I have always figured if I went in, I would be able to shed my waders or boots that would weight me down. Lost a childhood friend off a crabbing boat recently that has changed my mind regarding this.

Ok…neoprene waders will not let you sink.
I tried to drown myself with every possible combination I could come up with and you CANNOT sink in neoprene waders.
I walked from shallow to deep.
I’ve jumped in deep.
I’ve filled them up with water and jumped in deep.
You name it I’ve tried it, it’s impossible to not float.

With that said, you will float legs up vs your head up. If you fall a get knocked unconscious, you will drown.

And yes, all this was done in a controlled environment with help just incase I was wrong. After I did it I made my boys do it in their waders.

The only “funny” out of it is when you fill your waders with water and jump in deep, that water in your waders comes rushing straight up due to the pressure of sinking. Once that water is expelled, you bob on back the the surface.

I did an experiment once with a buddy on a safety line:
Put on and old trashed pair of waders and jumped into a swimming pool. I COULD NOT REMOVE THE WADERS! Water pressure pressed the material against my body and it was IMPOSSABLE to skin out of them. That's why I have a razor sharp dedicated knife on the suspenders, NEVER to be removed or used for anything else.

don't you guys use a wader belt?
Wader belts on chest waders will stop the water from coming in, so if you take a dunking you will float.
I've had this happen and it does work.

Yes, Feet up and head down, which rhymes with drown! The belt only helps when you overtop the waders letting the water in.

I went for a swim with my buddies old style loose chest waders, no problems. Just more drag.
Mind you I was only wearing trunks, drunk and 21 years old. I could also swim like a fish back then. Won the under water swimming contest at my uncles, but my cousin had to pull me up from the bottom. I wake up on the edge of the pool and some people are crying and I be all like “where’s my beer?”…..lol. There’s a reason I quit drinking a few years ago.

A web belt tightly around your waist is a great help if you fall or step over your head. I was wading in a lake while bass fishing and stepped into a soft bottom much like quick sand. Had to drop to my knees and walk out on my shins. Thought I was a goner.

my dad got himself one of those inflating life jackets , pull the cord and it inflates makes it easier to wear.

might not be a horrible idea when wearing waders

one of my great uncles drown duck hunting before I was born.

they blamed it on the heavy wool clothing and of course no PFD but it was around 1950 so a lot of people didn't wear them.

another great uncle and his best friend drown pulling nets in 1957

Why would you want to remove the waders? Just curious…if you’re floating and swimming.

USDA guy fell in south of me,,,,,They found him standing upright about 4 under water,,,,what a way to go.....:(

Curious if anyone know what type of waders all the folks that had bad outcomes were wearing? All I tested was neoprene because we were doing a lot of duck hunting at the time and running some sketchy areas at 0-dark thirty to get there.

He was a good man.

You can't swim with your head pointing down, and your feet in the air. and the weight will drag you down. And I do use a water ski float belt.

I lost two friends about eight years ago due to chest waders while not wearing a life jacket. I had to put one of them in a body bag after straightening out his rigor mortised limbs; not fun.

I capsized a canoe in a river many years ago while wearing chest waders without a life jacket. Luckily the deep hole I got dumped in tailed out into shallower water so that my head came to the surface after about 10 seconds. YOU CAN NOT REMOVE WADERS IN THE WATER.

Bears repeating: "YOU CAN'T REMOVE WADERS WHILE IN THE WATER!!!!!"