Chainsaw chaps--ouch

[stormpetrel]

I wear a 34 length too. Dealer told me 36 was big enough. LOL Way to short. My measurement of 42 would put them even with my jeans is this correct or should they be a little short of them ?

Measure from your belt to your anklebone, get the closest they have to that measurement. I have a 30" inseam, and 36" chaps fit pretty good....

 

[Gologit]

And remember, like most safety gear...they do have a lifetime. Check the tags on them, they probably need to be washed every so often and finally replaced -- the fibers will break down and/or get gummed up with oil and dirt that slowly soaks in and they won't do their job of jamming up the saw and causing the clutch to slip and thus the chain to stop.

There's some debate on that. One of our landing guys was wearing chaps that were on their fourth or fifth season without being washed. They had so much accumulated crud on them that they were black.
He was limbing a log with a 660 and it rolled on him, pushing the saw into his left leg above the knee. The chaps did just exactly what they were supposed to and stopped the saw cold. No damage to his leg.
All the years of oil and dirt and sawdust and snoose dribbles didn't seem to affect the inside of the chaps at all.

That being said, if a guy wants to trade his chaps off when they get dirty or wash them I don't see anything wrong with that. Chaps are cheap, even the expensive ones are cheap when you consider the alternatives.

One side note...if you wash chaps often enough the orange color fades to a lovely shade of muted pink. Be prepared for comments.

 

[ppkgmsy]

Just ask my brother in law if he wears chaps when wood cutting. He tells me, "No I am not as anal or conservative as you".

Thinks he is the smartest guy in the world....

gg

I tell guys like that I won't cut with them because I don;t want their blood all over my truck when I have to drive them to the hospital.

 

[ppkgmsy]

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This is why i bought my chaps. I have the Work Safe from baileys. Bought them after the fact.

I cut with a lot of people who don't wear them. Although now that I do wear them a close friend of mine did start wearing them. He actually did bump his thigh from wide open throttle (no trigger pulled, was throttling down). The Kevlar fibers wrapped around the chain and snuffed out the engine instantly.

The other people that I cut with that don't wear them wont make fun of me either. I tell them there is no time to long for cost to high for safety. They all agree and understand. I personally like them for bucking through the brush. Keeps the brier's and pikers' from stabbing me in legs.

Glad you are ok. It could have been much worse. When my son was born 10 years ago, I made a vow I would never cut without chaps and a helmet.

 

[Tecook76]

I cut my leg with a coasting chain one time and had left my chaps in the truck. They're definitely a good "insurance policy" and worth the investment. Mine are Labonville brand and I've been happy with them.

 

[hamish]

There's some debate on that. One of our landing guys was wearing chaps that were on their fourth or fifth season without being washed. They had so much accumulated crud on them that they were black.
He was limbing a log with a 660 and it rolled on him, pushing the saw into his left leg above the knee. The chaps did just exactly what they were supposed to and stopped the saw cold. No damage to his leg.
All the years of oil and dirt and sawdust and snoose dribbles didn't seem to affect the inside of the chaps at all.

That being said, if a guy wants to trade his chaps off when they get dirty or wash them I don't see anything wrong with that. Chaps are cheap, even the expensive ones are cheap when you consider the alternatives.

One side note...if you wash chaps often enough the orange color fades to a lovely shade of muted pink. Be prepared for comments.

To take full advantage of there protection they need to be washed and cared for on a regular basis, as dirt and petroleum degrade and wear the protective fibres over time. Something you cant see.

Years ago (and i am younger), I got some shrapenal in my shoulder/collar bone area, that sailed right through my body armor, that a 1x pine board would have stopped. Was initially treated as a manufacturing defect but the investigation finally led the degration of the fibres courtesty of dirt and sweat. Lots of wear and tear can hide under that nice fabric outer......kinda like that winter jackect thats now as warm as a t-shirt.

PPE comes with a care label right on it same as your underwear...................you do wash your underwear right?.......................your chainsaw pants or chaps are holding in alot more important things than fecal matter.

 

[greengiant]

Thats a good question. As far as I know the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief does not monitor what kind of saw we use. They do make you go thru a chainsaw class before you can volunteer in the field. The class consists of teaching you how to use a saw, and use it safely.Then there is a film with abuncha blood, guts, and gore of people that were not safe.
One guy ran the saw up his leg to his crotch and cut his thing off! Caused me to buy a new saw. At that time I just had one saw. A 1980 model Lumbard with no chain break, chain catch to catch the chain if it came off, or the handle bar deal where you gotta have your hand on it before you can squeeze the throttle. They try to keep us safe.

I haven't seen much mention other than this quote, but along with having gear, I think taking a chainsaw safety and productivity seminar/class is the icing on the cake. I've taken the course outlined here three times: http://www.powerandpaddle.com/11212011.pdf

If you can find something like that in your area, take it. Many of us think we know it all, but there's always something out there you don't!

Oh, and by the way, I'm glad I stumbled onto the site tonight to see this thread, cause last week I was 'only going to cut for a minute' so I skipped the safety gear. Nothing happened, but a good reminder like this thread is all I need to not be stupid next time.

 

[demc570]

I haven't seen much mention other than this quote, but along with having gear, I think taking a chainsaw safety and productivity seminar/class is the icing on the cake. I've taken the course outlined here three times: http://www.powerandpaddle.com/11212011.pdf

If you can find something like that in your area, take it. Many of us think we know it all, but there's always something out there you don't!

Oh, and by the way, I'm glad I stumbled onto the site tonight to see this thread, cause last week I was 'only going to cut for a minute' so I skipped the safety gear. Nothing happened, but a good reminder like this thread is all I need to not be stupid next time.

thankyou,i havent herd of a class like that around here,be worth searching for tho.....have great day!

 

[KyleOh]

I wear a 34 length too. Dealer told me 36 was big enough. LOL Way to short. My measurement of 42 would put them even with my jeans is this correct or should they be a little short of them ?

40 is the biggest Stihl makes. They fit me perfect though just on top of my boot.

 

[deranged]

I have a pair of the Labonville full wraps in the 36" variety, I wish now that I had exchanged them for the 40" variety. I'm 6' with a 32" inseam, and the 36" ones come to just above my ankles (and that's with my letting them ride low around my waist), which may be good for some people, but I'd rather have a little extra protection on the top of my foot. I've considered just buying another pair, but not sure that I can really justify it if I still have a functioning pair.

Anybody want to buy a lightly used pair of 36" Labonville full wraps? Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

 

[slowp]

One side note...if you wash chaps often enough the orange color fades to a lovely shade of muted pink. Be prepared for comments.

How many times? This makes me want to throw in the Championship (gloat) chaps now and get them that color.

Along with chaps, don't forget to hold your saw properly...thumb goes around bottom of handlebar, fingers opposite, and think about what side is best to stand on so if the saw comes back, it'll go by you. Don't be leaning over your saw while cutting either. If you have to look at what it is doing, look from the side.

The saws out here have to have chainbrakes if you are doing official volunteer trail work. Exhaust screens also, during fire season. The same rules that apply to logging on federal land, apply to saw work.

And we don't have to watch gory movies, thank goodness. We cut while the examiner watches. He tells us what to demonstrate for him. Like "use wedges". How will you cut that piece? Where is the bind? I got points taken off because I have a hard time explaining things.