Better Layer Up...

Tree work is outside work- obvious.  The ‘Dress for the weather’ adage only tells half the story- because there is another big factor to consider when choosing outdoor gear. Consider this, two outdoor workers, a flagman and an arborist.

Arborist vs Flagman Requirements

The flagman is going to be standing, mostly still, for hours at a time on hard tarmac.  They have to pay attention, though, as road construction is likely more dangerous than what a safety-conscious arborist might experience.  A road worker has little control over whether that driver is paying attention to the road signs, or distracted by a podcast, phone call, or texting their wife… ( all irresponsible things to be doing while driving by the way, but the reality on the ground is…)

A flagman might then, in the winter, dress in insulated coveralls.  Maybe heavy Baffin type boots. Thick snowmobile or ski mittens, and then a heavy, insulated overcoat to go on top of that underlayer.  The fact is, they will be heavily reliant on clothing to keep themselves warm, as they themselves will be doing much less physical work (and thus, generate much less heat) than, for example, a climbing arborist.

Which we are going to now discuss.

Probably the hardest part of any cold day doing tree work is getting out of the truck in the morning.  It is going to suck.  The saws are cold to handle, you’re getting snow on and in your climbing boots, and you just have a sudden chill knowing you’re going to be likely climbing above rooftops, and thus becoming exposed to heavy winds and windchill.  It’s cold on the ground, but it is much colder up there.

Here’s the rub. I’ve climbed comfortably in -20 degree Celsius.  In fact, depending on the type of job, and especially a fast movement, low rigging removal ( think any excurrent removal ), you are going to heat up very quick…

But then…

Maybe you slow down.  The groundmen are having issues sorting ropes on the ground, or they are having to catch up clearing debris.  Maybe, in the tree, you’re messing around with some fancy rigging…

The chill creeps in…  

Adaptability

Adaptability is the key term for arborist clothing systems. So, the worst possible choice of gear is some kind of super thick outer layer, with only a single light layer underneath.  Think a pile-down Carhart jacket- great for driving the tractor, terrible for tree work.

The arborist has to be able respond to their activity level by changing the amount of clothing- simple as that.  If you have a super thick coat over a t-shirt, you’ve got two choices.  It’s like an on-off switch, or a throttle that goes 100 MPH or zero.  Not a great solution to variable activities. 

Tree work is essentially a variable activity.  You can be climbing, footlocking, setting rope, ascending, descending, pulling up a saw, pulling up rigging or moving laterally.  The intensity changes during the course of the job- maybe your brushing out the canopy with a silky, or your cutting down big blocks. Waiting on your groundman…

So, you need layers.  Maybe you have that heavy hoody just to set your rope, and bring your gear into the back yard. Then, you shed the hoody and SRS up into the canopy.  You’re warmed up now- you toss your Stanfield down to your groundman and begin working.  More rigging than you thought? Job not going as quickly as you’d expected, or you’re getting the end-of-the-day chill brought on by fatigue? No problem- have the groundman send up that Stanfield. The key point is…

You Need a System

And, to be clear, it is a system. Clothing for tree work requires a system.  We should, depending on the expected weather, have consistent and familiar (and hopefully clean and ready ) clothing systems to wear.  We shouldn’t be thinking about it every day or scrambling every morning. Worse is having inadequate clothing on the job.   With a bit of experience, any climber is going to know what optimizes their comfort and laying that gear out the morning before should just follow a script, or check a box in a checklist.  Something like…

How you quantify your clothing list is up to you, but this works for me.

1. > -10C Extreme Cold

2. -9C  to 3C Cold

3. 3C to 10C Cool-Mild

4. 10 to 20C Warm

5. > 20C Hot

6. Rain/ Wind Allowances  

The different temperatures and conditions are enough to consider more significant changes in gear, without trivializing the differences too much. I don’t think you need new gear list for every 1 degree change, but certainly a ‘feel’ gradient and then adapting to the level of activity once in the tree.  You can be creative and well organized with this, using weather forecasts and seasons to systematize water intake/carrier, lunch time and duration, and special equipment.  

In Summary…

Working comfortably in harsher environments requires a systems approach.  The arborist must be adaptable to both the changing environment AND the variable physical demands of the job.  Planning, by a following a conditions-based template for clothing selection will save time, and will ensure that safety, efficiency or even the ability to get the job done does not suffer as a result of poor clothing choices.