I was at 84 lumber today and they are going to stop carrying the tool belt suspenders. I don’t know if that’s at all of them or just this one but anyway,
I bought a set of the McGuire Nicholas blue ones for $1.50. I tried them out and think I may have just done myself a big favor. I wear a set of occidental framers and that combined with the sad fact that I have no butt am constantly either hitchin’ them up from almost falling down or have the belt so tight that I was starting to have syatic (sp?) nerve problems.
So the point of this post I guess is to ask what are the opinions out there regarding these suspenders? has anyone had problems from them? upside? downside? let me know your thoughts.
Steve
S.J.MERRETTE Carpentry & Construction • Robesonia, PA
Nothing is impossible…It just hasn’t been done yet.
Replies
Steve, some time ago I read in the NEJoM that tight pants and/or tight belts can really do some damage to your body over time. I'd been wearing suspenders with my suits, of course; but since reading that, as I replenished my wardrobe, I've been buying pants 1 size too large and using suspenders, even with jeans. It's a favour everyone can do for themselves.
But the real joke is, even though I have suspenders for my tool belt, I stopped using it and switched to a bucket-boss.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
I always wear suspenders with my tool belt. I have plenty of butt - It's just that I also have plenty of belly, too. (-:
I like the fact that they keep the belt up where I want it. Only 2 downsides that I see - If there's somehting heavy in one pouch, somethimes that pouch hangs lower than I want. The suspender strap just pulls through and the other side raises up.
And they sometimes get tangled up when I take the thing off and try to put it on again.
Steve, be careful with those suspenders.
I have a severe back problem, thanks to my youthful ignorant days. Lower back pain is a way of life for me, when I'm out in the field working.
Anyways, I tried the suspender routine. For me, it caused the most excruciating damage that I had encountered in ten years. Here's why: Since the weight of the belt wasn't crushing my back, I started putting more crap in the bags. Soon, I was in overload with respect to the ability of my discs to absorb the gravitational effects of my upper body and the additional weight being transferred up high, above the affected discs. With the expected leaning, and the leverage that the weight exerts, came a new, improved way to torture me. It took a long time to recover. Instead of a few days of IB therapy, it took weeks!
Yesterday, for the first time ever, I tried a new approach to keeping my belt above my hips. I splipped the belt through my sweatshirt pouch and latched in there. It actually helped prevent the plumber's butt that has been plaguing me since I've gotten a bigger belly. This latest technique worked great till past lunch.... then a severe case of plumbers butt hit me. A little readjustment would have gotten me to quitting time, but we rolled up instead!
Be careful with those suspenders...
blue
Get a pair of Occidental's leather suspenders. I have both the yoke model and earlier style, both do the job. They may cost more but you use your belt more than any other tool.
Thanks Blue. I typically only load what I need for a particular task in the belt so I usually don't have it overloaded. I too have lower back problems from when I was in the air force and had to carry not only my tool box but the one for the female tech they partnered me with because it was too heavy for her candy a$$. anyway I digress, I appreciate your feedback and will be careful. BTW what is the difference between the suspenders I have and the occidentals? aren't suspenders the same basically?Steve
S.J.MERRETTE Carpentry & Construction • Robesonia, PA
Nothing is impossible...It just hasn't been done yet.
Steve,
I'd take Blue's warning to heart. There are some good belts being made today that are good at keeping the weight on your hips without sliding past your non-existant butt. They took design clues from backpacks. I don't know of any particular ones that'll work with your Occidentals, though. I'm sure they are out there, but I haven't looked. I have the Occidentals myself, and have tried them with regular clip suspenders, Occidental suspenders, and without. I settled on without for two reasons. First, was mobility. Second was what Blue was talking about.
The Occidental suspenders are just super heavy duty suspenders...nothing revolutionary.Tomass
Tomass- Are you talking about Occidental's 'proprietary' suspension/bag system with the back yoke and nickel-plated spring clips? Perhaps not, because it is indeed unlike anything else. Guys I know who have 'em are delighted with 'em. Also cost about $200 for a basic setup............I'm a confirmed suspender user. Use MTM bags with non-elastic type MTM suspenders. Only thing is that a front yoke between the shoulder webs would keep them from sliding off a shoulder when reaching overhead. May go back to elasticised suspenders. Like Blue said, I have tended to overload my nailbags. Have to keep that in check and periodically clean house. My 3 cents. -Ken
Ken, naw, I wasn't talking about their beltless system. But Occidental sells the suspenders used in the beltless system for use with belt type, and before that had tough leather ones for years, using the same great clips. The clips attached to a D-ring riveted to a leather loop, which was threaded onto the belt.
I worked with a guy that had an Occidental belt system, but his bags were some new Occidental design that were the best I have seen for a finish guy. When I asked, he said they were the beltless system bags adapted to belt style. But they weren't like any beltless bags I've seen. They were Occi's, though. I'd like to get some of those. In fact, I'm gonna look at Occi's website right now...Tom
Back in the sixties army they had these suspenders that carried a fanny pack. The pack rode just above your waist in the center of your back. I use those kind, they are the best I've seen for holding up a tool belt......nice and wide at the shoulders and padded to boot. They probably sell them for a few bucks at the army surplus.
Plus it never hurts to empty your bag every once in awhile. Nails and junk add up. I've gone to .....an army pistol belt....one bag on the left.....hammer thingy on the right .....20oz. hammer (big enough for anything I do).....tape pouch on the rear right........all together it's a pretty light tool belt, and it saves me lots of back problems.
There are fast carpenters who care..... there are slow carpenters who care more.....there are half fast carpenters who could care less......
Steve, about 15 years ago I bought a suspended/tool
belt system from a company named Alta Industries and I think suspenders
is the only way to go. When I wear my belt ( which isn't very often anymore,
which I'll explain why in a momnet) the weight is carried both by the padded
belt and the suspenders and it only when I un-clip the belt buckle that all
of goes to my shoulders.
The great plus about a suspender/belt system over just a belted system is that
you ghet the best of both worlds. There are often times when I can't get in
to a space because the beltclamps on all that extra dimesion to my hips but
if I un-clip the buckle I can move the belt around while it's still suspended
off my shoulders whereas if I had just a belted system I would have had to carry
the belt in one of my hands. We do a lot of stairs and climbing around onthe
tight
sometimes confinded scaffolding like we build two or three stories up you
want your tools with you for sure, but you want both hands to grab on to the
scaffold more.
I made one modification to the way that suspendeders attached to the belt in
that I replaced the rivit like swivels it came with with small caribiners that
looped through grommeted holes I put in the belt. That also made it very convient
to detach the suspenders when I didn't want them or connect them in a differnt
location on the belt. The caribiners also made a had place to clip on other
asseceroy bags or pouches when needed. You notice there is a belt closure that
goes accross the cheast too I find that really handy for keeping the whole thing
on when the belt buckle is loose and it also a place to attack some other pouches
like my small digital camera bag. I also have a small pouch that attaches to
my chest belt or anywhere else for that matter that hold my Construction Master
Calculator and Palm Pilot.
As for not wearing my belt much any more what I mean is we do a lot of finish
work in some very fine homes and when you are working around finished or ultra
expensive finishes you don't want the a tool sticking out of your belt nicking
something so more often than not we have areas on our jobs where they're marked
NO TOOLBELTS ALLOWED. I would think very carefully about wearing any kind toolbelt
inside anybody's finished home. Aprons only most of the time and have a furniture
blanket to set you tools and tool boxes down on.
You can find Alta Industries at http://www.AltaIndustries.com.
Alta doesn't seem to have the suspenders I origionally purchased way back when
bu t you might want to take a look at what they have now by clicking
here.
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"None of
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Bennis
Jerrald, thanks for the input. I know what you mean about the tool belt "nicking" things. on the occidentals the holder for a combination square places it so that the head sticks out and if you don't watch it, it'll do a number on drywall. just about the same thing for the speed square. the thing that bugs me is most of the time when I'm running trim or something in a finished home, is that the saws are set up outside or in the garage and then I'm running back and forth with the material and need tools at both places. It takes me long enough to carry tools to the job without having two sets in two places to deal with. I've tried an apron before but everything keeps falling out when ever I squat down or something. any ideas on that?Steve
S.J.MERRETTE Carpentry & Construction • Robesonia, PA
Nothing is impossible...It just hasn't been done yet.
Steve I also have another belt set-up with only one pouch that I can attack
my clip on bags to as I need them. You migh also want to check out ProtectiveProducts.com
especially something like what they call Pro Tecta ReUsable Protection. What
do you do to protect areas now? Do you have lot of furniture blankets?Forum hint:
Shift Click on Discussions to Open Them in
a New Window!
(It make them really easy to read just like the
old days)
"None of us
is as smart as all of us."- Warren
Bennis