My 3rd set of Rio Gallegos waders from Patagonia have failed in the same spot. They last for about 4 months. I am not the only one to experience this failure at the same spot. I will give Patagonia a tremendous amount of credit, they've replaced my waders without question or hassle. When they did not have my size on the first failure, they upgraded me to the zipper front at no charge. Again, a tremendous amount of credit to Patagonia for standing behind their product...they just need some work.
The 2014 models are moving to stitchless seams, as found in Orvis and Redington. Hopefully they get things figured out. The fishing division is the baby of Yvon Chouinard and he really wants people to be happy. I am thoroughly impressed with the customer service...I just want something that works.