When do you use chaps? Do you use chaps?

I have heavy saw pants for winter use, I really do need to get chaps or decent summer saw pants.

Good thread to remind me to do it sooner than later.
 
A quick question on saw pants. If you wear them everyday, how many pairs do you own? They've got to stink something fierce at the end of a long hot day. I'm really trying to justify buying them for myself but I've made it 20 years without even a scratch. I do wear chaps on the ground but when climbing I feel it's not as much risk.
 
I would like to know more about saw pants.....I hear durability is the key....which are the best all round pants?

I wore chaps on fire for four seasons and 2 years of Conservation corps....but haven't worn anything for 15 years climbing and I need to change that.
 
I have the francital pants that treestuff sells. They've held up a few years, I like them a lot but not in summer.
 
Shorts not so much anymore...

It seems to me that they would come up a bit short on protection.
My wife would LOVE that joke!

I have the Husqvarna pants, they're hot, and the elastic sections on the sides irritate my boney hips. I don't do tree work every day, but I can get by for about 3 days between washings if I change pants for the drive home and let them dry out. I'm looking forward to how much better some of the better saw pants are. Hoping anyway. . . .
 
I have Francitals from TreeStuff too.
They are going on four years old now, and starting to look a bit scruffy...but they have held up well all things considered. I would definitely buy them again if I really didn't want to spend the $$$ for Pfanners or Cloggers.

I've used
Stihl old style summer pants - type A...too big, too hot, inner liner was nasty and sweat making!
SIP old style cotton outer type C - hot & heavy
Stihl KneeFlex type C - nicer, stretchy, but too hot in the tropics
Clogger Arborflex type A - better, but got scruffy too soon
Francital - type A - best so far, a bit cool on the butt in winter in Tasmania, wear an extra pair of underthings!...bit hot in the summer in Bermuda, but not awful if you manage your fluid intake and heat exposure

Next pair will either be Clogger's next generation of arborist saw trousers, or Pfanner ventilations...

Reminder...Lady tree workers need their saw pants to look good at all times, so scruffy isn't tolerated after a while :)
 
You can't do work with saw here without pants. Chaps is not accepted for other than occasional use.
To use saw here when you make money you need: protective pants, helmet with ear and eye protection, gloves with chain safety, boots with chain safety, jacket with reflecting cloth.
All up to a certain standard set and approved by AMV.
You also need to get a education for saw use. 1 out of three classes let you run saw, but to do forest work you need three of the five, 5 of 5 if you wish to be Arborist.
 
Remember, Personal Protective Equipment is the Last line of defense.

Clear footing, alternate ways of diffusing a bad cutting situation, proper ergonomics, proper saw holding and handling, situational awareness, etc, all come first.
 
I wore them occasionally. The only time they would have come in handy was one time I had a saw kickback and ran the chain right into my left thigh. Luckily I'm left handed and I keep all my stuff in my left pocket and I happened to have a whole bunch of change, pocket knife, and keys in my pocket. That stuff went flying all over the place but I had only a scratch on my leg.
 
Wear them every day of my working life.
I'm not a fool.
Luck will omly get you so far, eventually statistics will catch up with you and you'll get cut.
Those pants saved my left leg back in 89.
Hardwood logging is dangerous enough as it is, no rerason to make it more so.

I realize that this will most likely offend some members, but anybody running a saw without full protection is a fool in my opinion.
 
Stig, as a man that wears sawpants everyday, how many pair would you recommend to make it through a 50-60 hour workweek and not smell to bad. 2-3 pair, so as not to have to wash every other night. Or 2 pair and wear them 2-3 days and switch out.
 
I'm not afraid to admit that I smell bad when logging.
No-one there to smell it, except for a bunch of equally rank loggers.

I have 3 pairs for summer ( Pfanner ventilator, I find those last the best) and 3 pair for winter
 
In 1989 I was going through a x-mas tree plantation, removing those trees that were not up to standard and had no chance of ever getting there.
Basically involved 4 cuts per tree.
Sweep the saw down on side, removing a third of the branches, backsweep up another, removing yet a third , down the last side and cut the tree at the base, then stand up and push it over.

On one tree, as I was pushing it over, I slipped and fell on top of the tree, one branch stub pinched my finger on the saw trigger so the saw was running all out as I landed on top of it.
All the ukemi in the world is not going to save the day, when you are tangled into a dead christmas tree and a chainsaw when you fall.

So I landed on top of a totally revved up saw, catching the chain across my left thigh.
It would have taken the world's best surgeon on his best day to save that leg if I hadn't been wearing saw pants.

Didn't even get a scratch.

Now, killing bad x-mas trees is not what one would by any means consider a hazard zone, but that would have maimed me worse than I've ever been in the real hazard zone where I normally work.

You just never can tell when that accident happens.

It shocked me so badly that when my partner happened to walk by a minute later, he thought I'd cut myself and was bleeding out.
He said I was white as a sheet.
 
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So I landed on top of a totally revved up saw, catching the chain across my left thigh.
It would have taken the world's best surgeon on his best day to save that leg if I hadn't been wearing saw pants.
My understanding is that the chaps/pants are there for unforseen events just like that - that you can never assume you have complete control of a situation.
 
Biggest thing they protect is the Femoral Artery ... So much as nick that baby w a Saw and it's all over (except for quickly bleeding out) .
 
Shooting the breeze last night with an ex-logger...
One of his stories: falling trees up at Lake Leake in Tasmania, he was walking the tree limbing it and as he made the turn at the top his foot slipped and he fell/sat down on the trunk and his running saw landed in his lap about 6" from some important equipment!!! Chainsaw pants saved him, he reckoned he would have bled out before he could have gotten help.
 
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