Hmmm. My waders have a waist high belt, but I haven't been keeping it tight enough I guess. Last year, I stepped off into a creek and I was flooded from chest down. Two good things came out of it though. One, the older guys I was wading beside got a heck of laugh and invited me to keep fishing with them, so I eventually learned a little. Two, I discovered that my neoprene waders float when filled with water. The built-in boots were heavy, and I had to lay back to keep above the water. Still it was nice to know that it isn't an automatic death sentence if I step off into deep water.

Thinking about it...these are the only waders I have ever had on, so I wonder if other waders float. My wetsuit I had when I was wakeboarding was neoprene, and it aided in floating. I was thinking that the waders wouldn't because of the water being trapped inside them. Then again that would mean that the water inside was heavier than the water outside the waders. The only trouble I had after I slipped off into the creek was when I tried to stand up and get out of the shallow water.

Anybody ever been in such a situation? Ever just run a floatation test of your waders?