Breathable waders

The construction is the same idea as a rain jacket: a waterproof breathable membrane sandwiched between a face fabric and a liner, with every seam taped. Water cannot get in and vapor can get out, which is what makes them wearable in summer.

You regulate temperature with what you wear underneath rather than with the waders themselves. Base layers and fleece pants in winter, shorts in summer. That layering flexibility is why breathables replaced neoprene as the standard.

They are less puncture resistant than neoprene and they need care. Barbed wire, thorns and sharp rock all end waders, and pinhole leaks are a routine repair.

Finding a pinhole is easier than it sounds. Take the waders into a dark room, put a bright light inside the leg, and the holes show as points of light from the outside. Aquaseal or a similar urethane repair sorts most of them permanently.