Time for Chainsaw Chaps

[ericm979]

I always struggle with the helmets with ear protection. It seems I never get good hearing protection and default to wearing hearing protection without head protection. I have a face screen with hearing protection that gives good hearing protection but it seems to slide down. What brands give good head/face/ear protection for all?

The Husky helmet works pretty well for me. The hearing protectors are comfortable and easy to flip up and down. The one drawback to the helmet is the wide vinyl headband. If it's warm out the sweat accumulates.

 

[JRobyn]

I really like my Peltors. A bit pricey. I got mine from BAILY'S. I think that Peltor may manufacture the ones that Stihl sells,

One little-known fact - the muffs on Peltors are two-position. They pop "OUT" when you pull them out and up to park on your helmet. Then when you "reinstall" them you have to "pop" them back inward. Else, they are VERY leaky and loud!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

the muffs on Peltors are two-position. They pop "OUT" when you pull them out and up to park on your helmet. Then when you "reinstall" them you have to "pop" them back inward.

My Husqvarna helmet/muffs do the same thing and they weren't all that expensive... I like it a lot...

SR

 

[cqaigy2]

Good to know about the ear muffs.

 

[jimmyj]

Funny I always use my Husky helmet with ear muffs, but for some reason stopped wearing the chaps years ago. After seeing this thread I thihk I'll go find them. I bought them after accidentally cutting through my coveralls and blue jeans without cutting my leg years ago, funny how you forget that stuff.

 

[Jstpssng]

Good to know about the ear muffs.

They're still only rated for 26Db reduction though.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use plugs and muffs, same when I'm mowing the grass, shooting ect...

SR

 

[Jstpssng]

I use plugs and muffs, same when I'm mowing the grass, shooting ect...

SR

Apparently I need to start doing the same... especially after failing my recent hearing test.

 

[goeduck]

Apparently I need to start doing the same... especially after failing my recent hearing test.

I wear hearing protection religiously. I have noticed a slight degradation as I age and no sense making things worse. I can still hear a plane fly over or someone calling with them on, you just need to listen closely. I don’t care for music headphones, I want to concentrate on what I am doing. Much of my damage happened when I was young and around machinery, back in the day when there was really little to no attention given it. Plus age of course.

 

[Jstpssng]

I wear hearing protection religiously. I have noticed a slight degradation as I age and no sense making things worse. I can still hear a plane fly over or someone calling with them on, you just need to listen closely. I don’t care for music headphones, I want to concentrate on what I am doing. Much of my damage happened when I was young and around machinery, back in the day when there was really little to no attention given it. Plus age of course.

I've had ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember. My hearing damage was also around equipment when I was younger, as well as gunfire before we knew any better. As I got into my teens it was also too loud music, cars and bikes, snowsleds,...

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have one of those goofy Stihl helmets with visor and ear protection. I don't saw all day so it works well. Can't disagree that the noise protection is not sufficient. I also wear safety glasses under the mask. Can't understand how sawdust gets in my eyes with the face shield down but it does.

 

[Hardway]

Yup Labonville Chaps

 

[mjw]

I haven’t run a chainsaw in years.
My last one made me decide I would never run one again without a working chain brake and proper maintenance, the chain would keep spinning on the old craftsman.
And full safety gear.
I got lucky years ago, never had any one get hurt, but we had a close call or two. Normally when we knew better but did it anyway.

Years ago I was helping clear some property.
I was called a safety geek when I told them I would not run the chain saw without proper PPE.
I even left one day when they started running the saw, late in the day when we were all hot and tired.
I didn’t want to even be around if someone got hurt, told them it was a bad idea. No one got hurt that day, but I still stand by my decision.

Funny thing was the guy that owned the properties got his money from an industrial accident settlement. I tried to explain to him if someone got hurt on his job he would lose it all, no jury would be sympathetic to him at all, figuring he of all people should know better.

I now try and wear hearing protection when doing anything loud and normally muff and stuff (plugs under muffs) for shooting anything larger than 22’s.
With electronic muffs I can still hear good, even with the plugs in.

 

[Richard]

I'm with you... I try to be OCD about my chaps....

"one day..." my wife wanted a slice of a cedar log cut so she could play around with it and maybe make it into a hot-pad or stepping stone or something....

Really? How easy is that?

Drove backhoe to already fallen log. Looked at it, had to make two cuts. One to cut root-ball off. Second to cut about 4" thick slice and I'm done.

Log (tree) is held in the air by my backhoe bucket....tree is around hip height so no bending over... I figured it wasn't worth the time to go to the house & back just to put my chaps on. Heck, I don't even recall if I had my hearing protection on for such a short "zip zip" and done.....

Famous last words...

As I was finishing the second and last cut, don't you know that the chain jumped the bar. The catcher caught it so it wasn't rotating anymore however, my leg was close enough that the chain "slapped" me right across the knee.

Been a long time....it might have scratched me but no broken skin and no cuts.

I just shook my head & counted my lucky stars. But for the chaps, everything else was almost ideal in its setup and it still bit me.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I'm always upset when it takes me so long to "dress' for using the chain saw. First steel toe shoes, then chaps with suspenders to hold them up then long sleeve cowskin leather weldding jacket, then face mask, then goggles, then helmet with face sheild and ear protection. Finally heavy duty work gloves.
But now looking at that I will never complain EVER AGAIN.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Seperate helmet and ear muff style hearing protectors don't work well together in my experience. The vast majority of my work on my property has been in brush where I don't need a helmet but lately I've been doing some work in the forest where a helmet's a good idea. I tried using the hearing protectors with the 'bail' between the two ear muffs behind my head but when my head sweats the muffs slip around. Ear plugs don't provide enough hearing protection.

I got a Husqvarna helmet with ear muffs last week and man is it nice. So much more comfortable, and very quiet with the muffs down.
I also got a set of the Forester apron style chaps because they have a pocket for tools. They're thinner than the 20 year old Stihl ones I've been using, and a little cooler in the heat.

Best helmet on the planet.I have the mesh and the clear plastic face shield. I've worn dozens of hemet brands and this is the Cadillac of helmets.

TreeStuff - Pfanner Protos Helmet

 

[Coyote machine]

I have one of those goofy Stihl helmets with visor and ear protection. I don't saw all day so it works well. Can't disagree that the noise protection is not sufficient. I also wear safety glasses under the mask. Can't understand how sawdust gets in my eyes with the face shield down but it does.

Don't worry, as long as you breath in and out that will happen. Solution: don't breath in, just out!

Another reason to always wear chaps, full wrap being best choice:

The piston ring speed on the average chainsaw travels 2,500 surface feet per minute. A chain slides across the surface of the sawbar rail at around 5000 feet per minute. The chain is moving at 55 to 60 m.p.h. or a mile per minute ( 88 feet per second ).

 

[MAD777]

^^^^^^
My legs hurt just reading that!

 

[JNA]

This is what my helper did last fall,

and he STILL wouldn't buy chaps!!

SR

The contractor buy's saftey equipment

 

[sandman2234]

I went with a group from my church over to the panhandle of Florida a couple of times to help with the hurricane mess. I was on a chainsaw crew and it was mandated that I wear a set of chaps, a hardhat with face and ear protection. I always wear gloves so I don't remember if they were required. We romped around in the Florida heat for a week sawing every tree we could find that was on a house, or nearby. The heat of the safety gear wasn't as bad as I expected. My earmuffs were sufficient to keep the saw noise at bay.
I will continue to wear them at all times now, no exceptions.
David from jax