LOC Waders - The Wader Like No Other
FOR YEARS BREATHABLE WADERS HAVE BEEN THE WEAK LINK IN OUR TOOL BOX.
Little did we know that our journey into the wading business started that day in early june, 2016. On a rock by the river Orkla in Norway. Frustration over waders that didn’t deliver on their promise slowly turned into action and with decades of fly fishing and wading experience, a big chunk of common sense and a wide-open mind, we went off to see if we could make a wader that we wanted. One that we could trust to keep us dry and comfortable longer than any other wader out there.
LOC - Everyone else is wet!
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Why LOC
THE SECRET IS ON THE INSIDE!
The decision not to use a breathable membrane meant that we had to come up with a new, more suitable way to keep condensation and moist away from the body.
Our solution to the condensation challenge is a patented, hydrophobic 3-D Mesh lining system integrated in our waders. The 3-D mesh Tech™ System creates unrestricted airflow and a constant distance between the outer fabric and your body, keeping condensation and moist away. The 3-D Mesh Tech™ System also delivers great resistance to pressure, minimising squeeze and delivering a completely new wading experience when it comes to comfort. Or as one of our customers put it - “I feel embraced by them”.
Add to this that the 3-D mesh Tech™ system also delivers fantastic isolation capabilities, keeping you warm and cosy. In fact, it has proven so effective that during our years of testing we found that we only needed to dress in the thinnest merino wool base layer, even in water temperatures down to 6 degrees Celsius and air temp below zero, to keep us warm and comfortable.
The LOC 3-D Mesh Tech™ wader ships with a black 30 Denier mesh, suitable for all conditions.
HOLD YOUR BREATH. OUR WADERS DON´T BREATHE!
That´s right. Our waders do not breathe. The first thing we did when we started our journey was to identify the main issues with waders on offer today. We quickly concluded that the weakest link was the breathable membrane. In our experience, membranes are too fragile and simply doesn’t stand up to the constant wear, tear and abuse a wader is subject too.
Add to this, in our experience, no membrane breathes effectively enough to keep up with the bodys heat and sweat production in real life situations. For these reasons it was obvious to us, breathable membranes were not an option for our waders. There had to be another way
OUR WADERS ARE HANDMADE
Our waders are handmade. By real people. Not to be compared to waders made in industrial production where the goal is to produce as fast and cheap as possible.
We are more of a craft company and as such we pride ourselves in taking our time to make things right.
Why you might ask?
If the goal is to produce big volumes at lowest cost possible you have to compress time. And when speed becomes the driving force you will inevitably compromise on quality. Rush things and cut corners and the result will be…ok…at best.
We believe you deserve more. If you, like us value craft quality over quantity then a pair of LOC waders might be just right for you.
LOC Facts
On Your Feet
Again, this is important to understand. The neoprene feet on our waders are different from what you are used too. When developing our waders we put strength and durability as the number one criteria. That is why we decided to use a pre-compressed 3 mm neoprene of the best quality available in our feet.
This kind of neoprene is stronger than ordinary 5-6 mm neoprene that you are used too. But, as we gain strength and durability with the pre-compressed neoprene quality, we do lose a bit of the insulation properties. So in order not to get cold feet you need to adapt how you dress in order to be warm and comfortable.
The starting point is to use wool socks as this is by far the best material that we have tried. Then you simply adapt by using the layer-on-layer principle. I.e. start with a thinner wool sock (a liner) for sweat transportation and then add a thicker wool sock for warmth.
Some of our customers use two thick wool socks and some even use a thin, second neoprene sock over ours, in our experience this doesn´t add as much warmth as layering up with wool socks on the inside, but again, how you dress is a personal thing so if this works for you, then this is how you should dress.
IMPORTANT! We recommend that the wool socks that you use, should end a centimeter or so above the gravel guard on your LOC Waders. If they are longer they will get too far into the 3-D Mesh area and you run the danger of getting too warm and sweaty.
NOTE: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU USE COTTON SOCKS AS THEY ATTRACT MOIST AND WILL MAKE YOU BOTH WET AND COLD!!!
The Feet
We’ve had quite a few questions around the neoprene quality used in the feet of our waders.
When you take a look and try on the LOC neoprene feet for the first time you might think - “What is this? Is this neoprene?”.
The simple answer is: Oh yes it is. It’s just like no other neoprene you’ve never seen before in waders.
The LOC neoprene feet are made of the best heat, pre-compressed neoprene. We opted for the strongest and most durable Neoprene quality available as we came to the conclusion during the development of the waders, that ordinary neoprene doesn’t cut the mustard.
The LOC neoprene will withstand wear and tear better than ordinary neoprene and also deliver a much more comfortable fit in your boots. The fact that it is thinner also allows you to control how warm you want to be, by using the layer-on-layer principle.
On Your Body
In ordinary breathable waders you normally dress in layers of insulating undergarments (Long-johns + thick bibs etc. ) in order to keep warm and comfortable. This is NOT how you should dress in your LOC Waders! If you do you will simply get too warm!
Therefore, and we can´t repeat this enough, it is important that you dress as lightly as possible inside your LOC Waders. This is due to the fact that the patented 3-D Mesh Tech System inside the wader already provides the insulation and warmth needed.
So, you should only dress in a thin base layer (we ourselves use the thinnest Merino Wool long-johns*), regardless of temperature on land and in water.
NOTE! We are all different, how you need to dress in order to stay warm and comfortable is very personal and will differ from others. This goes for all outdoor activities. But if you follow our suggestions above, you´ll have a great starting point for adapting to your specific needs.
LOC Waders & Clothing
We are the UK dIstributors for LOC waders, available in the online shop. Some pairs may need to be ordered due to the large variety of sizes, but delivery is swift and only takes a few days to reach us.
Follow the link for all info on LOC waders and LOC clothing.
www.locwading.com