Santa (aka the GF) has been good to me... Just got a pair of these LumberWorks chainsaw gloves. Haven't tried them with the saw yet, but first impression out of the package is very positive...
I own a pair of the orange Husky chainsaw gloves, which I've never really liked. The protective padding is barely detectable, which makes me have little faith in them. They are also the IMHO ill-fitting "one size doesn't fit any" generic gauntlet style, that collects chips in the fingers so that you try and jam them under your nails :grrr: when pulling the gloves on. I've had a long running low key search for a better glove and finally found something I thought would work - LumberWorks chainsaw gloves, that are carried by the fine folks down at Amick's Superstore in North Carolina (Excellent people to do business with, they offer good prices and really terrific customer service)
I like a "technical" style glove, which these definitely are. The back is a spandex like material, but not as stretchy - it is slightly more greenish than the photos show, but not much - certainly these are not high visibility - I suspect they'd be easy to lose if you put them down in the woods. (Product improvement note- possibly a high visibility orange or other bright color might be an advantage...) Unlike some other gloves there is no extra protection on the knuckles, but there is a strip of leather that falls on the first joint of each finger.
Sizing works fairly close, perhaps a shade on the large side - if you are on the border between two sizes when getting gloves I'd probably go for the smaller size, but large works for me as it usually does with other gloves, just a bit loose. (I suspect medium would be too small)
The palms are leather, covered on the outside with what looks like a rubber coated nylon, or similar material, with a few small gel pad patches under it. This material also covers most of the thumb and index finger, with strips of it on parts of the other fingers. This may be a minor problem, as the strips don't always line up with the spaces between the knuckles as well as they might...
The added material should increase the wear over plain goatskin, and feels like it will be "grippy" to make it easier to hold a saw, etc. It might not want to slide if swinging a sledgehammer or other tool though.
The inside of the righ glove is lined with some sort of felt like material, very comfy. The left glove has something more like spandex on the back, still nice but not as posh.
The kevlar padding in the back of the left hand only is very evident. In my Husky gloves it is barely detectable, with these you can definitely feel the difference. The padding covers the back of the hand from just over the knuckles to just below the wrist closure - it is fairly stiff, but doesn't impact dexterity. Not having tested either glove (and not planning to) I can't say which offers better protection, but these FEEL like they'd be a lot more effective.
The glove is fairly long, the cuff is well past my wrist. The cuff is not real stretchy elastic about 2" wide, with a 1" wide velcro closing strip (Like many gloves this strip is on the short side) Depending on what you are wearing on your arms, this may cause interference with a jacket or shirt with snug fitting cuffs, but if you can push them under, or over your other clothes it will make for a highly effective chip barrier.
They do offer a good fit and feel, but are a little stiffer than the gloves I normally wear - between that and the higher cost for them, I'll probably only use them while cutting (and use other gloves while splitting and stacking) but expect they will be excellent for that.
Per the label, the gloves can be machine washed, no bleach or solvents, then air dried.
I'm definitely glad I got them, and am looking forward to trying them with the saw. I think they are a much better product than the Husky gloves.
Gooserider
I own a pair of the orange Husky chainsaw gloves, which I've never really liked. The protective padding is barely detectable, which makes me have little faith in them. They are also the IMHO ill-fitting "one size doesn't fit any" generic gauntlet style, that collects chips in the fingers so that you try and jam them under your nails :grrr: when pulling the gloves on. I've had a long running low key search for a better glove and finally found something I thought would work - LumberWorks chainsaw gloves, that are carried by the fine folks down at Amick's Superstore in North Carolina (Excellent people to do business with, they offer good prices and really terrific customer service)
I like a "technical" style glove, which these definitely are. The back is a spandex like material, but not as stretchy - it is slightly more greenish than the photos show, but not much - certainly these are not high visibility - I suspect they'd be easy to lose if you put them down in the woods. (Product improvement note- possibly a high visibility orange or other bright color might be an advantage...) Unlike some other gloves there is no extra protection on the knuckles, but there is a strip of leather that falls on the first joint of each finger.
Sizing works fairly close, perhaps a shade on the large side - if you are on the border between two sizes when getting gloves I'd probably go for the smaller size, but large works for me as it usually does with other gloves, just a bit loose. (I suspect medium would be too small)
The palms are leather, covered on the outside with what looks like a rubber coated nylon, or similar material, with a few small gel pad patches under it. This material also covers most of the thumb and index finger, with strips of it on parts of the other fingers. This may be a minor problem, as the strips don't always line up with the spaces between the knuckles as well as they might...
The added material should increase the wear over plain goatskin, and feels like it will be "grippy" to make it easier to hold a saw, etc. It might not want to slide if swinging a sledgehammer or other tool though.
The inside of the righ glove is lined with some sort of felt like material, very comfy. The left glove has something more like spandex on the back, still nice but not as posh.
The kevlar padding in the back of the left hand only is very evident. In my Husky gloves it is barely detectable, with these you can definitely feel the difference. The padding covers the back of the hand from just over the knuckles to just below the wrist closure - it is fairly stiff, but doesn't impact dexterity. Not having tested either glove (and not planning to) I can't say which offers better protection, but these FEEL like they'd be a lot more effective.
The glove is fairly long, the cuff is well past my wrist. The cuff is not real stretchy elastic about 2" wide, with a 1" wide velcro closing strip (Like many gloves this strip is on the short side) Depending on what you are wearing on your arms, this may cause interference with a jacket or shirt with snug fitting cuffs, but if you can push them under, or over your other clothes it will make for a highly effective chip barrier.
They do offer a good fit and feel, but are a little stiffer than the gloves I normally wear - between that and the higher cost for them, I'll probably only use them while cutting (and use other gloves while splitting and stacking) but expect they will be excellent for that.
Per the label, the gloves can be machine washed, no bleach or solvents, then air dried.
I'm definitely glad I got them, and am looking forward to trying them with the saw. I think they are a much better product than the Husky gloves.
Gooserider
