Suit or Smock

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Just purchased my first suit and leather gloves from sherriff's, suit has the fencing type veil

Not cheap but recommended by my now mentor, said he's had his for about 7 years and would recommend them highly, and he's in his 40th year of beekeeping, thats good enough for me.
 
Just purchased my first suit and leather gloves from sherriff's, suit has the fencing type veil

Not cheap but recommended by my now mentor, said he's had his for about 7 years and would recommend them highly, and he's in his 40th year of beekeeping, thats good enough for me.


I agree. I have two of them.

Except for the leather gloves.
Nitriles for me.


Dusty
 
I can see the sense of wearing a good veil, like the BB wear vest type, but cannot see the sense in the rest of the garbage, especially in hot weather.
 
I can see the sense of wearing a good veil, like the BB wear vest type, but cannot see the sense in the rest of the garbage, especially in hot weather.

I am following this thread because I'm a new member and a potential new beekeeper, so it is interesting to see what is best to use. Most, if not all the advice I have read about suits is that, especially for new beekeepers, is to wear a full suit. Until they are used to handling bees and hives, then with that experience they can decide the best way forward for them.

Judging by your post, I have just wasted £180 on buying a quality suit and gloves.

Could you explain why !!!
 
Bees can sting through a full suit and leather gloves just as easily as through a smock and thin nitrile gloves. The trick is to learn to handle them gently, and be aware of their mood. With thin hospital-type gloves you can feel the bees on your hands, and so avoid squashing them which will cause them to sting. Leather removes this ability and can lead to clumsy handling and more stings.

Our club strongly discourages beginners from using leather gloves right from the start. And as for full suits, well a pair of trousers covers the legs quite adequately doesn't it?

Don't forget that bees have evolved to sting big hairy animals with tough hides. Reliance on clothing to protect you gives a false sense of security, in my opinion and limited experience.
 
Last edited:
I can see the sense of wearing a good veil, like the BB wear vest type, but cannot see the sense in the rest of the garbage, especially in hot weather.

Quite.

If anyone has never worked hard when grossly overdressed in hot weather, it is extremely debilitating and means your body ends up swathed in a layer of sweat... known to irritate the skin and delicate body parts.

Just borrow a workman's overalls and wear them when it's 30C...and then try lifting weights. I am sure a proper HSE assessment would say it was extremely unhealthy...

In 30C I prefer to keep in shorts .T shirt and a veil.

As for leather gloves, not very good for anything but pruning hawthorn, holly or roses. No sense of feel. And then wearers wonder why they have bad tempered bees..at least with nitriles you can feel the bees under your fingers before you crush them.. thus avoiding sting phemerones...
 
I can see the sense of wearing a good veil, like the BB wear vest type, but cannot see the sense in the rest of the garbage, especially in hot weather.

I too like the vest type veils. They offer similar protection to a full suit when worn with a boiler suit or can be worn over ordinary clothes for non messy work or warm conditions. Sartorially, the ruffed up vest bit between the zip on a boiler suit looks very cool with the hood thrown back and the wind in your hair.
 
I can see the sense of wearing a good veil, like the BB wear vest type, but cannot see the sense in the rest of the garbage...
... Most, if not all the advice I have read about suits is that, especially for new beekeepers, is to wear a full suit. Until they are used to handling bees and hives, then with that experience they can decide the best way forward for them.

Judging by your post, I have just wasted £180 on buying a quality suit and gloves.

Could you explain why !!!

Part of the reason for that opinion is that he has been keeping bees for years and knows what he is doing with them.

As a beginner, you ought to aim for having as few distractions as possible, and not have to worry whether your jeans are too tight.
The layering (and the baggy gaps between) is where the protection comes from, not simple thickness.
As a beginner, you are inevitably going to be clumsier than an expert, and thus you are going to excite and disturb the bees more.
And as a beginner, it is unlikely that your bees will have the most tolerant of temperaments.
Hence, my conclusion that those most in need of a full suit are beginners.
Sure, get a smock as well, but Day 1, alone with your bees, you can be more confident (not always a good thing!) when fully suited and booted.

But leather gloves really aren't a good idea, or a good place to start.

And £180 sounds a bit excessive to me ...
 
I am following this thread because I'm a new member and a potential new beekeeper, so it is interesting to see what is best to use. Most, if not all the advice I have read about suits is that, especially for new beekeepers, is to wear a full suit. Until they are used to handling bees and hives, then with that experience they can decide the best way forward for them.

Judging by your post, I have just wasted £180 on buying a quality suit and gloves.

Could you explain why !!!


i just bought a quality suit and it had free gloves with it . £130 from sherriff website

what you decide to wear or buy is like a lot of things i'm finding with beekeeping personal preference.
 
Last edited:
i just bought a quality suit and it had free gloves with it . £130 from sherriff website

what you decide to wear or buy is like a lot of things i'm finding with beekeeping personal preference.

Mine also from Sherriff, suit £120, gloves £20 + VAT + postage.

I understand that suits will not stop me from being stung but do give a little more protection, up your shirt and down the bike park etc

Purchased it more for keeping sticky stuff off me diesels ;-)

Maybe the gloves might be too thick but I can judge that for myself once I gain a bit more confidence.
 
My recent Sherriff one cost rather more than that.

That's because, according to their sizing, I'm "XXL (short)".
This means acres more material.

In fact, I do get some of my shirts made-to-measure and shipped over from Australia (a Groupon deal).

Why Australia? Well, it's a big country - the only place big enough to lay out the material to cut out my shirts.

Dusty

Oh, and in case anyone accuses me of trying to be funny, it's no joke being XXL(short).
 
Last edited:
My recent Sherriff one cost rather more than that.

That's because, according to their sizing, I'm "XXL (short)".
This means acres more material.

In fact, I do get some of my shirts made-to-measure and shipped over from Australia (a Groupon deal).

Why Australia? Well, it's a big country - the only place big enough to lay out the material to cut out my shirts.

Dusty

Oh, and in case anyone accuses me of trying to be funny, it's no joke being XXL(short).

Not much surplus in your surplice then ? (are plays on words allowed? :rules::ban:):D
 
Part of the reason for that opinion is that he has been keeping bees for years and knows what he is doing with them.

As a beginner, you ought to aim for having as few distractions as possible, and not have to worry whether your jeans are too tight.
The layering (and the baggy gaps between) is where the protection comes from, not simple thickness.
As a beginner, you are inevitably going to be clumsier than an expert, and thus you are going to excite and disturb the bees more.
And as a beginner, it is unlikely that your bees will have the most tolerant of temperaments.
Hence, my conclusion that those most in need of a full suit are beginners.
Sure, get a smock as well, but Day 1, alone with your bees, you can be more confident (not always a good thing!) when fully suited and booted.

But leather gloves really aren't a good idea, or a good place to start.

And £180 sounds a bit excessive to me ...

As a relatively new beekeeper I agree with everything above ...accidents happen with bees and stings are almost inevitable - even with mild mannered bees - in the early stages of beekeeping the confidence that protection of most of your body is in place gives makes you a much calmer more confident bee handler and may lead to bees being less disturbed by you.

I was at another beekeepers apiary today and a hive nearly toppled over - I got stung twice through my surgical gloves lending a hand to rescue it - it hurt like hell for a minute or so but no lasting effects. So, I concluded that even a low level of protection will dilute a beesting to an acceptable level (in my case). I'm not ready to go with bare hands yet but I don't think the heavy duty ones are necessary unless you have an allergic reaction - then they are essential.
 
As a student on a 3 day course last year we were loaned suits the smallest of which was far too large for me. We were advised to bring wellies and washing up gloves which we did The suit would not fit inside my wellies so I kept on my hiking boots. The instructor wore a jacket and veil and used nitrile gloves.

I bought a jacket and veil with the package from a famous name beginning with T and the leather gloves which were stiff and awkward. The washing up gloves are always at hand and sometimes the leather ones if things get a bit iffy, but I now use gloves I can buy at the chemists locally most of the time. On the bottom half I wear baggy old jeans or my Craghoppers walking trousers and boots the trousers cover the boots.
When I get stung I know that somehow I have caused it and do a logical review. after the oooow you little******. then oh poor thing because I am not the one dying to defend my home.

I don't wear a long skirt and stand near the hive anymore, they don't like being sat on when they have lost their way, and I am careful most of the time not to stand in the flight path, it can be a lot buzzier than Heathrow.

I wash my jacket in whatever I have at the time ( though I aim to get washing soda as the propalis can be a problem) the hood generally comes off and gets done in the washbasin. The leather gloves get done in soap flakes(proper ones , a la newborn baby washing) and are now very soft and pliable rinsing is very important don't stint
 
Last edited:
My recent Sherriff one cost rather more than that.

That's because, according to their sizing, I'm "XXL (short)".
This means acres more material.

In fact, I do get some of my shirts made-to-measure and shipped over from Australia (a Groupon deal).

Why Australia? Well, it's a big country - the only place big enough to lay out the material to cut out my shirts.

Dusty

Oh, and in case anyone accuses me of trying to be funny, it's no joke being XXL(short).

It's OK Dusty... You are safe!










Nobody could possibly accuse you of being funny ;-)
:sorry:

PS Smock (and trackies) - I just prefer it.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top