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Clothes for the woods

Started by Mark Wentzell, August 05, 2012, 07:53:55 PM

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Mark Wentzell

I'm going to have a lot of field work in college in the fall and I wanted to find out what you guys wear for this type of work.

I already have a few pairs of Carhartt type pants, are these good to wear? Would jeans be better?

Long sleeved work shirts I have plenty of, also have a rain suit and waterproof chainsaw boots. I still need to get gloves and some warmer socks.

Am I missing anything? Any suggestions from those of you with experience?

beenthere

Have more than one outfit.
A lot will depend on the weather, the type of woods, and what your comfort zone is when in the "field".
What will you be doing? What state will it be? What elevation will it be?
The mountains in CO or the swamps in FL are a bit different. ;)

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Mark Wentzell

Quote from: beenthere on August 05, 2012, 08:34:01 PM
The mountains in CO or the swamps in FL are a bit different. ;)

This is southern new Brunswick, from what I understand the College's woodlot (500 hectares) ranges from mature trees to saplings and also includes a stand of sugar maple tapped for syrup ( The students manage this.)

Work will include Surveying, timber cruising, twig collection, tree measuring , walking, and some limited brush saw and chain saw use, navigation training.


Texas Ranger

I went through 4.5 years of forestry school in Missouri in genes, t-shirts, flannel shirts, boots, and a coat (denim) when cold.  Winter saw a parka and gloves.
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Phorester


You're probably already thinking on some of this:
Dress in layers.  I expect there will be times of relative inactivity in the woods while you listen to a professor, do data collection, plan a survey or cruise, etc., in cold or wet weather and need extra clothes on.  Other times during the same day you can be very active and need a light layer.

Always bring a backpack.  You can carry your extra layers/rain gear/gloves in there when you don't need them.  It does no good to leave them in a vehicle, walk several hundred feet or more away, then be miserable while doing field work (which will influence the outcome) or have to walk back to get them, which will probably not be an option during a college class.

I'd also carry an extra pair of gloves and socks.

Atlantic Trader

I went through the same college in 1990, the head cruising instructor, had a saying which sticks with me to this day, "rain, shine, or snow its off to the williwags we must go" and go we did in all kinds of nasty weather, freezing rain, snow, really cold days. No one perished ....

Mark Wentzell

Thanks everyone for the input.

Good to here from those who have been there, done that.

Maine372

i was welcomed to forestry school at UMaine with this statement: there no such thing as inclement weather; just an under prepared forester.

fall is a great time to buy rain gear and it works well as an outer layer even in the winter, just layer well under it.

enjoy ranger school and join the woodsmen team for a little fun!

PAFaller

I may be an outcast with this one but I cant stand denim and duck pants like Carhartts. My forestry prof had a saying, Carhartt...work clothes for people who dont" He was kind of right, it was a trendy thing for the outing club peace and love folks to wear them around all day, but in the woods when it was hot or wet you were soaked all day long. I will say the few pairs I have had did give me years of service, but I never wore them much. Most guys I worked around in the logging woods either wore some type of cutting pant or a twill pant like red kap or dickies. And they can be had stupid cheap, a buddy of mine in school turned me on to used work clothes. Sounds nasty but its just professionally cleaned stuff that was taken out of service by the uniform companys. Look them up on google, blue pants are 4 or 5 bucks a pair. Considering you are going to go beat through the brush with them and probably have them covered in every color of the rainbow paint its a college kids dream. The only thing I have now and wish I had spent the money on then was good rain gear, and by that I should say Filson rain gear. I always worked logging while also attending forestry school and those soft shell parkas and the like are fine and comfortable but never stood up to the abuse of hard physical labor in adverse conditions. Fill em with mud and dirt and those synthetics become useless. Filson outerwear is heavy, smells 'different' and will make you sweat when its hot but Ive found it to be rugged stuff and worth the money. Last thing would be a boot dryer. as drying boots from the inside out seems to make them last much longer, and its always nice to put dry boots on in the morning.
It ain't easy...

idamill

I wear what i have on at that time. But when fashion happens to be an issue, I am always glad that i have duct tape on hand when i need too accessorize my outfit

mad murdock

What has "worked" best for me here in the PNW is Prison Blues double knee denim dungarees, and hickory shirts.  For the rainy work I throw on my Filson tin coat and full brim brain bucket, along with my well oiled Red Dawg full length (12") lace to toe boots and I stay dry even in all the Oregon "sunshine" we have here from October thru May.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

JHBC

I too would fall under the PNW climate, which is relatively hot and usually very dry in the summer, and mild and very wet the rest of the year.  To be honest, I wear fallers pants most days.  If its pouring out, I throw on some rain gear, but I usually find it too hot.  Except for the summer I wear Stanfield shirts every day, they keep you warm and dry enough most of the time.  But get some good boots for sure.  I use Viking rubbers on wet days, and Viberg leathers when it's too warm for rubber.
MS460 28"    MS660  36"    MS441 20"/24"    394XP 32"/36"    3120XP 32"/42"

lumberjack48

How you dress and look means 100%, i bought my cloths from Bailey's or Cabela's, jeans and light wool pants, shirts and ect. All so L&M or Fleet Farm carry nice work cloths.
I was very fussy how i dressed, i never wore carhartt's to heavy and stiff. Like in the fall, a little colder i wore a light wool pants, i sprayed my pants with tent spray this keeps your cloths dry, it works very good. [ Sprayed my leather boots to] A down vest is a must have, your arms aren't bound up in a coat.
When i went to work i liked to look clean, a straight up logger, most guys dress like bums.
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

trapper

 Boot dryer as mentioned by PAFaller I made one from a used bonnet hair dryer and pvc pipe.  They can be picked up cheap at goodwill and other resail shops like salvation army.  They have different settings from air to hot.
stihl ms241cm ms261cm  echo 310 400 suzuki  log arch made by stepson several logrite tools woodmizer LT30

Mark Wentzell

I hadn't thought about a boot dryer, definately a good thing to have.

Quote from: lumberjack48 on August 08, 2012, 02:07:43 PM
i sprayed my pants with tent spray this keeps your cloths dry, it works very good.

I'll have to try that, sounds like a good idea.

Phorester

Interesting to read the other comments here.  What works for me in VA might not work for somebody in NY or the PNW, and I'm sure you're keying in on the comments from others with a similar climate to yours.

I do agree with LUMBERJACK48 about looks.  After a few decades of working for the public, seeing how loggers and foresters dress, and watching reactions from landowners, and the general public's dislike and misconception of foresters and loggers, I have come to realize that visual impressions are important. I don't care what profession you're in, if you look and smell like a bum, you lose credibility. I'm not talking about getting dirty, muddy, or greasy during one' day's work. But what you're wearing underneath the sweat, mud, and filth makes an impression, good or bad.

If you're trying to convince the average person to sell their timber to you, if you're a forester trying to convince a miss-informed landowner to cut his trees, if you're trying to convince some psuedo-environmentalist that cutting trees is good, if you want to make a positive impression on a college professor......, visual appearance is indeed important.

You can find work clothes that protect you from the elements where you work and look good too. Another thought, I'll wear coveralls if it's not too hot for them when I'm marking timber, or doing equipment maintenance.  Then most of the grease and paint goes on those.  I can take them off and go to a restaurant, convience store, back to the office, and look fairly clean.

Holmes

Quote from: lumberjack48 on August 08, 2012, 02:07:43 PM
How you dress and look means 100%, i bought my cloths from Bailey's or Cabela's, jeans and light wool pants, shirts and ect. All so L&M or Fleet Farm carry nice work cloths.
I was very fussy how i dressed, i never wore carhartt's to heavy and stiff. Like in the fall, a little colder i wore a light wool pants, i sprayed my pants with tent spray this keeps your cloths dry, it works very good. [ Sprayed my leather boots to] A down vest is a must have, your arms aren't bound up in a coat.
When i went to work i liked to look clean, a straight up logger, most guys dress like bums.

                       This is a great post.         How we dress is noticed by everyone. Personally I always wear collared shirts and keep them tucked in, makes no difference if I am playing logger , plumber or laborer . 
Think like a farmer.

Mark Wentzell

Quote from: Phorester on August 10, 2012, 08:55:23 AM
I do agree with LUMBERJACK48 about looks.   

Have to agree with you on that one. There's a lot of this that seems to be  a matter of personal preference. I've talked to people who are dead set against denim and will only wear carhartts other people are the other way round.

Thanks again for the replies. Lots of good advice up there.  smiley_hardhat

lumberjack48

I could tell by how a guy dressed, his attitude and how he walked if he would be a asst to the crew. If the butt of your pants was down between your knees, kind of walk in a slow dragging stride and seem to know everything, i didn't need you.

Being a feller or timber cruiser, you want the lightest, warmest and what will stay the driest under the condition your working in. This is where waterproofing tent & gear spray worked excellent for the wife and me out in the elements. In the colder months we wore all wool with thermal underwear. In the summer the wife wore a light plaid shirt, logger jeans, suspenders [Stihl] belt, logger boots, i wish i had pictures. Carhartts have a nice line of jeans now, 25 yrs ago it was like you made pants out of your tent.  :D
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

Clark

I've been on the never-ending search for the perfect pair of pants for woods work.  Unfortunately that pair of pants changes from winter to summer.  Jeans are, IMO, probably one of the poorer choices.  They'll get you through college but once you get a "real" job I would suggest something that will last longer.  Most jeans won't last me a month working in the woods.

Carharrt are decent and for the money I think they are tough to beat.  I prefer them for winter work because they are heavier.

I'm trying a pair of Duluth Trading Company's (note: not out of Duluth) fire hose pants.  They seem to be working quite well but their sizing is a bit funky so my one pair is a bit loose on me.  They also have a rather generous amount of elastic built into the waist which could be a nice feature for winter wear.  So far they are wearing quite nicely, I'd say similar to Carharrts.

If you've got the money I think Filson's single tin, dry finish pants are the best you can get.  I got mine on "sale" for $72...ouch!  They are light, fit well and resist briars, thorns, etc as well or better than Carharrts that are two-three times thicker and heavier.  I need to get the hem on mine reinforced and they should be good for another four years of service.  If I were independently wealthy I'd buy 10 pairs and never think about work pants again.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

pineywoods

I wear nothing but Dickies work pants and shirts. Price reasonable ($13 shirts and $17 pants) and you can't wear them out. Get them online at www.denimwarehouse.com. They also stock other brands..
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Mark Wentzell

Pineywoods,

I have a few of the dickies work shirts  I really like them. Never tried any of their pants though, do you wear the jeans or the duck pants?

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