Chaps are, in short, trousers made of leather commonly used during horse riding to protect the rider from horse hair and to protect the horse from the rider’s legs if they are not using saddle skirt. They also help protect the wearer’s legs from tree limbs, thorns of different plants, blades of grass, and other similar things.
And there are the chainsaw chaps that you must use when using a chainsaw to ensure optimum safety. Out of reluctance or ignorance, most of the chainsaw users don’t use chaps. Chainsaw chaps protect yourself from the impact of running chainsaw as a Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Find out the details about what are chaps used for in the following sections.
Chainsaw chaps that contain an extra layer of the fabric have a better cut resistance. On the contrary, chaps that make users warm inside while wearing them and stall their movements surely have some issues to address along with the safety issues. Keep reading to know what chaps are and how they are used.
What Are Chaps Used For?
What is the purpose of chaps? Initially, chaps were used by horse riders and cowboys. They used to wear this piece of clothing to protect their legs from the potential environmental hazards associated with horses, cattle, and such other livestock. These chaps work as a protective shield to save them from injury caused by thorny vegetation. Chaps are an integral part of horse riding and horse schooling. They help riders stay firm on the back of the horses and reduce the risk of leg injuries.
If you are dealing with a chainsaw, then chaps have a different appeal to you. These are a significant part of the safety clothing that should be worn as a prerequisite while using chainsaws. These strong pairs of pants come in handy to protect the chainsaw users’ legs from injuries. Usually, they are made of Kevlar and play a vital role to ensure chainsaw safety.
There are also some other types of chaps that are used by the hunters and motorbikers. In every case, the purpose is all the same to protect the legs of the users from any sort of harms and injuries.
What Are Chainsaw Chaps?
When you have any sharp object in hand, you will surely use a protection to avoid any accidental cut. Chainsaw chaps create a shield against the running saw and protect you from any unexpected accidental situation.
If you are cutting wood on a regular basis, chainsaw chaps are one of the vital tools for the protection of your legs and knees. The chainsaw chaps consist of multiple layers comparable to bulletproof vests with nylon outer shell.
If chainsaw impacts and penetrates accidentally on the outer shell, the Kevlar at first protect yourself from the impact, later the fiber blooms out and gets into the sprocket of the chainsaw to stall the chainsaw as well.
What Are the Features of Chainsaw Chaps?
If you know how do chainsaw chaps work, you must be worried about the safety issues. Chainsaw chaps include some of the standard features to protect you from the unexpected accidental situations. The chainsaw chaps come in different colors, fabrics, and types, but you need to pick the right chainsaw chap in terms of their general features for protecting yourself.
1. Fabric Resistance
This is the primary factor you should consider while buying chaps, as the fabric includes diverse sets of material that protects you from the impact of a running chainsaw.
Pick the class 3 chaps’ fabric to ensure you the most resistant fabric. As the class 3 fabric can resist the damage that may possibly result from faster and sharper chainsaw, you should choose this fabric over class 0 type of fabric.
Higher class chaps include heavier, costly, and baggy fabrics. You need to choose fabrics class according to the speed of your top-class chainsaw. If you frequently wash fabrics, the material inside will lose its integrity gradually. Moreover, you shouldn’t wash these fabrics in hot water on a regular basis.
2. Primary Protection Layer
The outer layer or primary protection layer provides minor damage protection while the layer includes oil, water, and other slippery substances. So, if you want to have the better-quality chainsaw chaps, the outer layer must consist of an oily substance with great strength and durability.
The outer layer includes a tough and slippery substance to prevent a user from minor damage. When a saw touches the outer layer, it instantly cuts through that layer while inner fabric comes out and halts the drive sprocket of the chainsaw.
Avertic, another protection layer, requires keen observation and washing on a regular basis. Keep in mind that washing layers with hot water will deteriorate the protective features.
Types of Chainsaw Chaps
There are two types of chainsaw chaps you can choose from – Type A and Type C. Type A is the front mounted protection that merely protects you from the front impact. Just put on the chainsaw chaps over your conventional working clothes or use them as trousers.
On the other hand, the C Type provides full protection to either side of your body. The C Type covers your front and back entirely, and these types are perfect for hefty and professional works. You can wear this as trousers at work but don’t wear over any clothes. These trousers feature heavy and baggy fibers to protect the user from getting injured by a running chainsaw.
To conclude, although fabric chaps may not be the standard tool to protect yourself from the violently running chainsaw, you can still use the right chaps type to protect yourself. In this case, chaps should have extra fabrics and layers to provide enough protection. Hope now you know what are chaps used for, so make the best use of the chaps and work safely.
