Safety Chaps or Pants?

HortGuy

TreeHouser
Joined
Aug 29, 2012
Messages
38
Location
Piqua Ohio
Not really interested in whether or not you choose to wear these, but if you do, which do you prefer, chaps or pants, and why?
I am guessing pants to climb year round and on the ground in winter.
Chaps on the ground in summer.
 
Chaps is an American thing.
I've never seen anybody wear them over here.
 
I use chaps but only cause I don't wanna drop the money on good chainsaw pants. The chaps are nice in the thick woods for keeping briars out of you but hot in the summer. Pain in the ass to climb in though.
 
Chaps on the ground, nothing in the tree...
When it's hot who wants to wear saw protection in the summer when it's time to rake, blow etc
 
I wore chaps when falling timber. In the mornings when the brush was wet they would help keep me dry. When servicing the saw they offered a nice cushion when kneeling down, and whenever the oil cap fell out of the saw they kept me from getting covered in chain lube. Icky.

The straps on conventional chaps can tangle in the brush at inopportune times. Bummer and scary when you're exiting from a falling tree. They are easy to take off if it gets too hot.

No problem getting tangled in the brush with the pants, but they are not so easy to take off when it's hot. Plus the pants would slide internally when I was trying to crawl over any log larger than I could step over. An inconvenience at times.

The safety value of chaps is undeniable. Now, I'm not sure, but I think they are required by Cal-Osha for woods workers, who run saws, to wear them. Please, anybody, correct me if I wrong on that.

I can't really say that chaps have ever saved my bacon, but if I wasn't wearing them then my fate would have been altered. so it's hard to say.

I'm retired now, so I can say this without jinxing myself, "42 years of running saw in the woods and I never cut myself." But if the truth be known: through my career I narrowly escaped serious injury from the chainsaw on several occasions. I thank my lucky stars. Just lucky I guess.
 
I seem to recall without thumbing through the pages again, Jerry had some well worn chaps. Baileys should frame them and hang on the wall. I had some unwise a time or or two when chap straps got caught on excavator levers, exiting the machine with the motor left running. Straps are indeed a potential hazard.
 
I probably went through a dozen pair of chaps in 20 years. They just get too icky after a while. All that bar oil and sweat, broken snaps and tattered ends and all the more things to get hung up on something. I can honestly say, "the nicks in my chaps came when the chain wasn't even running." Just carrying the saw maneuvering through logs and brush, tripping and falling caused nearly all the wear and tear. Again, just lucky.
 
Every nick in my chaps came from the same, Jer.

I like pants the best, winter or summer, climbing or on the ground, and if I was heading out for a planned day of saw work, that's what I left the house wearing. But I more often had a bit of saw work arise during the workday...then, chaps were in the truck and always worn for that task.

The icky factor aside, oil soaked chaps or pants will fail to halt the chain properly. They have to be clean to function as intended. Check with any of the manufacturers, if you doubt me.
 
Pants for me. I never use a saw without them whether climbing or on the ground. Seen a few white faces after people have stuck a saw into them over the years, but not too much blood as a result thankfully
 
B is right. Oil soaked chaps are compromised. Not saying it won't stop a chain. Just saying they are no longer up to standard with the maker once they become oil logged.
 
Neither for preference, but if I have to then it's pants. Haven't seen a pair of chaps since I was at college, nearly 20 years ago.
 
The pants are just so comfortable today, that I see no excuse for not using them.
40 years ago it was a different matter.
I use Stihls Forestwear Comfort in summer, switch to Pfanner Gladiator in fall and spring, when it is wet and when it gets real cold use the Forest Wear with all round protection. Those are so nice and warm.
 
In the tree nothing.

On the ground any one of the following, chaps, Stihl summer or winter pants, or Labonville inserts.

Chaps are for as needed situations or to carry while running the skidder. I hate climbing in and out of equipment with any of them on binding at the knees.
 
The pants are just so comfortable today, that I see no excuse for not using them.
40 years ago it was a different matter.
I use Stihls Forestwear Comfort in summer, switch to Pfanner Gladiator in fall and spring, when it is wet and when it gets real cold use the Forest Wear with all round protection. Those are so nice and warm.

Tried those Stihl all round, didn't like them at all, too snug fitting, the lining sticks to my legs, and they wore out really quickly.

I wear either the pfanners with no protection or the arborwear ascenders, either look like protective from the outside.

I do keep a pair of proper saw pants around in case of emergencies, think I wore them about 4 times last year.
 
I really couldn't give a damned about the pants looking like protective.
That won't stop me from getting cut.
 
Stops me getting shut down for not wearing the correct protective clothing though.

I don't make a habit of sticking cutting tools in parts of my body.
 
Pants for me. We have to wear them in the UK, all round protection for climbing, front protection for floor work. If its hot then I take 2 pairs of trousers. When I'm done climbing or cutting then just put some lightweight work trousers on for clear up.
Does anyone wear chainsaw boots in the states?
 
Alright Tim, long time no see.

I actually do very little cutting during the course of a normal working day these days.

I used to have to wear all round protection all the time as an employee, 15 years of daily cutting and climbing with no incidents of saw cutting pants.
 
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