logging tools you wear.

[pwrwagontom]

I've been wearing Carhartt double knees with attached bachelor buttons for about a year now.  The suspenders really help keep my pants from falling down (obviously), especially when chaps are on over the pants.  I find it less cumbersome to be wearing the suspenders NOT on the chaps.

Been slowly phasing out Carhartt, and swapping over to Arborwear double knee climbers pants.  I can't speak to their longevity yet, but they appear to be holding up to washing better so far, and I find them more comfortable.
Used to wear Key double knees, but they ripped and tore on me a lot.

Whites Smokejumpers 10-12" get my vote all day for woods work.  Going on rebuild #3, and they have saved me from numerous angle injuries.
Great second footwear choice- Labonville Kevlar Toe Boots.

[mike_belben]

I like wild ash and carhartt double knee but didnt care for prison blues and disliked keys i think it was alot. Cant stand suspender buttons boring a hole into me.  If pants have em i cut them out and gorilla glue.  If really cold i have insulated double knee carhartts from sierra trading post.  Theyre getting pretty tattered but id say theres 8 winters on some of them, as well as my insulated zip up hoodies.  Maybe 11 years on my dickies insulated coat, its getting threadbare in the cuffs.  mechanics clothes have a pretty bad life so im impressed.

[John Mc]

I use a Husqvarna Technical Forest Helmet.

I got one of those when they first came out and loved it. It's probably the most comfortable helmet I've ever owned. The only problem was that after about 3 months (probably averaging only a coupe days/week at that time), the left ear protection popped off the helmet. I popped it back on, but it won't stay: as soon as I lift the hearing protection off my ear, it pops off again. I complained and Husqvarna sent me replacement hearing protection. The helmet was unused for a few months. When I started wearing it again, the same thing happened after a few more months of light use. I pulled the other ear protection off and now use it with ear plugs when it's hot out in the summer.

Since I got one of the first helmets sold in my area, I thought perhaps it was an early design flaw that had been corrected. I emailed Husqvarna to ask about it. I was willing to give it another try, if they had corrected the problem. To their credit, they sent me a whole new helmet, even though mine was now out of warranty. I got 6 months light use out of that one before the same thing happened.

I'm not hard on helmets, I'm not yanking on the hearing protection. I just don't get this, and can't figure out why when the protection on 2 helmets pops back on, it doesn't stay there: once they've disconnected from the helmet once, they are toast.

If I knew they had corrected the problem, I'd buy another - they are that much better than the older style Husqvarna helmet I'm still using (but really should retire).

Has anyone else had this issue with the Husqvarna Technical Forest Helmet?

[Skeans1]

    For shoes I wear the offshore made Red Wings, probably the same as Doc H.  They are daily wear, I have two pair and alternate daily.  Upper wear is a t shirt and sweatshirt as needed.  Ordinary blue jeans below, with Stihl chaps as needed.  Stihl plastic helmet or ball cap.  Like DeerMeadowFarm, gloves are a problem size wise.  I always end up with a hole in a finger before the rest of the glove is worn out.  XXL gloves, size 13 feet.  Our regional name for Doc H's Dunlop's disease is Dunlap's.  I've Dunlapped over also.  

     I stay in when the weather is cold and nasty, I realize most of you don't have that luxury.  I'd like to try some logging boots, and Skeans1's aluminum helmet sounds interesting.  My main interest in my woods is TSI, so what I acquire would have to aid in that.  I would also like to go to suspenders, to ease the symptoms of Dunlap's.

The full brim aluminum hard hat's are Skull Buckets with adjustable suspension like the plastic hats. That said weight between the two isn't a whole lot different plus the only time it needs replaced is when it's hit unlike plastic.

[Old Greenhorn]

FWIW I'll jump in too. Boots vary by weather and I have none that are good enough to brag on or buy again. My problem with clothing is my wallet keeps putting a choker on my needs and I go too cheap most of the time. I am trying to get better at that and over time I am improving the stuff I have. In deep snow I wear my sorel boots, but for cutting work in the woods I wear my loggers (Doc, they are rough on the feet if you are anywhere but in the woods, not for pavement or hardpack.) Also, if you are using climbing spikes at all, you need that steel shank. I avoid this whenever I can (it's and extension of the FF rules about ladders for me, but when you gotta, you gotta). I was never pretty on spikes, (I try to make sure nobody is watching) but I can get it done with a little extra time and caution. Light work gloves I buy 3 packs like barbender. Used to get by with a 3 pack a year, but now seems like every 6 months. General winter work gloves I get whatever is in HD for 12 bucks or so and rotate a couple of pairs. I also like to have at least one pair of heavy leather gauntlet gloves for certain work. I put all my extra and different gloves in a small tool bag I keep in the Mule, keeps them handy and clean-ish. I have a bunch of clip on work suspenders with heavier than normal clips and one pair of the hook on type. One of those pairs is not elastic, no stretch, and I like those, they stay where you put them and do not yield. I believe they were sold for holding up tool belts and work well. The button braces I have are dedicated to my chainsaw pants (Elvex) which I use the Madson suspenders on (nice and stiff), and my heavy woolrich hunting pants have a set of woolrich suspenders (don't wear these much lately unless I am sitting in the woods on a really cold day).
 My felling belt is a Grizzly with a Grizzly axe scabbard (I have 2 different sizes for different axes), a no-name leather wedge pouch that holds about 4 wedges, scrench, and file. Also a loggers tape and I have a marking ribbon roll that will hook on the belt when I need it. 
 Hardhats are important and I switched to full brim a while back, but couldn't pry my wallet open far enough for a skull bucket even though I thought that was best. ;D If there is a 'next time' I will likely go that route. I added a fold down face screen to the hardhat, it's a little bigger than the common Husky types and a little harder to find replacements for, but worth it. I have taken a few face hits with branches and such, once or twice I had no idea what hit me, but the screen was bent up, so it must have been something really fast. ;D. I never could see the snap down ear pads holding up well and it seems when I am in the woods with other cutters at least one of them is having problems with them. Seems like if they drop them on the ground the muffs break half the time. Also it's extra weight up there (this from a firefighter who used to carry a face shield, flashlight, sprinkler wedges, and trauma shears on his fire helmet, maybe that's why I like a light helmet now  :D). If they made a full brim with ear muffs I might try it, but never saw them. That brim has saved me some grief, I'll stick with it. Pretty uncommon in the woods around these parts though, I don't know why. I am always the odd ball. I wear behind the head ear muffs, and rarely ear plugs in VERY hot weather. I keep a Velcro glove loop on my belt that holds my chainsaw gloves (whatever I can get) and the muffs. I don't wear the chainsaw gloves for cut protection, but I have had problems with vibration damage/pain and they help. But this problem has gone away in the last 2 years, so I dunno?
 Now socks are my new focus item this year. I have a lot of trouble with my right foot. When it hits 45° my right foot feels like it is freezing. I have a neuropathy issue. Anyway I am moving to wool socks all the time and it has helped a lot. They're expensive and I am adding to my pile slowly so I don't run out between laundry days. In summer I get by with padded cotton socks, most anything cheap works, but not really cheap.
 I think I covered it. No sorry, not talking about my underwear. I know it's important, but my taste won't help anyone here. I prefer the Superman undies, but when those are in the wash I will settle for Batman or Spiderman. :D :D ;D

[tawilson]

Vapor barrier socks solved my cold feet issues. 

[doc henderson]

what are vapor barrier socks?  pic or link?  sound great.  I had wrestling buddies in high school, and I wish they wore "vapor barrier" socks.  

[tawilson]

Vapor Barrier Socks | Rab | BackcountryGear.com
I got them on Amazon but they are out. Pricey but they work and the last pair lasted for a bunch of winters.

[John Mc]

what are vapor barrier socks?  pic or link?  sound great.  I had wrestling buddies in high school, and I wish they wore "vapor barrier" socks.  

Basically, they are plastic bags for your feet. By keeping the sweat or water vapor coming off your feet from soaking your socks, your socks maintain their insulating ability much better than if they were wet.
I tried them for a time when I used to do a lot of mountaineering and winter camping in -20˚F temperatures. They did keep my feet warmer, but I just couldn't wear them. <y feet felt as though they were swimming in them, and holding that water close to my foot ended up causing skin problems on longer trips or repated days of wearing them while working in the woods. However, some of my winter camping buddies absolutely loved them. (So much so that when one friend melted one of his while drying it by the fire one evening, he switched over to a gallon ziplock worn over a very lightweight sock liner for the rest of our trip.)

[Old Greenhorn]

I have never heard of something like these, sounds like it can be effective but have unpleasant side effects. ;D I have used liner socks to good effect. These are very thin socks that go over the foot and the quality wool sock goes on top. I used these on extended backpacking trips or long hikes. Never thought of trying them for work, I wonder why? I still have some of those liner socks. I should do a little experiment.

[tawilson]

Mom putting breadbags on my feet years ago is the same idea. I've been using Walmart shopping bags for the last few years till NYS outlawed them.
I wear these over my socks and they do get wet. I think that keeping the boots dry is where they help.

[mike_belben]

i remember putting newspaper bags between layers of socks to go ride the quad in slushy swampy winter with regular leaky workboots as a teenager.  Cant remember if it really helped. Probably just collected the water that soaked down my legs.

[brianJ]

i remember putting newspaper bags between layers of socks to go ride the quad in slushy swampy winter with regular leaky workboots as a teenager.  Cant remember if it really helped. Probably just collected the water that soaked down my legs.

Those plastic bread wrappers from a loaf were like a second pair of socks when I was growing up.   What can I say?   Mostly worked us poor people have poor people ways.    You can tell how long they been poor from how effective those ways are.

[Tacotodd]

i remember putting newspaper bags between layers of socks to go ride the quad in slushy swampy winter with regular leaky workboots as a teenager.  Cant remember if it really helped. Probably just collected the water that soaked down my legs.

Those plastic bread wrappers from a loaf were like a second pair of socks when I was growing up.   What can I say?   Mostly worked us poor people have poor people ways.    You can tell how long they been poor from how effective those ways are.

Just like I said in another post!

[doc henderson]

ok so I received a gift that I have tried for 4 days.  during the cold snap, I was working on the floor in our basement.  I had the knee pads in the Carhart double knee pants, and held up with suspenders on the buttons.  



 

it was helpful to get on the floor and then get up a hundred times and not have to pull up my pants.  the buttons on the jeans would dig in my hips if I had a belt on.  very comfortable and useful.  Looks like I was concentrating on the pic and forgot to smile, but this has changed my mind on suspenders.  My wife thinks they make me look old.  or since I am old, maybe a belt just makes me look young.  I wont ask if they make me look fat.   :D  . I found my other suspenders and one pair are Stihl, but clip ones.  the other are Carhart and the problem was the leather was stiff and hard to put on the brass buttons. thanks @Skeans1 ! 

[Skeans1]

@doc henderson 
Glad they've worked well sorry they were a little on the dirty side. Most of the suspenders I've been around are like the ones I've sent you where you can work them around in your hands to soften them up in a few minutes if need be.

[doc henderson]

they worked well and are comfortable.  I put the suspenders on the jeans with buttons, and left them on for three days of the project.  easy to put on and pull up the straps.  glad I gave them another chance.  Thanks again.

[lazyflee]

Started wearing Duluth Firehose pants a few years ago. I can get about a year of heavy use before the knees wear out. My wife calls em "garage wear", and that's where they stay! Also for gloves, try "Giver" gloves, they are awesome. Fit great and pretty durable, not too expensive either.