Shin Guards in AB

[salad_shooter]

I'm going to be doing my first season in Alberta this year, and I've been told to expect some differences from Ontario in the land. Slash, wild roses, thorny vines, and various other lovely landscape features are good reason (say experienced Alberta planters) to wear soccer-type shin guards under gaitors. Seems like a lot of material, and possibly heat. Is the protection worth the potential discomfort? Are there materials used in shin guards nowadays that can breathe easily?

[Scooter]

A lot of my planters wear shorts. After a week or so, your bare legs will get used to the thorns and scratches. Not for everyone, but if you're not worried about your legs looking sexy, that option is good for staying cool. I've never seen anyone wear knee pads or shin guards in the Interior. I briefly considered it for the coast, but it seemed to be too much effort.

[newforest]

I've worked in plenty of briers and heavy slash and never even considered it. Just straight denim has been fine for me. Looking like your legs just got attacked by a pack of wild cats is just part of the deal sometime. A lot of my body looks that way right now - running the saw on a tract with more species of vines than trees. The few thornless vines feel left out, so they wrap themselves around the brier canes.

That, and mindfulness. Like occasionally late in a planting season or non-planting jobs I have to work around Poison Ivy. People without much experience can kinda worry a little. I just teach them to PAY FUCKING ATTENTION. You HAVE to work around the stuff; just don't touch it. If you are focused on your movements, you can accomplish things in heavy briers, sharp sticks, etc. You will still get knicked occasionally, that's inevitable. But if you use your brain and your eyes, it's not that hard to minimize that. Unless you are lazy and would rather park your brain off in la-la land. But if you won't focus on what you are doing you are unlikely to make much of a tree-planter.

[sghyselincks]

It sounds like what you are looking for is a pair of gaiters. You should be more worried about duff, sticks, and thorns than banging your shins on slash. Remember, you are stepping over the slash, not through it. I've never seen anyone wearing shin guards in Alberta, nor have I ever heard anyone say "Gee, I think I could make more money by planting faster but I'm worried about my shins."

You can try the Gore-tex offerings available from MEc but they tend to rip easily-- not a problem if you sew them up with dental floss on your days off. Otherwise try something cheaper from chinook: http://www.greatadventure.ca/00cart/Can ... tegory=384 , those are quite popular at my camp. I usually like to pair the gaiters with a pair of long shorts that go past my knees. When you lift your leg up your knee will become exposed and air can travel inside the gaiter and up your shorts to cool you down, when your leg is straight the shorts come down and cover the top of the gaiters blocking all sorts of unpleasantness from entering your boots. Nothing is more annoying that having to take off your boots in the middle of the day because of duff. If you prefer to plant in pants gaiters can be worn overtop to keep dirt out and keep the pants from getting hooked on slash. Most people who switch to gaiters would never plant without them. They are a relatively cheap investment.