Waterfowl hunting can be awfully tough on fishing waders. Depends on how and where you are hunting of course, but most of my waterfowling involves brush, blackberries, barbed wire and other obstacles that will eat up neoprenes or breathables in short order.Small holes are easy to patch, bigger ones are tougher, and I've had some that I could never get to seal up completely.
If all you do is sit in a boat or comfortable blind, neoprene will give you much needed warmth. Fishing waders would be fine.
If your putting your waders through abuse, unless you plan on buying stock in Aquaseal (they do make really BIG tubes!), I would get a different pair of waders for the waterfowling.
Cabelas/Herters/Bass Pro have a wide selection in their fall/waterfowl catalogs. The toughest models have "cordura" on the outside for abrasion resistance. They make them with and without neoprene, but the neoprene/cordura combination makes for a pretty stiff and heavy wader- not something I would want to hike a river bank in for long while fishing.
I have a pair of boot foot hunting waders from Cabelas called, appropriately "Brush Busters". I have used them and abused them for 5 years, and have been unable to puncture them, even on barbed wire! They are not neoprene lined, and on extra cold days I wish they were. The boots do have excellent insulation.
Something else to think about is the soles if you only get one pair of waders. If you wear felts on mud, grass, etc. it is like walking on slick snot; not pretty to have yor feet out from under you all the time. Lug soles are much better for most hunting situations. But lugs on slick river rock are just as worthless; that's why felts were invented. You could cure this by getting some stocking foot waders and get two pairs of boots, one with felts and one with lugs.
If you are only getting one pair, you will need to compromise, based on how much you plan to use them for hunting vs fishing. I do both a lot, and have never found a pair that I felt offers the best of both worlds.
I'd get a tough pair of boot foot hunting waders (they will last for years), and something else for fishing. In the long run you'll save $$. Heck, Gart has Hodgeman 3.5 mil neoprenes on sale for $39 bucks; you could replace them every few months at that price.
GS
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"It's NOT that much farther than the Cowlitz!"
"I fish, therefore someone else must tend the cooler!"
I will be using them for waterfowl, though. Looks like the bootfoot models are inherently more durable????
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