Chainsaw Boots from Arbortec

Granite Workwear has recently added a range of Arbortec® forestwear chainsaw protective boots. These boots have been designed to incorporate a number of technical and comfort features, that we believe make them an outstanding addition to our range.

They are designed to exceed CE standards in Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 giving a full range of protection.

The range includes the brand new Lightning boot that importantly gives Class 2 protection all round the boot even at the back; this boot is especially good for heavy duty use but is also extremely comfortable thereby reducing fatigue which is important to improve safe working. This also comes in X Large sizes 13, 14 and 15.

Also in the range are the Aquafell® Xpert™, Hydrofell®, Fellsman® Xpert™, Fellsman® Basic and the Challenger™ which is a Class 3 Wellington boot.

The Fellsman® Basic is particularly aimed at the more casual user with a very competitive price but does not compromise safety still giving full Class 1 protection.

Chainsaw Protection Standards

The EN ISO Standard 17249:2004 is specifically designed for Forestry Footwear and tests for three levels of protection:

Class 1 - the footwear has to withstand a chainsaw blade moving at 20 metres per second.
Class 2 - the footwear can withstand a blade moving at 24 metres per second.
Class 3 - the footwear can withstand a blade moving at 28 metres per second.

This protection can be afforded in a number of ways; obviously if the boot has a steel toecap then this gives a very good protection in that particular area. On the rest of the boot there is normally a padding inside made up of multiple layers of synthetic fibres that when the blade touches them causes snagging that clogs the blade and stops it. In a number of the boots in the Arbortec® range these are made of polyester.

In the Aquafell® Xpert™ and the Fellsman® Xpert™ the clogging system is the use of six layers of Kevlar® fibre which has a very high strength and is often used in body armour.
Comfort and Safety

Comfort is a very important part of a quality boot as they are worn for long periods of time and often in less than ideal weather conditions. If the boots are not comfortable then fatigue will happen quickly and this then causes loss of concentration which significantly increases the risk of accidents.

The Arbortec® range has shock absorbing properties built in and the soles have an anti-twist steel insert so that there is less danger of damage to the foot. Apart from the Challenger™ which is made from rubber the range has breathable properties and in most cases moisture absorbance to reduce the build up of sweat. For ease of use they all have speed lacing systems and padded collars.

The soles all feature specially designed tread patterns to reduce the risk of slipping and all the leather boots have a specially defined heel to fit spikes.

All the boots have steel toecaps and conform to the EN ISO 20345:2004 standard for Safety Footwear.

We at Granite believe that these boots are of exceptional standard and worthy of inclusion in our Forestry range in line with our philosophy that we offer the best products that we can find for use by professionals who are discerning in their choice of equipment.