Simms was founded in 1980 by John Simms, a Jackson, Wyoming fishing guide and outfitter. The owner established the company to manufacture a higher quality of waders and wading equipment than was available at the time. In the mid-1980s, he introduced high quality neoprene waders to the U.S. market. He later sold the company to Life-Link International, another Jackson-based sporting goods manufacturer.

In 1992, K.C. Walsh, a Los Angeles-based management consultant, acquired Simms from Life-Link and moved the business to Bozeman, Montana. The Company employs 115 people in Bozeman and consolidated its manufacturing facilities into a new single 62,000 square feet (5,800 m2) facility in October 2013.