All Day Fly Fishing: Outerwear Picks for 2026

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To read all of the nitty gritty, field-tested reviews of new fly-fishing gear for 2026, grab a copy of Gear Guide at the Outdoor Sportsman Group newsstand, through the Fly Fisherman Special Issues app available in the App Store and Google Play, or on newsstands today.

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Best New Wading Pant: Simms Latitude Bicomp Bottom

For many decades, trout guides in New Zealand have been wearing synthetic tights on their legs for agility, flexibility, and protection from the sun, nettles, and insects. A pair of baggy shorts over top completes the outfit, pro-viding pockets and ensuring you don’t end up looking like a male ballet dancer who got lost on a trout stream.

Twenty years ago, this was a novel look, but these days it’s everywhere. Turn on the TV and you’ll see NBA players wearing shorts with ankle-length tights underneath to pre-vent chafing and provide support.

Simms grabbed this idea for wet wading and made a fully integrated shorts/tights system with UPF50+ sun protection called the Latitude Bicomp Bottom. It has an elastic waist-band with a drawcord and external belt loops just in case you want a belt for holding tools like pliers. The mesh pockets drain water easily, and the tights are lighter and lose water quicker than pants—plus you don’t have the annoying flapping of loose material in the wind and current. The shorts have a 5" inseam and leggings a 28" inseam in sizes small through 3XL.

I wore the Latitude Bicomp Bottom for a week of fishing in July at Pluma Lodge in Bolivia. Unlike pants, they are super flexible and mobile, which is crucial when you are crawling over logs, negotiating massive boulders, swimming the river, or hiking miles to meet a helicopter. Those old Kiwi guides came to a very practical solution for athletic fishing in hot weather. In our group of 12 anglers, most of us had a pair of Latitude Bicomp Bottoms, and the reviews were overwhelmingly enthusiastic. The Latitude Bicomp Bottom is perfect for jungle fishing in South America anytime you are fishing on foot. Its DNA comes from New Zealand, but its most common use will likely be on tropical saltwater flats. With skiff fishing, pants are fine, but in places like Mauritius, the Seychelles, or some places in the Bahamas and Mexico where wading is the best way to access skinny-water gamefish, the Latitude Bicomp Bottom gives you greater mobility and athleticism. —Ross Purnell

$140 | simmsfishing.com

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Duck Camp Men’s No Fly Zone Gulf Pants

These are the lightest, most comfortable wading pants that Duck Camp makes, but here’s one caveat: On a recent trip to Bolivia to hunt for freshwater dorados, I didn’t get my No Fly Zone Gulf Pants wet—even one time. No matter what I wore when I was fishing, I was plenty cool while I was in the river. I saved my casual and less techy looking Gulf Pants for evenings at the lodge.

For “fishing pants” they look and feel great with deep front pockets to keep track of my cell phone, and security closure rear pockets for my wallet. These pants were clutch on travel days. That’s when it was really hot, standing at a grass airstrip roasting in the sun. When we found shade, my fishing partners were eaten alive by sand flies but my No Fly Zone Gulf Pants—with an internal adjustable bungee at the ankle to tighten access—kept the bugs away wherever I went.

The 93% nylon 7% Spandex pants are stretchy with a gusseted crotch, and the low-profile elastic waistband is perfectly comfortable for eight-hour international flights or for getting in/out of a drift boat all day.

For fishing, there is a forceps and sunglasses hanger loop at the right pocket. The pants come in two colors, Sandbar and Sagebrush.

There are also regular men’s and women’s Gulf Pants ($99) without the No Fly Zone bug-repellent treatment and they come in two different colors: Anchor (women’s) and Wheat (men’s).

—Ross Purnell

$109 | duckcamp.com

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Free Fly Topogrid Pants

The Machete Bar at South Fork Lodge is likely the coolest après-fishing bar in the world—and that’s saying a lot because there are many out there including the Square Grouper and Lorelei in the Florida Keys, Last Chance Bar & Grill at TroutHunter in Idaho, Kaye’s Bar at the Palometa Club, or the Whiskey Bar at Patagonia River Guides. You get the idea, socializing after fishing is a huge part of the experience.

Free Fly Topogrid Pants are the kind of fishing wear that helps you move seamlessly from the water right into one of these social situations without looking out of place in either setting. They look great no matter where you travel, and they perform on the water with a 4-way stretch fabric that is 45% recycled nylon, 51% virgin nylon, and 4% Spandex. They have a PFAS-free durable water repellent coating and the lightweight (158 gsm) quick-dry fabric sheds moisture, stays light, and doesn’t weigh you down.

It has front jeans-style pockets—the right side has an interior sleeve pocket sized for keys or a pocketknife. On the back, there is a secure back right zipper pocket, and a drop-in back left pocket. Hey, these are fishing pants, we need pockets!

They have a fixed waistband but come in 11 men’s sizes to find the right fit. The pants are UPF50+ and come in three colors: Fatigue, Storm Cloud, and Vintage Khaki.

$108 | freeflyapparel.com

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Simms Strata 200 Tops & Bottoms

If you’re a diehard fly fisher who loves to pursue gamefish like Pacific Northwest winter steelhead, striped bass in Northeast autumn surf, or early- and late-season Alaska salmon, you understand the importance of a high-performance layering system to stay warm and dry.  The Simms Strata 200 Baselayer LS Crew and Bottom are high-tech, midweight underlayers that help you stay comfortable and keep casting in harsh weather. These garments form your first line of defense, but they also enhance every clothing layer you put on over them.

Both Crew and Bottom are constructed of channeled, breathable, 4-way-stretch fleece made from polyester, wool, and elastane for unimpeded freedom of movement so you can wade, row, and cast easily. Both are specially treated with a moisture-wicking, quick-dry finish and an antimicrobial that helps prevent odor build-up. And both are constructed with low-profile, flatlock stitching for supreme comfort against the skin.

The LS Crew features a low-profile open collar to prevent bulk and stacking, and raglan sleeves with integrated thumbholes. The Bottom has a drawstring cord to adjust the fit at the waist, as well as a pair of drop-in hand pockets. In addition to the Strata 200, Simms also offers the Strata 160 (top and bottom $79.95 each) and the Strata 330 (top and bottom $199.95 each) collections, with different weights of stretch fleece.

—Bill Bowers

$100 | simmsfishing.com

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Green Award: Simms Midstream Hooded Jacket

Performance, environmental awareness, and sustainability are three key aspects to the Simms Midstream Hooded Jacket.

Lavalan, a European-based wool manufacturer, pro-cures wool sources from various European shepherds and farmers. They take pride in their products being sustainable with a low carbon footprint. Their wool has fully traceable origins and the husbandry of the sheep is kept to a strict standard. This results in healthy animals that grow superior wool.

Using a corn-based PLA (polylactic acid plastic) the jacket body is a mapped 60-gram, 80% virgin wool, 20% PLA insulation blend called Lavalan Sport that is renowned in outdoor garments for its fine and dense wool fibers. The sleeves use the same material with a 40-gram, 70% virgin wool, 30% PLA blend that allows for more movement and creates less bulk. These blends retain and regulate body heat, wick moisture, naturally combat odors, stretch and move with you, and at the end of their prod-uct life are biodegradable.

C0 DWR is a non-fluorinated, PFC-free (perfluorocarbon) and PFAS-free (polyfluoroalkyl substances, aka “forever chemicals”) water-repellent finish used to coat the exterior abrasion-resistant nylon shell that is environmentally friendly and poses no health risks to humans. The interior liner is a nylon and Spandex blend that flexes and includes two mesh dump pockets for gear and fly boxes. On the exterior, two YKK Conceal zippered chest pockets and hand pockets give additional storage.

An adjustable hood keeps you warm when the elements get nasty but it won’t block your peripheral vision. Lycra-finished cuffs allow for easy layering and won’t grab your fleece or base layer. An adjustable drawcord hem keeps the wind at bay.

When damp and cold conditions prevail, the natural powers of Lavalan wool and new plant-based DWRs in the Midstream Hooded Jacket will keep you warm and dry, while not poisoning our rivers and your body.

—Dennis Pastucha

$270 | simmsfishing.com

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Skwala RS Bib

There are a lot of great bibs out there for cold- and foul-weather fishing, but the Skwala RS Bib is the first fully waterproof, breathable, 4-way-stretch bib. That stretch makes it more flexible, mobile, and comfortable—especially when you add insulation layers underneath.

A stretch-woven panel across the back increases your range of motion and a fully adjustable cam buckle suspender system completes the comfortable fit. The legs and knees are fully articulated, and there is an internal knee pad pocket for integrated, removable knee pads. The Framis Dream reinforced ankle cuffs are adjustable with Velcro fasteners.

Dual waterproof upper side zips give your hands access to the interior so you can warm your hands or adjust your layers. Two-way waterproof zippers on both sides also run from the hip to the ankle so you can get these bibs on and off easily in changing weather conditions, or simply reach into your pants pockets.

There is one zippered chest pocket and two zippered, waterproof front pockets for fly boxes, tools, or other essentials. These are obviously boat bibs, and there are dual front D-rings for tools and to attach the kill switch. They weigh only 30.4 oz (size large) and are made from 96% nylon with a 4% PU 2-way-stretch laminate with a DWR finish. Available in four sizes M through XXL.

$599 | skwalafishing.com

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Skwala RS Glove

Numb and painful hands have ended many fishing trips prematurely, and made many more of them more painful than they needed to be. Skwala has potentially solved this problem with the first waterproof, taped, breathable gloves designed specifically for fly fishing. The 4-way-stretch face textile gives you a greater range of motion than your old ski gloves, and the extended, adjustable, Framis Dream reinforced cuffs integrate with the Skwala RS Jacket to prevent water incursion. The fingers are articulated for dexterity and the gloves have an H-Dry waterproof, breathable lining with a Framis Dream reinforced palm and primary fingertips for durability and added tractions. Available in three sizes M, L, and XL.

$149 | skwalafishing.com

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Skwala Thermo 260 Top & Bottom

I’m a huge fan of Merino wool. It’s my go-to layering material to keep me warm, dry, and comfortable while fishing in cool and frigid weather. It wicks moisture, is naturally antimicrobial to keep odors at bay, and even performs when wet. It allows my skin to breathe and not become overly hot and clammy like many synthetic materials. A downside to Merino wool is that it’s not traditionally a robust and hardy material. Skwala aimed to solve this problem by introducing a complex, double jersey knit interlocking weave into their Thermo collection, creating soft and warm layering pieces that are also highly durable for adventurous fly fishers.

Skwala released the Thermo 350 Hoody in 2023. It earned the “Best New Layering System” award from Fly Fisherman in Gear Guide 2024. Later, they introduced the Thermo 150 Hoody, a lighter moderate weather top. New for fall 2025, the Thermo 260 rounds out the collection with an 18.5 micron Merino wool (95%) and nylon (5%) blend system for a 260-gram base layer designed to be worn next-to-skin with unrestricted movement.

The top can be a standalone fishing shirt for cool days and can easily become your thermal refuge during foul weather when paired with an insulated shell or rain jacket. Unlike the previous Thermo 350 and 150 Hoodies, the Thermo 260 has a quarter zip neckline with an extendable collar for temperature control. An athletic cut moves with you. Articulation under the armpit helps to avoid bunching. Thumb loops keep the sleeve in place for maximum coverage and make throwing on an additional midlayer or jacket easy.

The bottoms are also athletic cut keeping you free to flex and move throughout the day. A standard fly allows for quick relief, and the thick elastic waistband keeps them snuggly in place. Available in men’s sizes M-2XL. ­

—Dennis Pastucha

$129-$149 | skwalafishing.com

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Grundèns Insulated Turbulence Hoodie

If you always want to keep casting even in chilly, inclement weather—when many people reel up and head for shelter—the Turbulence Insulated Hoodie from Grundéns has you covered. The 320D nylon shell is durable, windproof, and splash- and abrasion-resistant. On the inside, the 80g G-LOFT Eco Plus insulation maintains its high thermal rating and efficiency to keep you warm even if it gets wet because, unlike goose down, G-LOFT fibers do not absorb moisture. Designed with modified raglan construction and gusseted sleeves, the Turbulence Insulated Hoodie provides unrestricted freedom of movement—so you can keep double-hauling after the weather turns nasty and cold. The stretch woven panel cuffs and scuba-fit hood work together to shed spray and keep you warm and dry. The sturdy zippers—on the front main and left chest and handwarmer pockets, as well as the main hoodie zipper—have no exposed pulls or cords that might snag your fly line. The hoodie compresses for easy packing, then fluffs back up to normal size.

—Bill Bowers

$230 | grundens.com

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