The Skwala wader repair department understands how the Maytag Repairman feels most days. Skwala waders are made to last through multiple seasons of serious fishing, but even the best waders will leak eventually. If you get into a leg wrestling match with a barbed wire fence or do the Can-Can through a forest of Devil’s Club while wearing your Skwala Waders, that’ll expedite their need for a little TLC.
What should you do if you think (or know) your waders are leaking? Who fixes them? How long does it take? Read on for a full breakdown of the Skwala wader repair journey.
Step 1: Interpret the Wet Spot
Discovering damp patches when taking off your waders doesn’t necessarily mean your waders are leaking. If you’re wearing heavy socks or walking long distances in warm conditions, that water might be your own. Skwala Waders utilize proprietary technology in our neoprene booties designed to keep your feet warm even in frigid water. "Wool is the answer,” says Skwala founder and CEO Kevin Sloan. “No matter the conditions, your skin is going to give off some perspiration. Wool holds that moisture in the fiber and keeps it away from your skin. Wearing wool socks and pants of the appropriate weight will keep you dry and comfortable.” If you’re doing a big hike on an especially warm day, wear something light and breathable under your waders, like a pair of Sol Wading Pants. Regardless of temperature, make sure it's not cotton.
Scott Battista, Skwala’s head of customer service, explains it this way, “Sometimes people reach out and say, ‘Hey, I have a little bit of moisture in my sock on my right side.’ I don’t want them to send in their waders and lose fishing time if they don’t have to, so I ask a bunch of follow up questions. You might be surprised at how often it comes down to something simple like wearing the wrong kit of gear in the summer and getting a little bit of perspiration in your waders.
If you’ve just got a few spots of moisture, particularly lower on your legs, good news: you might not have a leak at all. Try changing what you wear under your waders and see if that solves the problem. If not, move on to step two.
Step 2: Locate the Source
Once you’ve ruled out internal moisture, the next step is finding the problem. A giant rip up the backside is easy to find, but usually you’re dealing with small pinholes. Examine the fabric where you think the water is getting in on both the outside and inside of the wader and look for evidence of a hole. If you can find it, mark it on the inside of your waders with a dry erase pen. If you’re not sure where the water’s coming from, don’t worry; move on to step 3.
Step 3: Call Us
You can reach out to Skwala Customer Service any time you have a question or concern about your gear, but this is the point in the wader repair journey when you should definitely contact us. Call us (833-523-1500) between 9:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday Mountain Standard Time, or email us whenever it’s convenient for you, and we will get back to you promptly.
Scott explains the process this way: “If someone has an issue with their waders, I'm going to ask a bunch of follow up questions. When did you notice it? When did you buy the waders? How many times have you worn them? Is this an isolated incident? Is it happening every time? Is there anything that happened that led to this? The more information that I can get, the better service we can provide.”
“I always assume that people need their gear now! If you’re wearing Skwala, you’re probably fishing pretty hard and frequently, so you can’t afford to be without your waders. If you’re able to locate the source of the leak and it’s a small pinhole, I’ll probably suggest putting some AquaSeal or Loon UV Wader Repair on there to see if that solves the problem, at least in the short term. That way, you don’t miss any fishing and you can send the waders in after the season’s over.”
Step 4: Clean Your Waders
Do not come straight from the river, peel off your waders, and stick them in the mail. Not only might your waders mildew in transit, but we also won't be able to fix them. "I can’t do anything with dirty waders,” Scott says. “First and foremost, thoroughly clean and dry those things.”
Step 5: Ship them to Bozeman
Once your waders are clean, dried, and squared away, put them in a sturdy box and ship them to Skwala HQ. Then, and this is the difficult part, hang tight while we receive and assess them. This shouldn’t take more than a few days, but we know a few days without fishing can feel long.
Step 6: Assessment and Repair
Once your clean, dry waders arrive, the team will go over all the information you provided and then carefully inspect them. We’ll put your waders through a series of rigorous tests and find out exactly what's going on. We put more pressure on these than you can ever do wading and often find microscopic pinholes you never knew you had. We'll take care of those while we are at it as well.
“If we find a material defect or failure in our construction, we’ll send you a brand-new pair right away. If we find leaks or tears from unfortunate encounters with sharp objects, we’ll initiate the repair process right here in-house. I’ll place a patch of seam tape on the inside and create a separate patch for the outside of the tear before using a heat press to activate a chemical bond. You essentially get two new layers of wader material on each side restoring waterproofing. Once we patch it, we’ll put that wader back in our tester, fill it with water, and make sure they’re back to watertight. After that, we dry them off, box them up, and ship them back to you.
“Some things, unfortunately, can't be repaired. If you put a foot-long rip up the whole leg, tearing through seams, we probably can’t fix that. In that rare scenario, we’ll do everything we can to get you back on the water as quick as possible.”
Step 7: Get Back to Fishing
We don’t just talk about making good gear and standing behind our product, we offer the strongest guarantee in the industry. Anyone can sell a pair of waders, we want to build life-long relationships with our customers.