Your favorite brand of chaps that are grade 3, C

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5backacres

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After 30 yrs with a 038, then 038Mag ll , I finally decided to get a pair of chaps since the new 500 i saw chain runs 100km/hr. Mostly ground/ firewood cutting & chipping. What's the best choice for a set of chaps grade 3 A or C?
021
023
038
500i
5 inch pto bearcat
9 inch pto woodmax
 
5backacres said:
After 30 yrs with a 038, then 038Mag ll , I finally decided to get a pair of chaps since the new 500 i saw chain runs 100km/hr. Mostly ground/ firewood cutting & chipping. What's the best choice for a set of chaps grade 3 A or C?
021
023
038
500i
5 inch pto bearcat
9 inch pto woodmax
Click to expand...
I have no idea what grade 3 A or C means...but I've had a few different chaps and looked at several others. I think you'd be hard pressed to do much better than Labonville:
https://www.baileysonline.com/labonville-x-treme-competition-apron-chainsaw-chaps-w850ckp.html
I've had the first pair for several years now and they are still going strong.

If you are cutting all day, I'd recommend chainsaw pants. There are some pretty fancy pants out there...I've been happy with Solidur Authentic (their cheapest model):
https://www.bartlettman.com/products/solidur-authentic-chainsaw-pants?_pos=6&_sid=eb8e2c71b&_ss=r
Much more comfortable than chaps - especially walking through the woods/catching on branches, etc... But I don't wear them when I know I won't be running a saw for long periods. I'll just put chaps on when it is time to cut and take them off when I'm done.
 
Thanks for the response. The research I did came up with 28meters per second chain speed on the 500i and that meant the grade 3 heavy padding chaps, the A was padding on front only and the C was padding around the calves/ back. Sorry for the confusion I could be using the wrong terminology for the chaps. I think Madsen's has Labonville. I've also got several logging/ Arborist stores in the area.
Thanks again for the response
 
That is probably all on the tags somewhere! I do like the calf wrap...not only for more protection, but the move around less.
 
5backacres said:
After 30 yrs with a 038, then 038Mag ll , I finally decided to get a pair of chaps since the new 500 i saw chain runs 100km/hr. Mostly ground/ firewood cutting & chipping. What's the best choice for a set of chaps grade 3 A or C?
021
023
038
500i
5 inch pto bearcat
9 inch pto woodmax
Click to expand...
Safety is awesome. I would imagine a 500i would eat your leg a little faster than an 038, but wouldn't want to find out either way. The phrase that stuck with me from the early days was "a pound of meat per second" ... I've only hit my leg once, and I was in alders up to my eyeballs cutting right of way, got my foot stuck in a hole and stumbled. Couldn't see my feet or saw really, and I walked away with just a bruise (on my left thigh and ego) but it did take 45 minutes to get all the fibers out of the sprocket.

So I wear my chaps, but around a chipper I am real cautious cuz the chipper will eat you a lot faster than any chainsaw when a branch grabs the strap on the back of your knee. Chainsaw pants might be a better deal though i have never tried them. I mostly used plain old stihl full length orange apron style chaps. after a month of sawdust and getting wet a few times they kind of conform to yer legs, and the buckles and straps hold up for years. Had a pair of husqvarna branded ones from home depot for a few weeks and the buckles all broke. Cant stand the calf wrap but it makes sense.
 
5backacres said:
Thanks for the response. The research I did came up with 28meters per second chain speed on the 500i and that meant the grade 3 heavy padding chaps, the A was padding on front only and the C was padding around the calves/ back. Sorry for the confusion I could be using the wrong terminology for the chaps. I think Madsen's has Labonville. I've also got several logging/ Arborist stores in the area.
Thanks again for the response
Click to expand...
Madsen's carries Labonville. I think ServiceSaw does as well. Been using this brand for years. Seen them stop an 029 Super with no issues and an 044 on a near miss incident.

Please take all this with a grain of salt. If chaps stop chain 100% then the odds were in your favor. If they don't, then it would more than likely have been worse without them.

Demo on YouTube, again with a grain of salt:
 
For what it is worth, I'll add that I bought some Stihl branded Chaps when I bought one of my Stihl saws many moons ago and although I always wear them when using the saw they are not comfortable and irritate me incredibly because the right leg for whatever weird reason always rotates away from where it was designed to stay and it bunches up badly and constantly. The left leg is perfect the right leg is not and it is almost like they sewed a smaller front panel on the right leg than on the left leg. Anyway, every time I wear them they irritate me and I'm always considering getting another set and throwing these in the trash. I don't know who makes chaps for Stihl? Anyway, hope this helps.
 
ATH said:
Jeans, shorts, speedo...doesn't matter. No chaps and the saw is coming through. Jeans just mean there are fibers for the ER to clean out of the wound!
Click to expand...

I'll add this ... I once fell on top of my saw when it wasn't even running and it cut into my jeans and into my shin slightly. I wasn't wearing my chaps because I hadn't even started the saw yet! Now, I try to remember to put the chaps on before I take the saw out of its case!
 
Welcome to A.S.!

US only has one chaps standard: ASTM 1897. It's Pass/Fail. Some chaps might be more protective than others, but the standard does not distinguish between them. The USFS has it's own specification, but that is a separate issue.

EU has EN381, with 3 chain speeds and 3 levels of coverage ('A', 'B', 'C', '1', '2', '3'). But, they mostly wear pants over there.

Canada has its own standard: ASTM F3325, with different levels of coverage.

For personal use, you can buy any of them. For workplace use, 'they' might want to see US standards in Washington state.

A helpful article on the differences is on the Clogger site:
https://blog.goclogger.com/the-clogger-guide-to-global-chainsaw-protection-standards/
Philbert
 

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