 Thank you for investing in some new waders from Anglin Active. We'd like to offer you some simple tips and advice in order for you to maximise your waders lifespan, ensuring you get the best out of them for seasons to come. Upon receiving your parcel, open it carefully, a knife can pierce through the packaging and into the waders, so please be mindful of this and keep the packaging handy. Inspect the supplied invoice and keep it for any return purposes after fitting. It will be your best reference for any after sales care you may require. A good fit is crucial for the continued performance of your waders, so take a seat and try them on as soon as possible. Cotton-based trousers such as jeans can be restrictive in your movement and can often have small metal studs that could damage the tape seams and membranes of your waders. A breathable, fast wicking, soft layer which keeps you warm yet sweat free is the best option. Try to avoid stretching or pulling your feet into the wader above seams. A word of caution, out of the box and once on and strapped over your shoulders, the waders might look great on you, nice length, feel comfortable and be almost tailored to your body while standing. This is actually the biggest issue with wader sizing and these waders demonstrated are surprisingly too small. As you can see the groin area is restrictive and being pulled and the seams can be felt digging into the knee, so what looks great standing may not be ideal practically. You should be able to kneel down easily and also lift a knee to 90 degrees while standing. You should not feel any pressure or strain around the waders at all whilst doing these tests. Alternatively, too big and baggy then there is excess material around the upper inseam. This can act like a drogue and faster water and is dangerous. Again, a lot of material around the top of the wader can parachute in the event of falling in and could make the difference to your survival if you were to slip. If they are the wrong size simply box them back up and get in touch with us. It's that easy and not worth risking voiding the warranty when we can help you. Stand them back as new with the pre-supplied sticker on the invoice you received. Correct size waders should be a touch loose and baggy. They should feel a tiny bit too long and a bit too wide around the chest and legs. These are a perfect example because the straps feel comfortable, provide plenty of room for layers. The knees and groin are non restrictive and have spare room even when kneeling down on one knee. They are long enough too without being baggy allowing water to pass around you easily. A perfect fit. If the waders you have purchased are stocking boots then try them on at home with pair boots. If the neoprene feet are too small you will be uncomfortable and your toes may wear weak spots into the neoprene. Keep your toenails short too for this purpose. Always spread the laces when tying your boots. This evenly distributes the pressure across the boot increasing both the boots and the socks lifespan. Gravel guards are often considered sacrificial by many manufacturers but make sure you hoop them to the laces without too much straining on the material when moving. Simply move the hoop up the laces a little again to avoid seams being pulled on the main wader leg. This will have no effect on the functionality of the gravel guards and your laces will also last longer too. Lastly if you have a set of stairs at home try walking up and down them with your waders and boots on. Now you can go fishing in comfort. So you've got a pair of waders that fit now you have to look after them. We're all guilty of it after an outing your waders can sit for a couple of days crumpled up in the boot of your car and this is the perfect humid environment for bacteria to grow. Waders must be dried as soon as possible or mildew and mold will grow and weaken the materials. Sometimes lifting the tape on seams and causing what looks like staining. Regardless of how much you clean this stained area it will appear dirty as seen here. This is simply because the bacteria have actually eaten away at the laminations of the material. Additionally improper storage voids warranty by most manufacturers so hang them up to dry as soon as possible by the straps or hang tag if provided. In a ventilated room to air dry preferably not in direct sunlight for long periods of time and certainly not in the radiator or near fireplace. Once they are completely dry on the outside turn them inside out. Sweat alone can make the waders damp inside and cause mildew to form. Dry inside and out you will have a long life pair of waders. This pair featured here are eight years old and hard used. They have never leaked and performed well because they have been dried out and well considered every outing but just as importantly they have been cleaned once a year. Regardless of the use be it in the boat, hillock, river or rock hopping in the salt water cleaning aids the breathability of your breathable waders. Cleaning will also provide greater comfort as the waders will be more supple. They will look better on you and obviously benefit personal hygiene. You can hand wash your machine most waders but follow the care instructions provided with the waders to the very best you can. What can be difficult to understand is what detergent to use. See the care details of the waders you have purchased for any restrictions noted. If machine washing is recommended by the manufacturer, zip up everything and tie up or remove the straps or even zip them into the pouch. And always use a delicate cycle with cold water and a cold rinse. Never tumble dry your waders, air dry only using the same technique as already demonstrated. If hand washing be sure to rinse the waders thoroughly to remove any detergent residues before drying. It is now well worth the time to treat your waders because now you have the perfect surface to replenish the DWR. Coming into winter, your waders have lasted a season. You've cleaned them. Why not revive their waterproofing ready for the next season so they are just like new? DWR is referred to in the world of breathable waterproof garments as it is short for durable water repellent layer. Some wader manufacturers will recommend which treatments to use. The two most popular are NYQUAX and Revivex. After washing your waders and rinsing thoroughly, lay them out just damp, not wet on a flat, clean surface and protect the surrounding area from over spray. The cardboard is ideal for this. Follow the instructions on the bottle and starting with the outer breathable surface of the garment, saturate the material with the spray, which can pool between the creases. Wipe this pool treatment in with a damp cloth or paper tissue and then flip and repeat on the back. You can leave the waders to air dry at this point if you wish, but the gentle treatment from a hairdryer is what helps the treatment bind to the fibers in the waders. Evenly dry with the hairdryer at 10 to 20 centimeters distance. Some treatments may say to use a tumble dryer. We would suggest this is a mistake, specifically to waders. Do not overheat the areas with the hairdryer. Work past them and come back to them once cool again. A good test is to flick a little water on the surface of the waders, and if it beads and rolls off, then you have successfully reproofed the DWR of your waders. Heavily used or rubbed areas of the waders may need to be treated twice. These areas can include the belt and the crotch or inseam and will form obvious damp patches. Simply respray, dry and test again. You can see how well a well-used pair of eight-year-old waders can be revived. Pinholes are easily spotted during the drying process too. Ready for repair. Try not to hang your waders in any way for longer periods of time. The reason for this is that the areas that the straps meet the waders can become stressed. This is also the case when hanging from the boots if your waders are boot food. If you can find a similar circumstance to laying them gently over the back of a chair with all the weight suspended, then this is best. When storing your waders for a longer period of time, for example, winter, the best way to do this is to make sure they are completely clean and dry, loosely rolled up without bunching them up tight, storing doors, or if the shed is not damp, up high out of the way of mice. Don't store them in an airtight container. So now you have a great fitting pair of waders that you know how to store dry, clean them, treat, and overwinter for many years of dry feet and comfortable fishing.