaped, suspenderstyle shoulder straps are attached with a ‘ladder system’ so you can get the chest height just as you want it, and then keep them like that indefinitely never having to fiddle with the adjustment. They also feature pull tabs for easy conversion up or down, depending on the temperatures or your wading conditions. If you get hot you’re able to pull them down at the back and the front to open up your chest. I’ve used them in warmer and colder conditions, even a few very slow winter grunter sessions where the water and the air were both way too cold to really have a chance at finding a feeding fish. I also found the adjustment quite useful when driving and can imagine it might work well when sitting in a boat with a backed seat. The back panel fits neatly under a backpack without any friction or discomfort. In addition, the upper
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