How safe are your feet? Chainsaw boot test

[Marc]

out of interest, do you know what type of protection the orange 'wellie' safety boot offers, as these are the only type i wear, due to only doing ground works.

 

cheers.

 

Your feet must be a wreck, I,d only consider wellies if I was working on boggy ground, good foot wear is vital lets face it your going to be in your work boots more than any other footwear so it's worth the investment. Never think to yourself that wellies offer higher protection so there by your safer it's the wrong attitude and one that will lead to an accident. The amount of cutters I see with chainsaw scars on their toe caps and stitched together ballistics is shocking their belief that they are wearing a cocoon of protection leads to sloppy cutting.

 

Get yourself some meindls you will not regret it, also consider 500grams on your foot equates to something like 1.5kg on your lower back, your feet are your foundation bad footwear can cause so many other problems.

But hey I,m just a softie southerner others probably have tougher feet than me.

[David Goss]

Dont knock the wellies man! I used to climb in husky wellies many moons ago with my 3 strand nylon! Kinda glad I dont now though haha

[skyhuck]

Wellis are the work of the devil!!!!!!

 

I would sooner work bare foot!!!!!!!!!

[David Goss]

Wellis are the work of the devil!!!!!!

 

I would sooner work bare foot!!!!!!!!!

 

Haha I couldn't take my feet out of them, the smell would have any H&S inspector screaming for chemical suits and gas masks to be worn:lol:

Mind you in those days they probably wouldnt have cared so much.

[Andy Collins]

Wellis are the work of the devil!!!!!!

 

I would sooner work bare foot!!!!!!!!!

 

Having worked a winter in a wood that was under a minimum of 4inches of water, deeper in many places, I soon went off traditional leather boots, Goretex or not, they let the water in and yu are cold and wet, and miserable. Blow that, chainsaw wellies have their place, and I always keep some by for the exceptional wet jobs, and they are a fraction of the price of fancy Goretex chainsaw boots.

[Rob D]

If you you've still got a bit of boot left how about mimicking the test in the vid across the front of the boot as this is really the only part in the line of fire.

[monkeybusiness]

I think you need to try a real life test ie the saw flicking against and running across the boot not someone trying to cut it in half.

 

I think its fairly safe to say that chainsaw protective boots offer more protection than say just a pair of leather steel toe cap work boots.

 

I had a boot/chainsaw encounter a few years ago, and even started a little thread about it at the time. The importer of my particular boots gave a very good insight into what the boots have to do (and their limitations). It's a bit long winded (I waffle a lot), but you can find it here -

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/2604-chainsaw-boots-dont-stop-saw.html

 

I still wear the same brand of boots today as I feel they are the best available (even though they don't appear to offer any real level protection over and above a cheap pair of leather work boots). The incident was 100% my own fault, caused by complacency, and I was lucky to walk away from it (literally!) with no consequence other than a wallet bashing as I had to invest in a new pair of boots. The most important thing to bear in mind is that PPE is the very last line of defence, and at best it might minimise the severity of injury to a degree. Have respect for the machinery you operate and use it in the same way you would if you were just wearing your speedos - never ever rely on your PPE ever ever.

[Mick the Tree]

If you you've still got a bit of boot left how about mimicking the test in the vid across the front of the boot as this is really the only part in the line of fire.

This was, infact the first test I did but the camera didnt record :sneaky2:I cut straight across the front, just behind where the toecap ends. The results were just the same as when cut from the heel.

Admittedly these boots were 10 months old and well past their best. Would be interesting to see how well new boots fair.

[skyhuck]

Having worked a winter in a wood that was under a minimum of 4inches of water, deeper in many places, I soon went off traditional leather boots, Goretex or not, they let the water in and yu are cold and wet, and miserable. Blow that, chainsaw wellies have their place, and I always keep some by for the exceptional wet jobs, and they are a fraction of the price of fancy Goretex chainsaw boots.

 

My haix boots are 100% water proof, I've worn them in snow and ankle deep in rivers all day long and always had totally dry feet.

[skyhuck]

This was, infact the first test I did but the camera didnt record :sneaky2:I cut straight across the front, just behind where the toecap ends. The results were just the same as when cut from the heel.

Admittedly these boots were 10 months old and well past their best. Would be interesting to see how well new boots fair.

 

You need to test with your finger off the trigger, no one is going to keep cutting after they have hit their foot.