Simms is moving…
- This topic has 14 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated Dec 11, 2011 at 12:00 am by
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…but not out of Bozeman.
They sound like they’re building a pretty sweet new facility, which is a sign of how successful they have been in some pretty rough times.
http://www.anglingtrade.com/2011/12/02/simms-fishing-products-is-moving-expanding/
Zach
Randy –
Simms has the market almost cornered on high-end waders. They indisputably make the best wader product on the planet, but you do pay for it. People have been willing to pay American-made prices for a really high end durable product like that, because they can see the advantages and they know they’ll get 5-10 years of use out of any given wader.
Compare that to the coat market though. Simms has any number of competitors there (Patagonia, Marmot, North Face, Mountain Hardware, Cloudveil, and on and on and on). Every single one of those competitors gets their coats made in Asia, and with a coat, you don’t have the immersion factor which so quickly separates the truly great products from those that are simply adequate. If Simms wanted to, it has the technology to make a full-body breathable wetsuit that would be watertight, but above the waist that technology is wasted.
Consequently, Simms also makes its coats overseas so it can offer them for price parity with its competitors. Would you pay $500 for a wading jacket? I kind of doubt it, especially when you can get a competitor’s for $350 (and unlike with waders, you’ll never be able to tell a performance difference). And even if YOU were sufficiently motivated to bite the bullet, the rest of the market is not.
The good news is this move to a larger facility is clearly evidence that Simms is thriving here in America making its waders, and perhaps with more capacity, they’ll be able to bring a few more items back from overseas and keep a price edge through volume.
Zach
They have a $500 jacket (made in Asia)
I do wish the guide jackets were made in the US and am really not thrilled that the newest models have plastic zippers, but Simms is still the best stuff out there.
I bought my first Simms waders when I was 50, replaced them when I was 55, replaced those when I was 60, and plan to get a new pair this year to celebrate making it to 65. Each pair has had between 300 and 500 days on the water, and the pair I am now retiring has well over that…not to mention the 74 (know and patched) holes. And they are made in Montana. Why would you buy anything else?
Salt water guys got it made – nice pair of sandles, a Buff and shades = good to go! ;D Sweet.
Waders for 5 years?…maybe, 10 years may be a stretch unless they make one that expands as we all get old and fat. ::)
300 – 400 days is likely reasonable then you can have them as many years as you like. I get two years.
So think of it as $2.00 per day.Josh I can’t think of a Simms Jacket under $500 that I would wear. None are Gore Tex. Even the Pak Lite is over $300 (I’m talking Cdn$$)
Still keep wearing them though.
Their boots are fantastic – best thing since Weinbrenners!
Their first Guide Jacket was Made in Canada, then US then they shipped it off to China. I don’t think they ever sold it under $400 even after the move to China, and in the process it lost an inside pocket and a zinger. The material in a jacket is half as tough and not as many layers as the waders but still command over $400??
I live with it because they are still innovative, I know I can get 5 years out of a jacket and 14,000 Kilometers away from home in the driving rain and wind – THEY WORK.
More likely that their margins on jackets help out with the rest of the business. It all goes into the same pot.I sincerely hope that Chinese jackets are not just a test run for the rest of the line…..If they don’t support US….or us, then I’ll bail – truly.
I love all of the Simms stuff, even the overseas stuff. I also understand what they are up against as far as price points.
But I do buy only American rods, reels and lines. I just refuse to even try a foreign rod. That is probably foolish to many but it just gives me satisfaction to use well made American products.
The G4 is $500 by the time you have it shipped or pay tax. I don’t know that I see the need for G4 waders much less a jacket though.
Josh I can’t think of a Simms Jacket under $500 that I would wear. None are Gore Tex. Even the Pak Lite is over $300 (I’m talking Cdn$$)
Both of my Chinese G3 jackets are real GoreTex. I’ve seen those pack lite jackets and they are real GoreTex also. (nice jackets too).
I wish they were still made here but my Chinese ones have been good to me as well.
I have seen several of those big plastic YKK zippers self destruct though, on both Simms and Patagonia jackets, so I’ll never fully trust the newest one I have which sucks… I might see if I can get a new zipper put in it.
Randy –
Simms has the market almost cornered on high-end waders. They indisputably make the best wader product on the planet, but you do pay for it.
I own both Simms Guides and Cloudveil. The Simms are now my backup waders. Easy choice.
Wasn’t commenting on the company’s solvency, Carter. Simply on my wader preference. I live on a trout stream and get on the water a couple hundred days a year, so for what it’s worth, my original Cloudveil waders are hands down the best new gear I’ve seen in a long time.
That said, I’ve always admired Simms and its products, and still do.
What I meant Carter were that none of the “wading jackets” under $500 Cdn.were made of Goretex. (Not that none of the jackets are made of it.)
I do stand corrected the G3 Jacket it’s $475Cdn+ tax….<$500?? :) Yes the Pak Lite is Goretex. That is why I mentioned it. Not being a “Wading Jacket” Being a ultralight rain jacket is still $335. It’s Hard to put $300+ into a jacket that spends all it’s time in the backpack. I owned a Pac lite suit (till all my stuff got Stolen from my car) and it is the best Light jacket I’ve ever owned. Just expensive is all. Made in China and still damn expensive. I have not had any issues with my zippers though but I do recall my old Waxed Cotton jacket had metal zippers and in the dead of winter it occasionally froze up and you couldn’t get it off.
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