Linda Cawley

[linda anne]

Hello folks. I am brand new to bee keeping literally, no hives, no bees, no nothing as yet. Just learning the ropes and getting my confidence and knowledge built up. Loving it already. Looking for some clothing for bee keeping so if anyone has any for sale please let me know. I am in Sheffield. Best wishes. Linda

 

[REDWOOD]

My advice is buy a good one, it's your PPE

 

[enrico]

my advice is to buy an all in one suit, the best you can afford. Don't go for cheap, don't ho for jacket only, if you start off bomb proof you can always discard gloves etc as you become confident in handling bees. Welcome and good luck
E

 

[Itchy]

My advice is to buy all in one from Th****s, perfectly adequate. Use double nitrile gloves with longer cuff or marigolds. I've had lots of bee suits both for pest control and bees, and these do it for me. I bought 3 more in the sale @ £35 each.

 

[denise washington]

welcome

hi and welcome to the forum good set of guys on here so take their advice and don't buy cheap and good look you will enjoy it
denise

 

[Itchy]

Why not buy cheap? For the difference between my suggestion and top end suits, you could buy a poly hive! ...... Or some bees even!

 

[EKBee]

I think a detachable hood hood is a must have feature
My washing machine eats hoods (even tucked inside the overall) so a hood which zips off for hand washing is a boon
I've also found that the more expensive the suit the better the vision through the veil

 

[BeeJayBee]

Suits are unisex and seem to be based mostly on boiler suit designs for the male shape.

If you decide to buy one of the less expensive suits please make sure it's big enough to wear over clothes and let you be able to move, bend and lift fairly heavy weights. There's no real harm in having a suit that's slightly too big, even though the crotch might end up near your knees, but a suit that's too small can mean there's tension on the zip which can make it come apart when you least want it to.

 

[malx]

I'll echo what has already mentioned. An all in one suit bigger than needed is the way to go to begin with. I opted for a jacket only and I spent so much time fussing with the waistband it annoyed me.

Thick gloves, while cumbersome, will help build confidence handling bees in my opinion.

 

[madasafish]

I started by buying a £37 suit on ebay. Still OK - only replaced the elastic.

Expensive is for those sure they will be keeping bees in 2024.

 

[whoosling]

Go for the best you can afford, I got a cheap e-b...... jacket type and the zip broke pretty quickly.

 

[itma]

I'd suggest buying an all-in-one to start.
Its a bit more of a faff getting it on and off, but it does mean that you shouldn't have to worry about bees getting in, and can concentrate better on what you are trying to do!


If you aren't a standard size, BBwear and Sheriff will make a suit based on your own measurements for something like £10 extra.
Don't flatter yourself - it mustn't be tight, especially when bending over!

Many associations have discount deals with some suppliers - check before you order.
There are usually cheapish beesuits in Thorne's online sale (at New Year).
A pretty decent mid-price suit (Swienty) can be had from Modern Beekeeping…

 

[Bosleeu]

I started with a cheap jacket and trousers that came with a kit, thought it was OK until I was given a Sherr1ff one-piece for Christmas. It's great! So much better. Easy to take the hood back, no stings get through with pockets in all the right places.

 

[REDWOOD]

Why not buy cheap? For the difference between my suggestion and top end suits, you could buy a poly hive! ...... Or some bees even!

Buy cheap buy twice, if you have money you have an option and no money no option

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Buy cheap buy twice, if you have money you have an option and no money no option

Well I bought two cheap (sub £40) suits from ebay - wash one, wear one. Absolutely fine 2 years on.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Just buy cheap crap if your only going to wear it once in a blue moon.

 

[kazmcc]

Welcome! I started off with a smock, and someone on the forum kindly donated a nice thick pair of trousers for me, and I've never had any problems. Never been stung, so it must work lol

 

[Itchy]

Buy cheap buy twice, if you have money you have an option and no money no option

I disagree.....had Sherifs before.

 

[REDWOOD]

I had ebay

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk 2

 

[YorkshireBees]

As can be seen from the replies so far, opinion differs and so does personal preference!

I personally have a full suit but I also manage 10-20 colonies which means that some inspections are carried out in less than ideal conditions and the bees can be quite defensive.