Anyone wear a face shield?

[livemusic]

My usual head attire is a ear muffs and safety glasses but I have a hardhat which has a face shield, one of those plastic shields with holes in it, like a mesh that you can see through. Wonder how much protection it gives from a kickback head strike?

Reason I ask is I have never experienced a kickback where the saw hits my head or comes near it but, wow, if that happened, that would be a bad day! The safety glasses would not give any protection. Makes me think I should just get in the habit of using a hardhat with face shield.

I recently read about a kickback injury to the head, ugh. The guy was not a rookie, it was just an unexpected surprise.

 

[Woodslasher]

No, I just wear a standard Husky chainsaw helmet 95% of the time.

 

[Philbert]

The mesh face shields protect you from getting smacked or poked in the face by limbs. Safety glasses protect your eyes. Not sure how much protection the face shields would provide in a kickback situation. Brim of your helmet might provide some too.

Philbert

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I go in raw...

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[Del_]

I've always used just the mesh screen. No glasses.

 

[benjo75]

Holding the saw correctly with a working chain brake is your best protection against a kickback going bad. Always keep your thumb wrapped around the handlebar. I use the screen on my Protos quite a bit but it would be worthless against a strike. They make anti kickback chains but they're worthless if you'd like to cut wood with them.

If the chain isn't spinning a hard hat and screen might help a little but if the chain is spinning you're in trouble.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Hardhat with fitted earmuffs and flip down/up mesh screen- ALWAYS for me- do not run a saw without on, after all the years of having done so, to not do it just doesn't feel right.
Won't do jack shite to stop a kickback, but it does stop the majority of the chips hitting your eyeballs and clinging to the sweat on your face.
Grab a just past expiry date hardhat one day and give it a few striking blows with your saw chain running full tilt- that will give an indication of how it might hold up against kickback. They are for impact protection WAY before cut protection- the mesh visor........ a chain would not skip a beat mowing through that.

 

[toadman]

My mesh visor is steel covered with rubbery plastic, it is not recommended for protection from the saw itself and I highly doubt it is effective against a spinning chain.
it does a good job of keeping briars, branches & flying chips from scratching my corneas while staying present & clear vision wise regardless of weather and sweat.

 

[Philbert]

Face shields protect faces. Safety glasses protect eyes. I wear both, but would choose the safety glasses if I could only have one.

I know that some jurisdictions allow the mesh face shields to be used alone. Some face shields have a warning embossed into them, similar to STIHL's disclaimer,
'Goggles or protective glasses meeting ANSI Standard Z87.1 must be worn under face screen and shield for primary eye protection.'

Philbert

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Face shields protect faces. Safety glasses protect eyes. I wear both, but would choose the safety glasses if I could only have one.

I know that some jurisdictions allow the mesh face shields to be used alone. Some face shields have a warning embossed into them, similar to STIHL's disclaimer,
'Goggles or protective glasses meeting ANSI Standard Z87.1 must be worn under face screen and shield for primary eye protection.'

Philbert

Not living in a land where one can sue somebody because there wasn't a label on a product- I often wear glasses climbing, but for general groundwork and falling, I use/prefer the mesh screen only. Mainly because over here we cut a LOT of sappy softwoods and I find clear screens or safety glasses get gummed up pretty quickly and tend to fog in our weather conditions where the operator is often at a higher temperature than the surrounding air.
Having said that, any normal machine working day will find me looking through two layers of glass- one of them 16mm armoured glass.

 

[TimberWolf530]

I wear an old BF McDonald aluminum hard hat, eye protection, ear protection, and chaps when falling. I may or may not keep the helmet on while bucking. Never used a face shield. I started using saws around 1979-80 and I think about the saws we used back then and PPE, what's that? I'm lucky to still have all my limbs intact and most of my hearing.

 

[toadman]

Face shields protect faces. Safety glasses protect eyes. I wear both, but would choose the safety glasses if I could only have one.

I know that some jurisdictions allow the mesh face shields to be used alone. Some face shields have a warning embossed into them, similar to STIHL's disclaimer,
'Goggles or protective glasses meeting ANSI Standard Z87.1 must be worn under face screen and shield for primary eye protection.'

Philbert

I will mention I don't get an option of going without safety glasses as well as a sheild, due to having poor vision & only ordering safety rated frames & lenses the last few years.

 

[KarlD]

I don’t even see my shield any more. It goes down when I pick up the saw and the hat stays on until it’s a break time. Glasses fog up almost instantly on me, sweaty bolok that I am

 

[oldfortyfive]

Hats off to whoever came up with the screen face shield. I hate crap hitting me in the face.

 

[Walkdog]

OP - if you’re concerned about safety while operating a chainsaw, the professional standard for protected areas of the body are the head, eyes, ears, hands, legs, and feet.

Face shields on helmets are for eye protection from chips and other projectiles launched by the chain, not for stopping the chain, should it come flying towards your face.

I’m personally fond of mesh shields in the warmer months and clear plastic in the winter.

 

[stihl86]

My usual head attire is a ear muffs and safety glasses but I have a hardhat which has a face shield, one of those plastic shields with holes in it, like a mesh that you can see through. Wonder how much protection it gives from a kickback head strike?

Reason I ask is I have never experienced a kickback where the saw hits my head or comes near it but, wow, if that happened, that would be a bad day! The safety glasses would not give any protection. Makes me think I should just get in the habit of using a hardhat with face shield.

I recently read about a kickback injury to the head, ugh. The guy was not a rookie, it was just an unexpected surprise.

You're the best protection from a kickback. I've given myself some gruesome gash's from just working on saws. (bar cover goes on before a wrench is touched)
So, to respond to your question, nfw a piece of plastic, or your skull, stands a chance against a running saw.
Even with chaps, you most likely will get cut. Just not in half.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

The screen lessens the hits from all sorts when working. I wouldnt be without mine but I wouldnt want to test it with kickback

 

[anlrolfe]

As an Electrician, I wear safety glasses on a regular basis. They fog up and get dirty. I hate that, I hate that a lot, it $uX...
I do some firewood or trail clearing and wear a helmet w/ face shield and it's nice, it's SO nice.
Enough said!!!
Only bad, when you flip up the visor or take off the helmet you've got to remember you're unprotected. Ooff...

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

What's a good helmet / muffs / shield setup? I'm thinking of buying one.

Was in a tree and the saw was necessarily close to my face, it jumped. No issues, but a plastic shield would have saved the day had I been concentrating on other things. Even without that, it would be nice to not have a face full of chips when the wind swirls and I'm in a tough spot.

Thanks for bringing up the topic.

 

[Cliff R]

+2 or 3 in the mesh screen shield keeping you from getting whacked in the face. I wear one, have been for at least 20 years now. Just had to replace mine a few months ago as it was separating and falling apart from getting hit with small limbs and brush so many times over the years, plus I've had it fall off the quad and get ran over by the trailer at least once or twice. For sure it softens the blow and helps protect you from getting cut at the same time.......