Wader Size Chart: How to Measure and Choose Your Size

Short answer: measure, then use the model's own chart

Waders are sized from your body, not from the wader. Take four numbers: chest, waist, inseam and shoe size. Then find the chart for the exact model and match those numbers to a size. The frogg toggs buying guide says the same: sizing is based on chest, waist, hip and inseam measurements plus shoe size, and you should check the manufacturer's size chart. SITKA adds that charts differ between brands and between models from the same brand.

I am not copying any chart onto this page. Sizes change, models change, and a stale table would be worse than none. What I can do is show you how to measure, explain the labels, and send you to the maker.

How to measure

Use a soft tape and wear what you will wear under the waders, or at least thin base layers. Stand naturally, keep the tape level, and do not suck in your stomach. (Gary measured his chest over a puffy jacket, ordered to match, and now owns waders that fit the jacket.)

• Chest. Around the fullest part of the chest, under your arms.
• Waist. SITKA says to measure at your navel. Other guides say the natural waist where you wear your pants. Check which the chart asks for. Some brands use "largest girth" instead, meaning the largest of your chest, waist or hips.
• Inseam. Wearing socks, from your crotch to the floor along the inside of your leg. Keep the tape snug, not tight. You should be able to slip a finger behind it.
• Shoe size. Start with your regular street shoe size. On stockingfoot waders the boot is bought separately and sized on its own. On bootfoot waders, the boot is part of the wader and the maker's boot size range matters.

Chest and waist set the upper-body fit and the room for layers. The inseam keeps the legs from pulling tight when you squat or step up. Get the upper body right first, then adjust length.

What the labels mean

Short, Regular, Long and Tall refer to leg length, which is set by inseam. Stout and King refer to build. Retail fit guides describe Stout as a stockier fit at a similar height and King as wider through the chest and waist, and on the charts I opened, King rows have a larger girth range than the standard size with the same inseam. Banded's chart treats Slim, Regular, Stout and King as separate sets of measurements, with Short and Tall as length variants. None of the pages I opened defines the words in the same way, so treat these as rough pointers and let the numbers decide.

Here is what our data shows for waders on Amazon US at our last check (October 2026). Of the 201 pairs we track, 100 link a size chart from the maker. Where the fit options are confirmed, Stout appears most often (19 pairs), then Regular (10), Tall (7) and Short (5), with King (4), Long (3), Extra Long (3) and Big (3) less often. Where apparel sizes are stated, most run Small to 2XL (42 pairs) or Small to 3XL (17), with a few starting at Extra Small. Shoe sizes where stated run from 3 for youth pairs to 18 for the largest adult range. So if you are on the edge of a size range, check before you fall in love with a pair.

Boot size on bootfoot and stockingfoot waders

Bootfoot waders have the boot attached, so you buy one thing and the boot size is fixed. SITKA says your regular shoe size is the starting point, and that if you are between sizes you should size up, especially in bootfoot, because a little extra room fits thick socks and a tight boot can compress socks and leave your feet cold. Many bootfoot pairs list the boot size separately from the body size, so you choose two sizes. Our bootfoot waders page lists them.

Stockingfoot waders end in a neoprene sock, and you wear separate wading boots. The wader size covers the body and the sock, and the boot gets its own size. Size the boot with the wader sock on. See stockingfoot waders.

Fit check when you try them on

Try waders on with the socks and layers you will wear. Do a deep knee bend, sit down, step up onto a chair and raise your arms. You should not feel significant pulling or binding. Signs of a poor fit:

• The crotch feels low or tight when you step up: usually too small or too short.
• The shoulder straps are at their limit: usually too small.
• Extra fabric bunches at the ankles: usually too long.

Waders should feel roomy but not baggy. Too tight strains the seams. Too loose lets fabric fold at the knee and wear through. Cold-water anglers wearing thick layers may want extra room.

Where to find the chart

Every chart below is the maker's own. Open the one for your model.

• Simms: the Simms size and fit guide. Our own page is the Simms wader size chart guide.
• Orvis: the men's waders chart and the women's waders chart. See our Orvis wader size chart page.
• Banded and Avery: the Banded size chart.
• Drake Waterfowl: the Drake sizing charts. See also Drake wader size chart.
• frogg toggs: the frogg toggs size charts and our frogg toggs wader size chart guide.
• Gator Waders: the Gator size charts and our Gator waders size chart guide.
• Paramount: the Paramount size charts and our Paramount waders size chart guide.
• Bassdash: the Bassdash waders sizing guide.
• Kylebooker: the Kylebooker sizing guide.
• Hodgman: see our Hodgman waders size chart guide.
• Redington: see our Redington wader size chart page. Redington has discontinued its waders.

Brands that sell elsewhere, such as Patagonia, Magellan and Cabela's, publish their own charts on their own sites. We do not cover those brands' waders in this guide, so look for the chart on the page of the exact model, and use the same measuring steps.

Special cases

Women's waders. Women's waders have their own charts, and some retailers' guides list inseam ranges by height. Check that you are looking at the women's chart, not the men's. The Orvis charts above are separate for men and women. See women's waders.

Hip boots and wader pants. Without a bib there is no chest to measure, so for hip boots expect the chart to lean on shoe size and leg length. Follow the maker's chart for the model. See hip boots, hip waders and waist waders.

Duck hunting waders. Insulated boots and heavy layers push most hunters toward more room. SITKA's advice is that a looser cut suits cold, late-season sits with heavy layers, and a streamlined cut suits long walks. See duck hunting waders.

Kids and youth. Children grow, and I would not buy waders far too big for a child to wade in. Use the maker's youth chart, keep the child in shallow water with an adult close by, and read our youth wader size chart guide.

From size to shopping

Once you know your numbers, go to the waders you are considering. The waders page lets you filter by construction, foot and height, and the best waders page lists pairs whose makers publish their fit options. For fishing-specific pairs, see best fly fishing waders.

Fish don't read spec sheets. You should.