Yes, that's what I thought. This thread seems ot have gotten derailed from the first reply. How many people use a polesaw while climbing a tree?
Pole Saw Harness Recommendation
- Thread starter FarmerPW
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Yes, that's what I thought. This thread seems ot have gotten derailed from the first reply. How many people use a polesaw while climbing a tree?
OK. Well, remember this is the Homeowner Helper forum. Don't think too many of them go around climbing trees with a polesaw in hand.
Two of the reasons I appreciate my Tanaka polesaw over the Stihls I've seen:
1) It is light, so I'm not fighting an anvil on a pole;
2) D-handle for front grip is way superior to simply wrapping power-head end of pole in rubber stuff. More natural, resists twisting better, like whcn gunning engine.
It's gotten much use in the year I've had it.
1) It is light, so I'm not fighting an anvil on a pole;
2) D-handle for front grip is way superior to simply wrapping power-head end of pole in rubber stuff. More natural, resists twisting better, like whcn gunning engine.
It's gotten much use in the year I've had it.
Mike_C
ArboristSite Member
Would something like this work?
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/tr...cessories/straps-and-harnesses/forestharness/
I've got an ht101 and I'm considering one, either that or I need to start working out more.
As far as tethering your tools, please tether them. I was working in a theater and some kid dropped a wrench from a catwalk, it fell 100ft but fortunately it missed me.
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/tr...cessories/straps-and-harnesses/forestharness/
I've got an ht101 and I'm considering one, either that or I need to start working out more.
As far as tethering your tools, please tether them. I was working in a theater and some kid dropped a wrench from a catwalk, it fell 100ft but fortunately it missed me.
I simply do not understand the desire for having a harness, guys.
These are chainsaws. You need to have quite a bit of mobility to use them, more than any supportive harness will allow. Even if you were aloft, you couldn't use them safely while "strapped in". A safety lanyard to prevent dropping it might be ok, but this will not change your fatigue levels while using the tool.
If it's too heavy, take a break. If you cannot wield it safely from the very beginning, then put the tool down and find someone who can.
I have a 3120 Husqvarna with a 50" bar. It is heavy. Too heavy for some guys to hold horizontally to make a cut. Adding a harness won't enable them to make a cut or handle the saw safely, and the same is true for anyone who has physical problems with a pole saw.
These are chainsaws. You need to have quite a bit of mobility to use them, more than any supportive harness will allow. Even if you were aloft, you couldn't use them safely while "strapped in". A safety lanyard to prevent dropping it might be ok, but this will not change your fatigue levels while using the tool.
If it's too heavy, take a break. If you cannot wield it safely from the very beginning, then put the tool down and find someone who can.
I have a 3120 Husqvarna with a 50" bar. It is heavy. Too heavy for some guys to hold horizontally to make a cut. Adding a harness won't enable them to make a cut or handle the saw safely, and the same is true for anyone who has physical problems with a pole saw.
Mike_C
ArboristSite Member
A harness for a brush cutter is common, a pole saw (at least to me) is similar.
Let's say I can use the pole saw for 2 hours before being tired, what not use a harness to extend that time, or better yet use a harness so after 2 hours I'm not as tired?
Mistakes happen when we're careless but also when we're tired, dehydrated, etc.... there's no reason not to use some equipment to minimize our exertion and make us safer.
Let's say I can use the pole saw for 2 hours before being tired, what not use a harness to extend that time, or better yet use a harness so after 2 hours I'm not as tired?
Mistakes happen when we're careless but also when we're tired, dehydrated, etc.... there's no reason not to use some equipment to minimize our exertion and make us safer.
The purpose of a brush cutter harness is to prevent the machine from coming back and chopping off your feet, NOT to make it easier to operate. Some folks prefer the harness to help carry the weight of the machine, but there is a huge operational difference. A brush cutter is always carried at waist height and always cuts at the ground level. Any departure from that and the harness doesn't help and the machine gets dangerous.
I use brush cutters commercially, and wear out several a year. Newbies won't work without the harness, and the guys that have worked into shape with the machine cannot stand wearing them. The newbies complain about the weight of the machine, and the experienced guys complain about the bicycle bars that make you wear a harness to control the machine. Same machine without the safety bars and the harness=higher productivity and less fatigue...for someone who is accustomed to the weight.
If you use your pole saw only on flat ground, standing a nice safe distance away from the branch you are cutting, and just walk a little closer or further away to make your cuts, then I guess you might like a harness to help carry the machine. Of course, that harness will only be help as long as you are making top cuts and peeling branches. As soon as you start making horizontal undercuts with the tip of your bar to take out bigger branches, making wedge cuts to aim the branch in a safer direction, reaching high to attain an angle that cannot be achieved with the use of the harness, then you will discover why I don't want any part of the harness and why they don't come that way from the factory.
I use brush cutters commercially, and wear out several a year. Newbies won't work without the harness, and the guys that have worked into shape with the machine cannot stand wearing them. The newbies complain about the weight of the machine, and the experienced guys complain about the bicycle bars that make you wear a harness to control the machine. Same machine without the safety bars and the harness=higher productivity and less fatigue...for someone who is accustomed to the weight.
If you use your pole saw only on flat ground, standing a nice safe distance away from the branch you are cutting, and just walk a little closer or further away to make your cuts, then I guess you might like a harness to help carry the machine. Of course, that harness will only be help as long as you are making top cuts and peeling branches. As soon as you start making horizontal undercuts with the tip of your bar to take out bigger branches, making wedge cuts to aim the branch in a safer direction, reaching high to attain an angle that cannot be achieved with the use of the harness, then you will discover why I don't want any part of the harness and why they don't come that way from the factory.
I know its an old thread but a while ago I borrowed a stihl extendable pole saw that also had a harness that the operator could wear than had a web type bucket that the power head sat in , was stihl brand, very helpful for pruning red and white pine trees. Any one know where I can find one ? The new one I saw at a dealer just attached with a clip, no webbed bucket.
