# Sawdust In Pockets and Shoes



## defensiblespace (Jan 7, 2015)

Any other climbers out there sick of sawdust in their pockets and shoes? After every day of climbing, I am emptying out piles of sawdust from my pockets. Sawdust gets in my shoes worse while doing spikeless climbing. That's because if I'm wearing spikes, I wear lineman boots that come almost up to my knees. However, while doing spikeless climbing, I wear hiking boots. My harness pulls my pant legs up high enough to expose the tops of my boots. Therefore, while cutting, a lot of the sawdust lands right inside the tongue of my boot and eventually goes down the boot. I've thought about gators, like old school backcountry skiers wore to keep the snow from going down their boots. I even talked to Arborwear about putting flaps over their pockets to keep the sawdust out, but they tried to direct me towards their more expensive pants with the zippered pockets. I told them I wasn't interested in spending over $100 on a pair of pants that I would wear out in a year and I never heard back from them. I wasn't super impressed with their tree climbers pants in the long run. After a while the pockets themselves got holes in them and fell apart. I realized this after I lost a few things. Carharts are just as good and less expensive. It seems like there would be a good market out there for someone to make a legit tree climber's pant that is rugged, functional, affordable and keeps the damn sawdust out of the pockets. An attachment to put some gators or some sort of flap to cover the boots would be a nice added bonus. If any clothing manufacturers out there are listening, I'll be happy to be a test monkey.


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## derwoodii (Jan 7, 2015)

i'm with ya, but my tested options more often fail especially when the heats on and extra clothes suck.. When climbing i prefer overhauls not pants on shirt as keeps my mid rift tidy. Trade climbing pants are made special to keep thing neat,, consider them but pricey. Boots,,, not been a bother for me but pocket er um well my wife will whinge when washing is done & saw dusted. I will set myself up sometimes to avoid saw chip spray but that's often not practical

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=tree climbing trouser&biw=1242&bih=585&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=6d2sVO_pBIWA8gW36oG4CQ&ved=0CC4QsAQ&dpr=1.1#imgdii=_


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## woodchuck357 (Jan 7, 2015)

I wear bib overalls when climbing. I buy them with longer legs and cut a hole in the leg hem, run a piece of shoe lace into the hole, around thru the tube made by the hem, out the same hole so I can snug my overall leg tight to my boots.
Pockets get blown out with air hose while opening is down.


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## TheJollyLogger (Jan 7, 2015)

ummh.... suck it up buttercup. just part of climbing.


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## Peter White (Jan 7, 2015)

Lose the high-waters! And those holes in the pocket certainly seem to solve THAT issue....


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## KenJax Tree (Jan 7, 2015)

I can think of worse places it goes[emoji15]


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## NCTREE (Jan 7, 2015)

I wear gaitors myself, it's a little hot in the summer but in the winter it's nice. I wear the gaitor under my pants that way there's no chance of sawdust getting in the boots. I thought about sewing a strap to the bottom of my pants similar to the way gaitors are to hold them down. 

You would think there's a better pair of pants out there that's practical. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## defensiblespace (Jan 7, 2015)

Well, maybe I'm a princess, but if something can be improved, why not improve it? After all, that is what American ingenuity is all about.


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

I wear Redwings and Wranglers. Never a problem with sawdust in my boots or pockets. If it's nice out, I'll untuck my t-shirt so any sawdust that goes down my back is less likely to end up in my pants...or worse...in my underwear.


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## Magnum783 (Jan 7, 2015)

Duluth trading company makes some of their firehose pants with flaps on the pockets. They also have a little extra space in the crotch as well great pockets down the legs. I almost think they have too many pockets as I feel like I have lost things in the pockets. They are super durable too the price is a little high at about $70 a pair but the wash and wear is with it for sure. They wear for ever and wash and dry well too. Just a thought


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

defensiblespace said:


> Well, maybe I'm a princess, but if something can be improved, why not improve it? After all, that is what American ingenuity is all about.


instead of shoe laces have the wife sew in some wide elastic maybe a couple of bands, definitely buy longer pants, as for me I'm w/mike515 I climb in the cheapest jeans from Target Levis, Wrangler, etc. however they are high waters you can't pick length when you want a 28 or 29" waist.


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

Mine aren't high waters but the denim is durable, they're comfortable and if I tear them up....not a huge loss. But they last a long time usually. As far as pockets with flaps, etc....I don't usually want to carry up anything with me that I won't need. So I don't have a lot of use for extra pockets or anything else that will grab on to branches as I pass by. Everything I need is on my saddle or I'll have it tied on to my rope once I get tied in.


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

Nor do I, just my cash and phone, and I had a custom leather "holster" made for my phone so I could get to it w/o unbuckling my saddle.


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

I leave the phone in the truck.


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

Well being a contract climber I try to always have it, I get calls from time to time, can you come over and do a tree that for whatever reason their climber won't or can't or left because hey it's Friday. So I'm like how long will it take me? What's the gross? What city? Yea I can be there by 3:30, 4:00, OK see you then. That's how I'm so profitable, I've finished many a day in the dark. But it's completely to my advantage, if everything thing is down I don't have to make a second trip.


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## woodchuck357 (Jan 7, 2015)

DLCRL said:


> instead of shoe laces have the wife sew in some wide elastic maybe a couple of bands, definitely buy longer pants, as for me I'm w/mike515 I climb in the cheapest jeans from Target Levis, Wrangler, etc. however they are high waters you can't pick length when you want a 28 or 29" waist.


The least expensive jeans I have found is at Attwoods and they have long legs in all waist sizes. They often have sales that have jeans for just under $10.


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## woodchuck357 (Jan 7, 2015)

Magnum783 said:


> Duluth trading company makes some of their firehose pants with flaps on the pockets. They also have a little extra space in the crotch as well great pockets down the legs. I almost think they have too many pockets as I feel like I have lost things in the pockets. They are super durable too the price is a little high at about $70 a pair but the wash and wear is with it for sure. They wear for ever and wash and dry well too. Just a thought


I'm wearing a pair of the Duluth overhalls right now, I like the cell phone pocket on the bib, but the leg pockets are set to much on the front of the leg. If I put something in them I wind up with bruises on the thighs from lifting with my knees. They could add a couple of grommets to the leg hem for a draw string(that also helps keep bugs out of the legs).


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

Bugs aren't much of a problem here, I prefer jeans, especially on the really hot days at least I'm tan from the waist up. I've not wore overalls since I was 3, doesn't a lot of sawdust go right down the front especially if you're working at shoulder height or above?


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## Peter White (Jan 7, 2015)

Uh... No one works at above shoulder height, do they!?


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## Zale (Jan 7, 2015)

100% sure fire way to keep saw dust out of boot. Duct tape. The first couple times hurt when you take the tape off but once all your leg hair is gone its not bad.


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## Groundman One (Jan 7, 2015)

TheJollyLogger said:


> ummh.... suck it up buttercup. just part of climbing.



Clothes full of wood chips are a badge of honour.


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

I just take them outside turn the pockets out, shake them, whatever gets the job done, there's no escaping sawdust. I was so sick of dust I bought a vehicle just so I wasn't covered in it. LOL


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

I once posted on a social media site...

"Please read my autobiography.

Sawdust.
The end."


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## tidy (Jan 7, 2015)

apart from sawdust I'm always findin beer bottle lids in my pockets... any advice on prevention fellas?


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## TheJollyLogger (Jan 7, 2015)

cans


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

tidy said:


> apart from sawdust I'm always findin beer bottle lids in my pockets... any advice on prevention fellas?


Rum


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

I just stack the bottle lids next to my beer fridge downstairs. I'd post a pic of the collection but I'm afraid it may be used against me in any future litigation.


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

About 16 cases of lids. LOL


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

I have that beat by quite a bit.


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

How many cases? How long? That's just an old fashioned glass bottle soda that I like


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## mike515 (Jan 7, 2015)

Couldn't even tell ya but I'm an avid beer "snob". There are a lot of beer caps down there. I thought about tossing all of them into one of those big bottled water jugs (for the water machines) to see how long it would take to fill it up.


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## DLCRL (Jan 7, 2015)

Sounds like a good idea, those are all green river, a soda from 1919 made w/sugar not corn syrup a true lime flavor soda like lime slushie


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## mike515 (Jan 8, 2015)

I'm more of an IPA guy myself.


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## DLCRL (Jan 8, 2015)

I like high quality rum, I drink rum that's corked I go out of my way to find it, it's easy to find high end Scotch, Whiskey, Vodka etc. but try to be a rum connoisseur it difficult. It's like restaurants, tell them you want top shelf whiskey they'll give you Knob Creek do the same w/rum Bacardi or Captain.


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## tidy (Jan 8, 2015)

I like spiced rum since 1 year ago (dunno how I missed it all my life)


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## squad143 (Jan 8, 2015)

Pfanner Gladiator pants
Built in gators, zippered pockets.
Tuck your shirt on the outside or it will act like a funnel on those high cuts


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## squad143 (Jan 8, 2015)

I prefer my beer made in Canada. Your guys stuff is just too watered down.
Switch to rye (whiskey) around the time the sun goes down.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 8, 2015)

Only climbing I do is in my bed but I get plenty of sawdust in my pickets. Clogs up the washing machine filter regularly.


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## capetrees (Jan 9, 2015)

TheJollyLogger said:


> ummh.... suck it up buttercup. just part of climbing.




I heard pocketless skirts work well or maybe a long evening gown to cover the boot tops.


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## Aldegar (Jan 11, 2015)

Zale said:


> 100% sure fire way to keep saw dust out of boot. Duct tape. The first couple times hurt when you take the tape off but once all your leg hair is gone its not bad.


Lol, I just recently got a pair of Pfanner pants from my boss and while I would never pay that kind of money for pants I love them and could see buying the $100 climbing pants just for comfort. Zippered pockets are perfect for keeping the saw dust out, also have little hooks for your laces to keep your boots from filling.


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## jomoco (Jan 11, 2015)

defensiblespace said:


> Well, maybe I'm a princess, but if something can be improved, why not improve it? After all, that is what American ingenuity is all about.



After 40 years of this biz, I've learned to separate my self and my work clothes from the inside of my house, a garage, a porch, anything, just keep it outside, away from your family and loved ones.

Why? Because of all the foul things, like poison oak, bacterias, fungi, insects n such, you don't want them exposed to, even to the point of never mixing your laundry with their's.

My kids first exposure to poison oak came from jumping on my lap with my work clothes on. My being immune to PO didn't do them a dang bit of good, and I learned a hard lesson about responsible fatherhood as an arborist.

jomoco


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## DLCRL (Jan 11, 2015)

jomoco said:


> After 40 years of this biz, I've learned to separate my self and my work clothes from the inside of my house, a garage, a porch, anything, just keep it outside, away from your family and loved ones.
> 
> Why? Because of all the foul things, like poison oak, bacterias, fungi, insects n such, you don't want them exposed to, even to the point of never mixing your laundry with their's.
> 
> ...


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## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Jan 11, 2015)

When I get a small spot of poison ivy my wife gets it from head to toe.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 11, 2015)

None of that here thankfully. I am told it grows in Maine, but I've never seen it. We about lived in the woods as kids. Some with ticks, never have seen one.


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## Aldegar (Jan 11, 2015)

I get poison oak super bad about 4 times a year. It's like a living hell for a couple weeks, I really try and avoid it but live in a heavily forested area of western Washington so sometimes it's hard to see in all the lush greenery.


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## millbilly (Jan 12, 2015)

I can't believe I read 3 pages of this. If its that bad, I would look for a new line of employment. The one to ask about saw chips is my wife. I wanna know where you wipe the oil dip stick at. I can guarantee you, ever pair of pants I own have oil stains right at the cuff.


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## DLCRL (Jan 12, 2015)

millbilly said:


> I can't believe I read 3 pages of this. If its that bad, I would look for a new line of employment. The one to ask about saw chips is my wife. I wanna know where you wipe the oil dip stick at. I can guarantee you, ever pair of pants I own have oil stains right at the cuff.


Sawdust is uncomfortable it gets between you and your clothes and rubs you raw, I could care less if my clothes come clean.


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## Pelorus (Jan 12, 2015)

BuckmasterStumpGrinding said:


> When I get a small spot of poison ivy my wife gets it from head to toe.



From frolicking in the poison ivy? 
Your wife is gonna get resentful if you keep that up.


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## mike515 (Jan 12, 2015)

I've always heard that nobody is truly immune to poison ivy but I'm around it all the time. I've climbed plenty of trees that had it covering the trunk. I've never had a reaction to it and nobody in my house has ever had a reaction to it from my clothes. But when my daughter was young enough to run up and hug my legs after work I was careful to keep her back if I had been around poison ivy that day....just to be safe.


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## DLCRL (Jan 12, 2015)

mike515 said:


> I've always heard that nobody is truly immune to poison ivy but I'm around it all the time. I've climbed plenty of trees that had it covering the trunk. I've never had a reaction to it and nobody in my house has ever had a reaction to it from my clothes. But when my daughter was young enough to run up and hug my legs after work I was careful to keep her back if I had been around poison ivy that day....just to be safe.


I believe poison ivy secretes an oil, unless you're really susceptible to it by time you get home it's absorbed into the fabric of ones clothes, so unless your skin is really soft like your daughter's or you roll around in dirty laundry, most of us are pretty safe. Maybe best to put in the washer yourself so the wife doesn't get it.


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## BuckmasterStumpGrinding (Jan 13, 2015)

I put my clothes in the washer so my wife has less exposure to it. She is just really allergic.


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## Matt Michael (Jan 13, 2015)

I pretty much won't climb without gaiters. I always have a backup pair in case i wreck the mains. Can't stand sawdust in the boots.


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## jomoco (Jan 14, 2015)

Early on in my career, in LA, early 80's, one of my brother's groundmen had a brown recluse spider run all the way up his pant leg and bit him in his nut sack. Poor bloke had to be hospitalized, with his sack the size of a grape fruit, ended up losing a fair chunk of it too.

It was at that point I started wearing high top boots with my pant legs tucked into them religiously.

I wear pocketless motoX nylon n Kevlar pants now that last longer,stretch and breathe better, than all the long list of other logging pants I've tried, including Filson Tin pants.

The half zippered Hickory long sleeved shirts from Madsens complete my outfit, with the tail out of course, 100% cotton.

Climbing clothes get covered in tree sap, and the same thing that cleans it off my hands, also gets it out of my clothes in the laundry, GoJo mechanics hand cleaner, about half a handful added to whatever detergent you use does the trick, IME.




jomoco


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## treesmith (Jan 14, 2015)

Pfanner chainsaw pants, all pockets are either zipped or velcro on the legs, come with built in removeable gaiters too


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## Tank_38 (Jan 22, 2015)

Got an old pair of Army coveralls from my vacation in Iraq... they have Velcro, zippers and buttons on every pocket. Also there are cinch straps around the bottom on the legs and end of the cuffs. works pretty nice from fall to winter here in MO


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## Groundman One (Jan 22, 2015)

Any wood chips that make it down my pants get left on the toilet seat for the wife.

My gift to her.


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## Highclimber OR (Jan 23, 2015)

I accept it as reality sawdust everywhere my wallet always has plenty so the bank teller loves me. I eat the stuff hell who doesn't in this business?


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## jtri (Nov 19, 2016)

This summer it was too hot (for me) to climb in pants, so I started wearing shorts and had to solve the sawdust in my shoes problem. The quick fix was to buy a pair of tights (which I found at goodwill) and cut them off to make a pair of light weight gators. This did the trick, and comfortable, but the tights would still work their way up every hour or so and inevitably I'd forget to pull them down until I felt a little sawdust working its way inside. So recently, I decided to try something I've been thinking about trying for a while, to help hold the tights down... I attached the photos. Basically, two pieces of para-chord, one makes a loop around your front foot with a blakes hitch for tightening, and the other to make an a half loop around your heal attaching on either side with a clove hitch. Before tightening, you can role the tights/nylons up in the cord a bit. Hoping this constitutes a simple/cheap solution.


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## TheJollyLogger (Nov 20, 2016)

Seriously?


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## Ben84 (Nov 20, 2016)

I'll take the sawdust over the tights


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## BC WetCoast (Nov 20, 2016)

That's just embarrassing.

Talk about a 1st world problem.


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## pro94lt (Nov 20, 2016)

Sawdust in my pockets is money in my pockets. I love the feeling


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## crotchclimber (Nov 20, 2016)

jtri said:


> This summer it was too hot (for me) to climb in pants, so I started wearing shorts and had to solve the sawdust in my shoes problem. The quick fix was to buy a pair of tights (which I found at goodwill) and cut them off to make a pair of light weight gators. This did the trick, and comfortable, but the tights would still work their way up every hour or so and inevitably I'd forget to pull them down until I felt a little sawdust working its way inside. So recently, I decided to try something I've been thinking about trying for a while, to help hold the tights down... I attached the photos. Basically, two pieces of para-chord, one makes a loop around your front foot with a blakes hitch for tightening, and the other to make an a half loop around your heal attaching on either side with a clove hitch. Before tightening, you can role the tights/nylons up in the cord a bit. Hoping this constitutes a simple/cheap solution.


What you made are similar to trail running gaitors, which can be bought for around $20


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## jtri (Nov 21, 2016)

TheJollyLogger said:


> Seriously?


Yep, totally serious... Tested it on my right foot today and it never came undone all day. No tending and not a spec of sawdust in my shoe at the end of the day  Just made one for the other foot too.


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