Waders for ice fishing?

[Brighamfish]

The scariest experience I ever had ice fishing was partly due to the use of chest waders.

I was out on Pineview in the narrows. I had gotten on with little effort, just a short jump. Getting off the edge was quite a bit softer & I broke through. I was only a few feet out and my feet hit bottom about knee or thigh deep in water, but it is very steep in the narrows. I began to slip downhill in the slippery mud. I trudged & clawed my way up only to slip back down again. When the water got over my waders they filled up quickly weighing me down & there was no getting horizontal to drain out against the slope of the bank. It took several minutes clawing my way up / slipping back down the snowy muddy slope to get out of the water to good footing. I still remember how painful the cramping in my feet from the cold was. My fingertips getting shredded on rocks & ice wasn't too great either.

Looking back I suppose I could have turned around and grabbed the ice sheet instead of the shore and got horizontal to "drain out", but when you are trying not to slip under the ice and you are shocked by the cold water you are not at 100% function mentally or bodily. I was only 18 or so at the time and hadn't given nearly enough serious thought to "what would I do".

I had found waders (neoprene) extremely useful prior to that for staying dry & keeping warm on the ice. Certainly would not tell anyone not to use them, but do keep this particular situation in mind. Slopes, slushy edges & waders do not work well together.
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[BearLakeFishGuy]

Simms makes a camo stocking foot wader. These are high quality but run about $500-$600. G3 guide model. There is also a Waterfowl Wading Systems Max-5 Neoprene Stockingfoot Wader that are not good quality and run about $80 on Amazon.
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[RonPaulFan]

Thanks, BearLakeFishGuy!

The breathable camouflage stocking foot waders I have from about twenty years ago were about $100 then. I've never owned the very expensive Simms. I'm not opposed to spending a lot, but only IF there is something I'm missing. Could they be that much better? My inexpensive ones still work fine after all these years. My only reason for wanting more is to have one in each of my backpacks for preparedness. It might be because it's inexpensive that it is so lightweight, but to me that is an advantage because it's light enough to carry in my backpack even for times it's unlikely to be used yet there just in case for the many situations where it is an ideal solution.
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[Fin-S-Fish]

Make sure to use at least common 3.5mm neoprene waders. I use a cheap caddis 3.5 mm neoprene with separate wading shoes from cabbalas. Wade right in and climb out onto ice. I've had that wader freeze solid hard and I was still warm inside lol. Spent a lot of time fishing in chest deep water in midwinter in the past lol. Had to use pliers to undo the knot on laces many times. I sat in warm springs but in true icy water I use 5mm neoprenes. Don't use the breathable waders, you will freeze to death.
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[Fin-S-Fish]

For sure a good lesson on that one. No wading on a slope ,open water or iced up. Those narrows there slant straight down. One step and you are in over your head. Mantua no problem. Shore is mostly flat.
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