Chaps

[yomax4]

Great info on this. I think I'll look into a hardhat w/ muffs as well. Not too many options out there for those but i think a ratchet headgear is the way to go.

I too have done a lot of summer cutting in shorts and a t-shirt. Getting pretty spooked now. Funny thing is I do most of my cutting with an 044 or 039 but the 026 with 20" bar that I use for limbs is the one that keeps almost getting me.

 

[dickfoster]

I'm not sure how many people are using saw chaps but after 20 years of fairly heavy cutting I thought it may be time. Fatigue has caused a few near misses over the years and The more I think about them the more I think about getting chaps and a hard hat/face shield. Anyone have experience with more than one brand or is there a general consensus out there.
Thanks

I use all the saftey gear. It's cheap insurance and I only have two legs so I wanna keep em both.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

On another note;hired a :tree trimmer with a bucket truck to take down a couple large trees in my yard.
The fellow in the bucket(30 year old body builder) wore no safety gear and had on shorts and a short-sleave shirt.

Yeah, because all that safety gear is for sissies!

The next week my son showed me a picture on FaceBook of the same fellow in the hospital with a chainsaw injury to his head/face.Almost lost an eye.

Or.... maybe not.


Kidding aside, when I hear somebody tell me that using safety stuff is somehow unmanly, I know I'm talking to someone who has a very juvenile idea of what manhood is.

 

[joeyd]

After 30 years as a fireman and countless hours of operating a chainsaw (always wearing safety gear) I retired and was cleaning up some brush around the house. I was wearing Cartharts so who needs safety gear right? I cut through some brush and just barely touched my knee. I had a small tear in the pants and kept on going until I felt my foot getting sticky in my boot. Well lets just say 6 stitches was being lucky.

I now wear Kevlar chaps EVERY time I fire up the saw, use leather gloves and boots always with mesh eye goggles and ear plugs most of the time. I'm pretty sure the chaps are Labonville from Baileysonline.com

 

[japody]

I need to get a pair of chaps. The 3" gash on my knee took a while to heal!

 

[hslogger]

I have used both Stihl and Labonville. I don't see any difference in the top tier quality chain saw chaps except in fastener and size preferences. Go get em before you change your mind. A long time ago as a timber faller in the coast range they were optional attire. Safety regulations came into maturity and forced us to wear them, supplied by our company or by ourself as independent contractors.

Many of us resisted giving excuses like 'they hang you up in the brush' or 'they're just a pain in the ***'. The regulations won over and never wavered. It was the law. And a good one. I got used to them and wore them religiously. Now in retirement,when pooping around my own place, if I fire up a saw, I have my chaps on.

I've been cut by thrown chains, stumbling, tumbling, and kickback. I have also been saved a lot of grief by wearing chaps. Go get em.

 

[japody]

I don't think chaps would help this guy:

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=f53db057434d3e9cdf28d9b591d2288b&oe=593DE7A6

 

[yomax4]

I don't think chaps would help this guy:

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=f53db057434d3e9cdf28d9b591d2288b&oe=593DE7A6

Human Chain Brake.

 

[General Lee]

Quick story why I went to a face shield over glasses - Mind you I did not have safety glasses on when this happened because I took them off to repair the saw. I was getting no oil dispensed on the chain while cutting so I broke everything down to repair and clean. After getting everything back together I was running the saw to check for oil being dispensed. I had the the saw at full throttle and the bar up close to a big tree round so I could see if oil was being sprayed on the wood. Well I got to close to the round and the tip of the saw "kissed" the round and the saw kicked up. Next thing I know my ball cap was knocked off my head and I knew the chain licked me in the face, I just didn't know how bad.

Luckily I only received a cut on my eye lid. By the grace of god. I believe the chain stop engaged like it was supposed to because my hat brim received no evidence of being hit by the chain and if the chain was still moving I most likely wouldn't have an eye or worse. Just goes to show how things can happen and I wasn't even cutting wood, just checking if the saw was putting out oil.

 

[The Deerslayer]

Quick story why I went to a face shield over glasses - Mind you I did not have safety glasses on when this happened because I took them off to repair the saw. I was getting no oil dispensed on the chain while cutting so I broke everything down to repair and clean. After getting everything back together I was running the saw to check for oil being dispensed. I had the the saw at full throttle and the bar up close to a big tree round so I could see if oil was being sprayed on the wood. Well I got to close to the round and the tip of the saw "kissed" the round and the saw kicked up. Next thing I know my ball cap was knocked off my head and I knew the chain licked me in the face, I just didn't know how bad.

Luckily I only received a cut on my eye lid. By the grace of god. I believe the chain stop engaged like it was supposed to because my hat brim received no evidence of being hit by the chain and if the chain was still moving I most likely wouldn't have an eye or worse. Just goes to show how things can happen and I wasn't even cutting wood, just checking if the saw was putting out oil.

Glad you did not get hurt and a great cautionary story to share. Hopefully it will help others who do not currently use a face shield to see the benefits.

 

[yomax4]

The more I read the worse it gets. I rarely even wore glasses. Often cut wood in shorts and tennis shoes with all of my saws. However, Yesterday my Hard Hat with Face Shield arrived in the box with my new Chaps. This year as usual I will put up my 15 cords only fitted with safety gear.

 

[CobyRupert]

Yep, went for 15-20 years without chaps or face shield. Mostly just cutting 3-4 cords a year w/ safety glasses and ear plugs.
Then I started a project where I was cutting 2-3 days a week. I got the chaps and a face shield-ear muff combo. Those are great for weed whacking too. A hard hat became part of the equation to when widow makers became a threat.

Figured it was just a numbers game. You can be perfect 99.99999% of the time, but the more you run a saw, it's just a matter of time before that .00001% event comes around.

Within a week I put a nice tear in the chaps with the saw. One of those fatigue situations. Where I made a few cuts and lowered the saw/bar tip to "walk mode" but the chain was still spinning /winding down and hit the leg of my chaps.
Some may say they saved my leg. I tell the wife they caught because they stick out farther. (it was winter and the combination of coveralls and chaps is quite thick!) Hard to say, but that's my story and I'm sticking with it!

 

[rekees4300]

Figured it was just a numbers game. You can be perfect 99.99999% of the time, but the more you run a saw, it's just a matter of time before that .00001% event comes around.

Yes it's all probability like the Lottery. The more tickets you buy the more likely you are to win. The only difference with the chainsaw is the more time spent cutting without safety equipment, the more likely you are to lose.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Yes it's all probability like the Lottery. The more tickets you buy the more likely you are to win. The only difference with the chainsaw is the more time spent cutting without safety equipment, the more likely you are to lose.

And when you lose, you can lose very, very big.

 

[ArlyA]

There are around 30,000 chain saw accidents per year in the USA that medical attention is needed. I hope to not be among them.

 

[yomax4]

There are around 30,000 chain saw accidents per year in the USA that medical attention is needed. I hope to not be among them.

Amen to that !!. I was in Houghton 3 weeks ago. Snow belt for sure. It's one of my favorite cities.

 

[adventure bob]

I had a friend prove the value of chaps: he live tested them at the end of a long day of working. He was just tired and his attention wasn't exactly as sharp as it was in the AM., he inadvertently tapped a full speed saw against his shin while limbing a downed tree. Chaps worked as advertised. They were Huskys. Not that Id want to test a set, but certainly saw the proof of concept after he did it.

 

[japody]

I need to get a pair of chaps. The 3" gash on my knee took a while to heal!

I got the full wrap from Labonville last week. Bailey's had the best price with free shipping. They felt a little bulky when I first put them on, but I got used to them very quickly. I feel more at ease now, knowing how long the gash on my knee took to heal :thumbsup:.

 

[XSFMED18D]

I have the Labonville chaps and wear the Husqvarna face shield helmet w ear pro. A small price to pay for the prevention of life changing injuries.

 

[yomax4]

I ended up buying the higher end Husqvarna chaps (black and grey ) I also got the Husky Hard hat with muffs and face screen. the hard hat is ok and the muffs seem fine but the flip up on the face shield is a POS. I hope it lasts a couple weeks anyway.