safety: Best chap or pant

[oakleyhoma]

Hi all. Going to use money saved on my saw decision to apply it to safety equip. I have a kid now, so it's time to quit being stupid. As for the leg protection: it's chaps or pants. I'm a homeowner, cut brush, messy little stuff and 4+cords firewood per year. Sometimes felling, never climbing. Sometimes on downs tops or a tree given to me, usually downed already.

My questions: what's the difference between Class A and class B protection?
I think I favor pants, if they are proper class and/or "if they're safe and work"
Pants seem maybe a bit hotter than chaps, but better fit, fewer cords and buckles and bunches of material flapping around. If that's true, what are the pants to get. Size is a factor too - I'm a skinny 30-31 waist, 30 inch inseam is fine, but I notice some Husq or Stihl types only come in what seems like larger sizes
Baileys have a Class A pant, green with polyester and kevlar for $65 in a size that fits. Anybody know if those are good, or what do you suggest?

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

This question gets asked often. Do a search on this site for "chaps" and you'll have all kinds of reading to go through. If that doesn't tell you what you want to know, then let us know and we'll go from there.

Jeff

 

[oakleyhoma]

Thanks Jeff. I'm looking on the forum but meanwhile ... Bailey's have Woodsman Pro for about $50, 2 layers kevlar, 2 layers polyester. Theyre a chap.. which I guess is OK. They would come on/off easier and quicker (of course, I'd be silly to buy them and not wear them while sawing). Are these good? The other 6-9 layer ones, for $70-100 I'd do if I thought that's what it takes to protect well enough.

Seen Elvex too, and Labonville, don't know what to think. Labonville is 6-layer kevlar and poly, $48, and might fit me...

What do you have or like?

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Like I've said in the other threads, I wear the Bailey's chaps when I'm in my yard cutting, and I wear the Labonville pads under Filson pants when I'm cutting timber because they won't snag on brush.

Jeff

 

[Jumper]

Go with the pants- I always have found chaps on the stiff side. One good point about them is they can be taken off quickly. Last pair of pants were a poly-cotton blend made by FIV in Quebec. Really lightweight and cooler than nylon ones in the summer, in fact you hardly can tell you have a pair of chain saw pants on, they feel like jeans.

 

[wradman]

pants

i just wear the canswe kevlar pants if you lived closer i'd just give you a pair my old ones always have the crotch ripped out of them, to much hassle getting them repaired all the time. i go through about 1 pair a year sometimes to the brush is pretty hard on them and if i run the skidder it's even worse yet i probably got about 6 old pairs around here. I wear summer pants all year round they don't get heavy like jeans in the winter i just throw some poly long johns on under neath.

 

[sawn_penn]

I've never used pants, but if you only cut intermittently during the day I'd imagine that getting in and out of pants would be a pain - taking your boots off and all...

It's a hot summer over here. Wearing shorts under chaps is a cooler option than pants (but yes, you can get really odd looking sunburn patterns.)

 

[Mr_Brushcutter]

Class and type of protection are two different things. I don't think anybody makes class 2 trousers or chaps there all class 1. This means the material will stop a chain moving at 20 meters per second.

Type comes as A B and C which determins where the protection is:
A- Front only
B- Font and inseem
C- All round

If your buying for safety you want type C which is recommended for arborists and occasional chainsaw useres. Class C chaps are funny looking things you might as well get a pair of trousers there probally easier to wear. I recommend STIHL Hi-FLEX as there lighter and cooler than most full pairs of chainsaw trousers.



I'd also recommed a pair of chainsaw proof boots as well i wear mine all the time because they are very comfortable. Its a peice of PPE that is compusary over here but its not so much over there. A lot of injurys are to the foot so they are worth haveing. I have a pair of TreeMe Class 2 (24m/s-1) boots which are a nice brown colour so they don't look stupid like my husky wellingtons.

Your biggest bit of PPE is common sence. It takes 5 mineuts to gear up with trousers boots and a hard hat. It takes about 3 to bleed out!

 

[Fastcast]

I'm no logging expert but I have a pair of Filson double tin, oil finish pants I wear Grouse hunting and chain sawing. They are expensive & uncomfortable but they are the absolute toughest pants I've ever had. When wearing these, my mind is a little more at ease when walking through green briar or chain sawing.

 

[sawn_penn]

I'm no logging expert but I have a pair of Filson double tin, oil finish pants I wear Grouse hunting and chain sawing. They are expensive & uncomfortable but they are the absolute toughest pants I've ever had. When wearing these, my mind is a little more at ease when walking through green briar or chain sawing.

Wearing non-chainsaw clothing and hoping it will protect you from a running saw isn't the best course of action. A tough outdoorsy bit of clothing might save you from a nick if you bump into a stopped chain, or save you from a muffler burn, but a set of oilskins is going to halt the progress of a running saw for about a millisecond.

Wear the right gear and be protected. Or (maybe) don't wear the right gear and be super super careful. Wearing the wrong gear and thinking you have any protection is nuts.

 

[cordless saw]

Where is FIV?

Go with the pants- I always have found chaps on the stiff side. One good point about them is they can be taken off quickly. Last pair of pants were a poly-cotton blend made by FIV in Quebec. Really lightweight and cooler than nylon ones in the summer, in fact you hardly can tell you have a pair of chain saw pants on, they feel like jeans.

Say jumper, where (or what) is FIV? I wouldn't mind trying those pants.

I did a search on the net but all i find are Feline HIV sites.

I appreciate any help you could give such as address etc.

 

[SawTroll]

... I recommend STIHL Hi-FLEX as there lighter and cooler than most full pairs of chainsaw trousers. ....

They look the same as the Stihl Forestwear Comfort sold over here, 13% strech, quite light etc.

I have a pair bought (by my wife) last year, and highly recommend them over more traditional types - they are expensive though.

This year Husky and Jonsered are offering very similar pants, called "Pro-Tech", and I think they all are made at the same factory.....