In Praise Of PPE

[John Mc]

If I'm cutting anywhere with overhead hazards, I'm wearing my helmet. I've seen too many times what a head injury can do to people. I'm not taking the chance of my wife and kids having to deal with something like that. (And that is despite an old college wrestling injury that messes up my neck when I wear the helmet for too long.)

If it's too hot out, the ear muffs come off and I wear ear plugs instead. If it's still to hot, I work shorter days or find something else to do that day. If I know a heat wave is coming, I'll often haul out into the open (ideally still in a shady area - this far north, I can still often manage to find shade in a clearing in summertime). Then I'll cut firewood to stove length with just safety glasses and ear plugs on my head.

[Old Greenhorn]

Always wear flip up screens on my helmets too.

Me too. It is the only piece of my safety gear I had had to replace do to a hard hit (at least in recent memory). I was limbing a downed tree and when I cut off a limb, it released a small spring pole I did not see which came up and cracked me in the face mask hard enough to kink and crack the screen mesh, bend the frame, and knock the helmet off my head. After the stars stopped circling, I straightened it out best I could and finished the day out, but ordered a replacement that night. Even with the screen in place I had a small bruise over my cheekbone. It's a good lesson for those folks who say they only wear a helmet if there are overhead hazards.

[HolmenTree]

When we were logging with saws the company got a new woman safety officer.  She was bound and determined to make all the fallers wear safety glasses under our helmet screens.
Well she was in for a rude awakening when she met up with a logging camp full of angry loggers who didn't want to wear fogged up safety glasses while dropping trees .
Matter of fact I never saw a faller in any of our camps who wore prescription glasses.  Only on skidder operators.

[lxskllr]

When we were logging with saws the company got a new woman safety officer.  She was bound and determined to make all the fallers wear safety glasses under our helmet screens.
Well she was in for a rude awakening when she met up with a logging camp full of angry loggers who didn't want to wear fogged up safety glasses while dropping trees .
Matter of fact I never saw a faller in any of our camps who wore prescription glasses.  Only on skidder operators.

The face shield was the main reason I got a helmet. I wear glasses, and they're bad enough without having goggles on over them. I already have a hardhat and earplugs otherwise, though the muffs are kinda nice in the winter. Still hot, but it's convenient just flipping them up.

[Allar]

Always wear flip up screens on my helmets too.

Me too. It is the only piece of my safety gear I had had to replace do to a hard hit (at least in recent memory). I was limbing a downed tree and when I cut off a limb, it released a small spring pole I did not see which came up and cracked me in the face mask hard enough to kink and crack the screen mesh, bend the frame, and knock the helmet off my head. After the stars stopped circling, I straightened it out best I could and finished the day out, but ordered a replacement that night. Even with the screen in place I had a small bruise over my cheekbone. It's a good lesson for those folks who say they only wear a helmet if there are overhead hazards.

I had a similar situation. 
I felled a tree without cleaning the brush first. So while limbing i accidently cut the hazel tree(REALLY SPRINGY) that was under the tree that i felled.
and POW, it hit me right in the eye and knocked my husky helmet off my head. 
Luckly the helmet was fine after straightening out the visor but i went home with a black eye....

[John Mc]

Even with the screen in place I had a small bruise over my cheekbone. It's a good lesson for those folks who say they only wear a helmet if there are overhead hazards.

In my case, the ongoing medical issues with my neck injury mean minimizing the time I wear anything on my head much heavier than a baseball cap.

Since I limb the trees in the woods (where there are overhead hazards), I've got my helmet with face shield on anyway. When I bring the logs out to a landing for cutting to sawlog or firewood length, in addition to no overhead hazards, there are no spring poles or brush to deal with, so the face shield is not really getting me anything: at that point, if anything is coming at me it's sawdust or a kickback. The safety glasses (and closing my mouth) take care of the sawdust. If kickback were an issue, the helmet is not all that effective: the chain will peel it right off my head (not that the plastic brim is doing much even if the helmet stayed on).

[Mountain_d]

I've been looking for chainsaw pants for a while now. Was going to get Husqvarna but found people saying that they don't breath well, making you sweat.
I've thought about chaps, but don't think they'll be as comfortable as pants.

So now i have my eyes on Oregon yukon strets with straps.

Yes, I prefer the all cotton chainsaw pants. I think mine are made by "Big Bill". They have the protection on the calf area also, which is required up this way. I have a few pair of the nylon style and find they do not breath very well. 
Mountain.