The TideWe DeepWade zipped hunting waders are some of the best breathable waterfowl hunting waders on the market. I was very impressed with the quality and features of these waders. They are very well thought out, durable, and provide more function than I had ever thought about. And while they are excellent zipped waders in their own right, the simple utility of a zipper on waders is huge no matter what brand of zipped waders you use.
I have been very impressed with the quality of TideWe’s products over the last few years. Their quality to value ratio is extremely high, perhaps the highest of all significantly sized hunting brands I know of. You get a lot for your money with TideWe. The DeepWade waders are their deluxe waders as well, the best and highest level offering they have. I think they are TideWe’s way of showing off a little and they do it well.
Before writing this review, I reached out to TideWe and asked them if they would give a discount code for my readers, and they were very kind to do so. Enter this 18% off discount code at checkout: GK18 for the TideWe DeepWade Zipped Waders or almost anything else TideWe sells. This discount is in addition to most sale prices.
As a note, I hunted with these waders every day I went afield in our early duck season this year. I never review anything that I haven’t used in the field and put through its paces. These are no exception. I have alot of waders as well, breathable waders, 5mm neoprene, 3.5mm neoprene, breathable waders, expensive waders, cheap waders, hip waders, etc. So, I did not need another pair, but I was so curious about the zipper that I had to give these a try, and I’m very glad I did!
Do These Zip Waders Really Keep You Dry?
The first big question everyone asks is do the zippers leak? Do these waders really keep you dry? Well, for me a pair of waders is worthless if it leaks. I do alot of hunting in the cold and getting wet can be the end of the hunt. It can also be detrimental to your health. If something leaks, I have no place for it. And these waders do exactly what they claim, they are completely watertight.
All the zippers are watertight as well, for the body of the waders but also for the outside pockets. And they should be. There are no leaks in the zipper and no leaks anywhere else, even after standing in the water for quite some time while hunting and filming my review video.
Fit & Comfort
I wear a size 11 in all of my hunting boots and waders. And I ordered an 11 in these also. They fit great and still have plenty of room for a heavy wool sock in the boot. And for me all waders start with the boots. They have to be comfortable, warm, and fit right. And these do all of the above. They have good tread, are well made, and they are insulated with 1600 grams of Thinsulate. In short, the boots are great, and I have done some walking and chasing downed birds in them as well.
The rest of the waders are very comfortable, more comfortable than other breathable waders I own actually. The way they are cut is very smart. They are good for standing, sitting, walking, etc. Alot of waders are fine when standing but fit odd when sitting in a stool waiting for ducks. These are the best fitting waders I’ve ever used. I can’t recommend them enough, and they have adjustable zippers on the size to expand them for larger chest sizes. I didn’t need to use that feature, but that’s a big win for bigger guys.
Features
Speaking of feature, these DeepWade waders are jam packed with them. Normally I’m not much of a features guy, I like plain waders because less features means less places the waders can fail. But TideWe seems to have done it right with these. They are durable, strong, reliable and packed with features. Some of which include:
- 1600-gram Thinsulate boots
- Breathable construction that evaporates moisture
- External shell holders
- External zipped pockets
- External fleece lined hand warmer pockets
- Internal zipped pockets
- Clips to hang stuff from
- Included wader belt, extra insoles, repair kit with patch, and wader hangers.
- The big giant awesome zipper on the front
- Adjustable chest size
- Reinforced knees and seat
- 4-layer waterproof construction with ultrasonic seam sealing technology, the goal of which is to reduce seam leaks
- Nice camouflage patterns, and no, not all waders out there have good camo options
- Great zipper handles, especially on the main zipper
I could probably come up with more features, but you get the idea. And these all seem to work really well.
Functionality
As far as waders go, these work great, the pockets are great, especially the fleece lined hand warmer pockets. That is a wonderful addition. That keeps you from needing to buy and carry a handwarmer muff which takes up space and costs more. The position of the handwarmer pockets is perfect as well. I have coats that have them, but they are really poorly positioned and are awkward to use. These are perfect.
Normally I wear my jacket or parka over my waders to give me access to good pockets to hold my calls and shells. But for these I do not need to do that. Their great pocket options mean I can put them on over my jacket and get in and out of the water much easier without having to shed and replace another layer every time. That may not sound like a big deal, but trust me, when you have a busy day with a lot of action, it is a huge deal.
Now for the zipper. This is where these things shine. Yes, the zipper makes them much easier to get in and out of. Yes, the zipper makes it easier to go to the restroom. Yes, the zipper makes these perfect for jump hunting when you need to pull the waders out of a backpack, throw them on quick and retrieve a bird floating down stream. But even more useful than all of that is your ability to unzip them when you are setting up in the morning and start sweating from all the work.
I quickly learned to make sure I wear a zippered jacked and zipping mid layer under these. So, as I haul in my gear and setup my blind, I can unzip everything down to my base layer and vent heat and evaporate sweat. This keeps me cool when working hard. Then when I finally settle in and cool down, I can zip all my layers back up and be toasty warm. This is huge for me, and it is probably huge for a lot of other hunters who never even thought about it before. For me there was never any other options, so I didn’t realize how much something like this could help. I think these waders are worth it if only for this benefit.
Durability
I have no patience for waders that don’t last long. If something fails after one or two seasons, I consider it junk. It has to be made to last, even when it comes to waders. And while I haven’t had these for several years yet to prove them out that far, I can tell by using them that they are very solid. The material is thick and strong, the strongest of any breathable waders I’ve used. The seams are well done, the reinforcements are right where you want them, and the straps, belt, and external pieces are good. I can’t really ask for anything more on these.
No waders are failproof and certainly none are indestructible. But I expect these to last for many seasons. If they fail, it will likely be because I did some very irresponsible things. And then I’ll patch them and keep using them. As of this writing, TideWe has a limited lifetime warranty on these. I am sure that excludes any damage a hunter does to them and so on, but it’s nice to know they are providing some kind of factory quality guarantee.
Value
TideWe is well known for exceptional value, and I don’t just mean cheap stuff. I mean giving you ALOT for what you pay. Everything I’ve bought from them has been really high quality. Every piece of gear I’ve ever bought from them is still in service, nothing has worn out or broken beyond repair. These DeepWade waders continue that tradition. However, they are not cheap. But no zipped hunting waders are. The DeepWade are on the lower end of the zip wader price scale, and they compete very well against waders that cost twice as much.
And of course, you can get 18% off the sale price if you enter this discount code at checkout: GK18 for the TideWe DeepWade Zipped Waders
If you need something less expensive or are just getting started, TideWe’s Seeker Neoprene waders are the best cheap waders I have ever used. I did a full review on the Seeker and the same 18% off discount code works for them too.
Conclusion & Recommendations
If you are looking to test out some zip waders or upgrade your gear to the next level then the TideWe DeepWade Zipped Waders are one of the best options out there. I cannot recommend these highly enough. They make duck and goose hunting more comfortable and more enjoyable. Any good zip waders would make a big difference, but these a great zip waders.
Be sure to listen to The New Hunters Guide Podcast and check us out on YouTube.
Till next time. God bless you, and go get em in the woods!
George Konetes Ph.D. – Founder and Host of the New Hunters Guide.
The New Hunters Guide is simply what George wishes he would have had when learning how to hunt; a single place to get practical hands on knowledge about different kinds of hunting, gear, strategy, and tips that can improve your comfort and fun factor in the woods.
As a note, TideWe gave me these waders at my request to do this review, thanks to them for their support.