Kit for Your First Chainsaw or Climbing Course (UK)

What Kit Do You Need for a Chainsaw or Climbing Course?

Ask the centre what it lends and what you must bring. NPTC's assessment papers list a petrol-driven chainsaw with a guide bar up to 15 inches, fuel and chainsaw oil, and for chainsaw work from a rope and harness, LOLER-compliant climbing kit with documented evidence. Bring a personal first aid kit, and chainsaw PPE unless the centre lends it.

Everything below was checked on the official pages on 25 October 2026. Our NPTC chainsaw tickets guide explains the units themselves.

Ask the Centre First

Centres differ in what they lend, so ask before you buy anything:

• Do you provide a saw for the training days? And for the assessment?
• Which PPE do you lend, and which must I bring?
• For climbing courses: do you lend climbing kit, and if I bring my own, which records do you need?
• Is the assessment included in the price, and is its date booked?
• How many trainees per instructor? HSE recommends no more than 4 on an organised chainsaw course, and one-to-one during the first practical work (HSE: Chainsaws at work, INDG317)

Chainsaw Courses (0039-20 and 0039-21)

For the maintenance and cross-cutting assessment (0039-20), NPTC's assessment pack lists, among other things:

• a petrol-driven chainsaw, with a guide bar of up to 15 inches;
• a suitable range of chainsaw maintenance tools, and the saw's operator's manual;
• fuel and chainsaw oil, and cleaning materials;
• a first aid kit

(City & Guilds 0039-20 assessment pack, December 2025). The pack doesn't say whether the centre or the candidate brings them, so ask. The course covers battery-powered saws too (0039-20 qualification handbook), but the assessment pack lists a petrol-driven one.

The felling unit (0039-21) covers using felling aids such as wedges and felling levers (0039-21 qualification handbook): ask whether the centre provides them.

Chainsaw PPE

The 0039-20 handbook lists chainsaw leg protection, chainsaw footwear, a safety helmet, eye and ear protection, gloves suitable for the task, non-snag outer clothing and a personal first aid kit (handbook). HSE gives the standards (HSE: chainsaw PPE):

First aid kit. HSE says chainsaw operators should always carry a personal first aid kit, including a large wound dressing (INDG317).

Climbing Courses (0039-22 and 0039-23)

For climbing trees and aerial rescue (0039-22), NPTC's handbook lists:

• PPE and safety clothing: a tree climbing helmet, a personal first aid kit and whistle, a knife with a retractable blade or a handsaw, footwear with good grip and ankle support, non-snag clothing and eye protection;
• climbing equipment: a harness, ropes and lanyards of suitable diameter, length and strength for the climbing lines and friction hitches, and at least triple-action auto-locking karabiners for main attachments

(0039-22 qualification handbook, March 2025).

For using a chainsaw from a rope and harness (0039-23), the assessment pack lists LOLER-compliant climbing equipment "with documented evidence, for the Candidate and the Assessor", a top-handled or rear-handled chainsaw (guide bar up to 15 inches) with maintenance tools, a pulling line or tape sling, a first aid kit, and fuel and chainsaw oil (0039-23 assessment pack). If you bring your own climbing kit, bring its records.

Climbing kit and its records

Climbing kit is lifting equipment: HSE's list for arboriculture includes ropes, karabiners, harnesses and strops, and "the term 'load' includes a person" (HSE: lifting equipment in arboriculture).

• HSE says climbing equipment needs a thorough examination by a competent person. For equipment that lifts people and is exposed to wear, LOLER sets at least every 6 months, or the interval in an examination scheme (LOLER reg 9);
• HSE says arborists should be trained to do a daily pre-use check of their lifting equipment, and for items with high wear, such as ropes, keep a written weekly record of inspection (HSE).

Buying a Used Saw for the Course

HSE lists the parts to check every day for damage or wear: the on/off switch, chain brake, chain catcher, silencer, guide bar, drive sprocket and chain links, side plate and front and rear hand guards, anti-vibration mounts, and the starting cord for correct tension (INDG317). Look at the same parts on a used saw before you buy. Our chainsaw guide has a fuller used-saw checklist.

Buying Used Climbing Kit

An employer mustn't use lifting equipment that came from another business unless it comes with physical evidence of its last thorough examination (LOLER reg 9(4)). Whoever you are, ask for the last thorough examination record and the manufacturer's instructions before you buy. Our guide to selling used kit says climbing kit that's past its inspection date or showing wear shouldn't be resold. For choosing new kit, see our climbing gear guide.

When you've got your kit list, browse training courses and machinery and kit on TreeBay.