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| Not the Wrong Trousers by Mark Bell I bought my first pair of Stretchair chainsaw trousers at the APF in Lockerbie, Scotland. It was that bleak and cold up there that I put them on over my trousers straight away to try and get warm. I still have these trousers although I don’t wear them for work much these days as the lads give me that much stick because they are red.  When Ann from euroarb asked me to test a pair for the magazine I snapped her hand off as I thought I might get to keep them (but I got no chance!) She said that Nigel from Fletcher Stewart from Stockport would meet me and leave me the trousers for a couple of days and I would be able to put them through their paces. I got stuck into work the following day clearing a site prior to development when Nigel rang me for directions. This grey 4x4 with blacked out windows rolled up and a grey haired chap wearing black sunglasses got out and passed me the new trousers – guess what- they were grey with black trim. This must be the 2006 fashionable colour scheme and these boys from Manchester way must be right up to date with the fashion. I whipped my Stihl HiFlex off and put the new on Stretchair. The first thing I noticed was that the trousers had an airtex lining in them. Ian told me that this was a revolutionary fabric that would take any perspiration away from the skin, keeping you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The fly hole had a nice big heavy weight zipper and all the pockets either had zips or fastened with a Velcro flap. The knees had a generous amount of protection covering them which were contoured to actually fit the knee (a real advantage when climbing). The inner ankles also have a piece of this fabric to prevent scuff wear. The main fabric of the trousers is a combination of hardwearing water resistant yet light and very flexible stretchy stuff (I bet that is why they are called Stretchair!) The fit of the trousers felt very comfortable. They are not tight on the legs like the Stihl HiFlex and they are not heavy and baggy like the early ballistic trousers around. A lot of thought has gone into the make up of these trousers. It is as though the manufacturers for once have asked us what we need rather than telling us what they want us to have. Throughout the couple of days I had the trousers I kept finding more useful little features, I wore them in a broad range of weather conditions and they were really good to climb in. However, all this comes at a price. It is no good having champagne tastes and lemonade pockets; these trousers are aimed at the serious professional user and are probably one of the most expensive on the market. StretchAir have produced a full range of clobber for us to work in. The shirt is absolutely fantastic. It was April when I was wearing it and although it rained on and off throughout the day it wasn’t cold enough to wear a waterproof. The shirt just seemed to dry out straight away, this weird technical fabric again. I have since had a phone call from Nigel at Fletcher Stewart and he said ‘I said try the trousers for a couple of days… not a month…if you don’t send them back I am sending the boys round..’ |
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