Mutant Alien Lobster

[Bounty Hunter]

Sometimes a great notion...
Sometimes a good idea gone bad...
Sometimes "What the heck were they thinking!!!!"

This all started a couple of weeks ago when I surfed through the "Arborcultural Injury and Fatalities" Forum, and read about a guy who caught his bar with his left hand during a strong kickback...and the bar went between his fingers and stopped about an inch past his wrist. YIKES!

Goatskin gloves are great, and have served me well for decades, but Stihl has gloves in their catalog that that they call "Chainsaw Protective Gloves"...and they looked kinda sweet. They said they are made for the professional Logger (I'm not - firewood business only...but we cut a lot of trees big and small). The gloves have the same kind of Kevlar backing that the chaps have. The next time I was at the saw dealer getting chains and wedges I ordered a pair.

The gloves came in this week...and they were MITTENS!!!!
Who wears MITTENS when they cut wood? Ever tried opening the spout on a Blitz gas can with MITTENS on???
Our teenage son said "Dad, you look like a Mutant Alien Lobster!" (I know...really dumb title for this thread...but check out the pic below).

I told our son "Guess who gets to use the Poulan all day tomorrow!"...and he wouldn't wear the gloves either.

What's the deal Stihl? most humans have 5 fingers!
Has anyone had any experience with these gloves?
What's your take on protective gloves in general?



View attachment 100895

 

[Work Saw Collector]

What's the deal Stihl? most humans have 5 fingers!
Has anyone had any experience with these gloves?
What's your take on protective gloves in general?

View attachment 100895

I don't think I would care for them.

 

[Patrick62]

You can keep the mittens

Really sweet lookin' 044

I wear standard gloves. I don't try and stop a chain with them

I kinda think that when one had all the protective gear available on, it would look kinda like someone was setup for a moon shot. Not to mention just a touch on the overheated side.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

That 044 is a sweetie...my fave...she's wearing a 28" ES b&c...thanks Patrick62
Although I don't like the Stihl mittens, we always wear gloves. My only other beef: saw chips go in the cuffs and eventually get packed in the fingers.
Other than the funky "Atlas" type cotton gloves, how do you all deal with that issue?

Thanks,
Bounty Hunter

 

[TRI955]

I've looked at the Stihl mittens before, I don't care for them. They would be more likely for me to cause an accident, so they better protect me. I just wear some red Mechanix gloves, protection would be nonexistant against a spinning chain, but I do wear them.

 

[2000ssm6]

The GF got me that same pair. I was like wtf are these, LOL. They are not that bad, much better when cutting in the cold. Not my first choice of gloves when cutting in general, I like the "timbersports" gloves better.

 

[371groundie]

i dont wear gloves running a saw unless its cold enough to warrant them. i feel that i have a better grip on the saw with my bare meat hooks. the simple solution to keeping your left hand off the chain is to wrap your thumb around the handle. i fight this issue myself because i was taught to drive without wrapping my thumbs around the steering wheel. but if you have your thumb wrapped under that front handle the saw has to take your thumb off to get anywhere near your hand.

i think the bulky-ness of those gloves would make them more dangerous than the kevlar will make up for.

the whole idea of the kevlar is to be long threads that tangle up in the chain and slow it to a stop. i dont think the short little threads that are in the gloves are long enough to do the job.

im not an expert, but thats my humble opinion.

 

[lawnmowertech37]

when i saw this thread i thought we were discussing lobsters

 

[2dogs]

I've gone back to all cotton gloves Bailey's, the Work Safe labled ones. I wear these when I'm cutting wood but when I am brushing I wear leather gloves, or leather wildland fire gloves for protection from thorns etc. I used to wear the woven orange gloves with sticky rubber lines on them, they work great too. I make my son wear the cut resistant gloves from Bailey's but he will wear through them in 2 or 3 days.

I'm hard on gloves so I stick to less expensive gloves. I can put a hole in a pair of gloves in 1 day or less.

 

[Modifiedmark]

I wouldn't wear them freaking things if you paid me to.

Well maybe I would, but it would have to be alot of pay.

On the other hand 2K would pay you to wear them as long as they had the Stihl name on them.

 

[046]

same thing happened to me... ordered a pair of chainsaw gloves at the Stihl dealer. prepaid for the order, etc.

when they came in... it was like.. mittens... I said, no way and got my $$ back. stihl dealer agreed description was wrong and had no problems refunding.

 

[StihlGuitar]

they should make neck braces too...

I'm in west michigan and a guy nearly decapitated his wife a couple weeks ago near here. She died. It was in Otsego and she was a local municipal employee, she came up behind her husband while he was cutting and he raised his saw without knowing she was there and nearly severed her neck. There neighbor, a police officer, tried to resuscitate her, but she was gone. Crazy story...

 

[Zackman1801]

I do have a pair similar (husky) in the actual glove form and although they do have kevlar in them i doubt it would save your hand. There is very little actual protective material in them, if a saw will cut through six layers of chaps i doubt that the two or three layers in the gloves would do much good. Plus mine only have material in the left hand, so on the off chance your other hand is involved then your SOL. I do agree that protection is important but some things cpmpanies make are for the sake of making money (no duh! I know) and give people a false sense of security.

 

[046]

I've worn thru (fingers blown out) several pairs of Harbor freight Kevlar gloves.

looks like they need to be candidates for a chainsaw test.
now where did I put those worn out gloves?

I do have a pair similar (husky) in the actual glove form and although they do have kevlar in them i doubt it would save your hand. There is very little actual protective material in them, if a saw will cut through six layers of chaps i doubt that the two or three layers in the gloves would do much good. Plus mine only have material in the left hand, so on the off chance your other hand is involved then your SOL. I do agree that protection is important but some things cpmpanies make are for the sake of making money (no duh! I know) and give people a false sense of security.

 

[Stihl Does It]

Good looking 044. I rarely wear gloves when running my chainsaws, even during the winter months. If my fingers are that numb, then I need to take a break.

Now, in the warmer months, I have to be careful my palms don't get too sweaty when limbing and bucking.

 

[windthrown]

I always wear gloves when cutting. Usually Wells Lamont leather. Sometimes those rubber dipped blue ones (but they get really hot in summer). I feel naked cutting with my bare hands.

 

[striperswaper]

mittens!
thanks for the good laugh guys
maybe they are meant for spectators?

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Good points all around gents, there is still plenty of room for improvement as far as "protective" gloves are concerned. If I thought the gloves would actually provide protection from a saw I might feel the price is justified...but so far that is way off the mark.
In our woods gloves are a must...Pinion Pine needles are hypodermic sharp. In addition, sap is a big, sticky problem...gloves usually become unserviceable before they wear out because of thick layers of pine sap and the inevitable chips packed down the fingers.
Lastly, Stihl promotes the Lobster mittens as "not sacrificing dexterity"...OH BROTHER...like you can really have any dexterity wearing those ridiculous puffy mittens. The photo in the catalog shows a guy holding a good sized saw (460???), and the way it looks they could be five-fingered gloves. Kind of false advertising IMHO...

 

[blis]

I have that kind of mittens (well husky branded ofcourse) and theyre superb when cutting in cold weather (read below -15c) and theyre big enough to fit another gloves under them to keep my fingers from freezing...

 

[BuddhaKat]

I absolutely love these from Amick's:

There are 10 layers of Kevlar on the back of the left hand and it's quite noticeable when the gloves are new. They were quite stiff at first, but loosened up quite nicely after a couple of days. Now, they're just as comfortable as any glove I've ever worn. Also, they are holding up very well in the wear and tear department. These gloves get

from me.

I should also note, they have a Velcro strap on the wrist which keeps the chips out very well.

I should also, also note, I will not cut without wearing Kevlar gloves and I've got them all. These are my go to glove.