Avery Waders

What Avery is, and where it sits now

Avery Outdoors began in 1994 in Memphis, Tennessee. Banded Holdings, which is based in Springdale, Arkansas, announced in August 2015 that it had acquired the company. Avery made gear under three names: Avery, Greenhead Gear and Avery Sporting Dog. Banded said it would keep the Memphis headquarters open. When you try the old Avery web address now, it redirects to banded.com, and the Avery wader pages in our data live on Banded's site.

That ownership picture is the thing to know before you buy. An Avery wader today comes from the same company as the Banded RedZone and Phantom X. If you want to understand the family, our Banded page walks through the lines. Here I'll stay on the Avery listings and the alternatives in the table.

What Avery sells on Amazon US

At our last check (October 2026) we track seven Avery listings: five waders and two wader jackets. The waders are the Originals 5mm Neoprene, the Originals Breathable Insulated, the Originals Breathable Uninsulated, the Heritage 2.0 Breathable Insulated and the Heritage 3.0 Insulated. The jackets are the Heritage Hybrid Wader Jacket and the Originals 3-in-1.

The table above lists the Avery models first, then eight alternatives from other brands, clearly labeled and tagged with a Brand column. Each value carries a mark. "Maker" means the manufacturer's own page states it, "claimed" is a manufacturer claim with no named test, "listing" is what the Amazon listing says, and a dash means we could not confirm it and will not guess. For Avery, the Originals mostly show "maker", because Banded hosts their pages. The two Heritage waders mostly show "listing" and dashes, because we have no maker page for them.

The two lines

Originals. There are three Originals waders. The 5mm neoprene wader is the simplest: neoprene construction, a stated 5mm thickness, 1600-gram insulated boots, reinforced knees, a bootfoot cut, and a one-year manufacturer-defect warranty. Neoprene is a closed-cell foam rubber, and the trapped gas in the foam is what insulates. It is heavy and it does not breathe, which is why it suits cold, still conditions and punishes a long walk. The two breathable Originals use Banded's SHEDS waterproof breathable fabric, which is a name the maker uses and not an independent standard. One is insulated, with HARS body insulation, and the other is "uninsulated" in the name. Look at the table: the uninsulated model shows insulation as yes, because it lists 1600-gram insulated boots. The body is not insulated. I'd read the product name, not just the yes.

Heritage. The Heritage 2.0 and 3.0 waders have no maker page in our data. The Amazon listing for the 2.0 says chest, breathable and insulated; the listing for the 3.0 says bootfoot, three layers, insulated and 1600-gram boots. A listing can be right, but it is a seller's summary, so I treat the layer count as the listing's claim until a maker page confirms it. The Heritage Hybrid Wader Jacket has a maker page that lists a SHEDS membrane, a fixed adjustable hood, fleece-lined handwarmer pockets and sizes small to 3XL.

Jackets. A wader jacket is a short jacket, cut to end at the wader's chest line so it does not bunch under a wader bib. The Originals 3-in-1 pairs a shell with a removable layer and a removable hood, with sizes small to 4XL. Neither jacket gives a waterproof rating in millimeters on the page we read, so that column shows a dash.

Who should buy an Avery wader, and who should skip

Buy one if you hunt waterfowl in cold weather, stand a lot and want a wader with the boot built in. The neoprene Originals is the simplest, and the breathable insulated Originals gives you the most maker information of the group. Skip them if you are mainly a river angler who walks, if you need a stockingfoot wader, or if you want a wader with a stated layer count and a longer maker warranty. The two Heritage waders are the ones to be careful with, because the information behind them is thinner.

Gary bought bootfoot waders in his sneaker size and spent the morning learning where the wader boot stops and the sock begins. Bootfoot sizing locks foot room to the wader, so the boot size matters more than anything else on the chart.

Insulated vs uninsulated

Insulation is the main fork. An insulated wader holds heat, which is welcome in 35-degree water and a nuisance in warm shallows. An uninsulated body lets you pick layers: fleece for a cold dawn, nothing for a warm afternoon. The 1600-gram boot figure on the Originals refers to the insulation in the boot. It is a rating for warmth in the foot, not a weight. See our insulated waders and neoprene waders pages for how this works across brands.

If you want a wader for fishing with a lot of walking, the bootfoot vs stockingfoot guide will help you decide whether a bootfoot suits you at all.

Warranty

The three Originals wader pages list a one-year warranty against manufacturer defects. Banded's wader warranty page, which I read, covers RedZone 2.0, RedZone 3.0, Black Label Elite and ASPIRE and does not mention Avery. I would not assume the Banded terms transfer. It says warranty is for the original purchaser only, that proof of purchase is required and that you may have to ship the wader to Banded's Memphis address at your own cost. Read the terms on the Avery page you buy from, and keep the receipt somewhere you will find it. For the Heritage waders we have no warranty data.

Sizing

Avery's product pages link to Banded's size chart at banded.com/pages/size-chart. It asks for chest, waist and inseam. The Originals pages list the following boot size ranges: 8 to 13 Regular and 9 to 13 Stout for neoprene, 8 to 16 Regular and 9 to 16 Stout for the breathable insulated wader, and boot sizes 9 and 12 to 16 for the breathable uninsulated wader. That means the range is wide at the top end but narrow in the small sizes. If your foot is a size 8 or smaller, check each listing's size options before you set your heart on a model.

I did not read enough Amazon reviews to summarize fit, so the maker's chart is your guide. Measure over the layers you will wear. If you wear thick neoprene socks, try the boot size with them on.

Before you buy: a short checklist

Wading in cold water is a safety matter, so a few checks are worth the minute. Wear a wading belt cinched over any chest wader, because a belt limits how much water can flood in if you fall. A bootfoot wader that is full of water is very heavy and hard to climb out of. Test any new wader in shallow water close to shore before you rely on it in a current.

Then check the listing. Make sure the foot type says bootfoot and the height says chest, since both "waist" and "hip" versions exist elsewhere in the same brand space. Compare the boot size range against your own, and read the insulation line as two questions: is the body insulated, and are the boots? On the Originals those answers can differ.

After the season, rinse the wader, dry it fully inside and out, and hang it away from heat. Heat and sunlight are the usual reasons a seam tape lets go early. Our guides on how to store waders and how to find a leak in waders cover the details. If you do get a pinhole, a patch kit from the wader repair kits page is cheaper than a new wader.

The alternatives in the table

The table adds eight alternatives because Avery has fewer than eight listings. I picked them for the same type (chest waders with boots attached, plus a smaller number of other forms), a similar price tier and the largest number of confirmed maker specs. They are from Frogg Toggs, Drake and Banded. The Frogg Toggs Amphib pair is neoprene at 3.5mm with a one-year warranty. The Drake breathable waders list a three-year wader warranty and boots with 800 or 1600 grams of insulation. The Banded Phantom X pair lists a two-year warranty and body comfort ratings. For a wider comparison by purpose, see our duck hunting waders and best duck hunting waders lists, and our general hunting waders page.

A last note on shopping for waders by name: a name on a listing does not tell you the layer count, the insulation or the warranty. The table does, where it can, and where it cannot it shows a dash.