Chainsaw protection pants
A protection trousers is a protective clothing for work with chainsaw or brushcutter and is intended to protect against injury in the leg area. At the most endangered places in the front leg area, a layer of loosely woven, very long, fine, tear-resistant threads is incorporated or only inserted between the outer and inner trouser fabrics from the ankle to the hip. It is part of the personal protective equipment forest and fire brigade .
In case of contact which cuts the chain of the chain saw the shell fabric and the protective layer decreases from the threads, which then wrap around the drive wheel of the chain saw and block the engine in a split second. Of course, chainsaw protection trousers cannot offer one hundred percent protection, even with a successful cut, minor injuries can be expected.
Cut protection clothing is offered with different outer fabrics for different purposes. B. Designs made of microfiber, which - with the same protective effect - are significantly lighter, but can be damaged if they come into contact with thorns or barbed wire.
Shapes and protection classes
Chainsaw protection pants are defined in accordance with DIN EN 381-5 ( protective clothing for users of hand-held chainsaws - Part 5: Leg protection requirements ). There are three forms of leg protection: Forms A and B are intended for professional chainsaw operators in normal wood harvesting work. The cut protection is essentially limited to the front of the legs. Form C should be used by people who normally do not work with the chainsaw or only in exceptional situations. The protection area includes the front and back of the legs (all-round protection). When purchasing, make sure that the cut protection equipment is marked with the symbol “KWF-Nutzwert” (cut protection pants) or “KWF-Test” (cut protection leggings) and the pictogram “Protection against portable chainsaws”.
Another parameter is the cut protection class of the cut protection trousers:
- Class 0
- 16 m / s chain speed
- class 1
- 20 m / s chain speed (standard)
- 2nd grade
- 24 m / s chain speed
- Class 3
- 28 m / s chain speed
With standard protection class 1, the chain speed is 20 m / s. Chainsaws powered by combustion engines can, however, reach far higher chain speeds under full load, at which the cut protection cannot withstand. Depending on the type of work, this cut protection may represent a compromise between wearing comfort and protective effect, since they are made as trousers, dungarees and leg warmers or pure front leg protection (similar to chaps ).
Washing, drying, dirt and resin all have an impact on the aging of cut protection insoles. Studies have shown that there is a clear correlation between the length of time they are worn and the decrease in the protective effect of cut protection trousers. Chainsaw protection trousers should therefore be replaced after a period of use of 12 to a maximum of 18 months if they are used regularly. With irregular use such as B. in the hobby area, at the fire brigade and the THW it is recommended to change the chainsaw protection trousers after 5 years at the latest.
Repairs to chainsaw protection trousers must never affect the protective layer. In the event of a seam through the protective layer, the tearing of the loosely inserted protective threads and thus the protective function can be impaired or canceled.
literature
- Volkmar T. Bartels, Karl-Heinz Umbach: Clothing physiological optimization of cut protection clothing . Series of publications by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Research, Fb 860. Wirtschaftsverlag NW, Verlag für Neue Wissenschaften, Bremerhaven 1999, 80 p., ISBN 3-89701-404-1
