Let’s face it, ladies and gentlemen: nobody likes feeling pain of any kind. In fact, a lot of us HATE feeling pain. We often try our best to avoid it at all times! And the best way to do this is by wearing some form of protective gear.
We wear helmets when riding motorcycles or bikes. We wear safety goggles when doing carpentry work. Police wear bulletproof vests when dealing with dangerous criminals. Heck, even cats protect themselves by landing on their feet whenever they’re leaping from long distances!
So shouldn’t we wear protective suits when we go to keep bees?
Contents
What Does It Mean To “Keep Bees”?
Keeping bees, or beekeeping, is the act of providing maintenance services to a home of bees. More often than not, these bee colonies have made their home inside a man-made box that the beekeeper builds/buys for them. The bees live their lives as they would out in the wild; the only difference being that a human is taking care of their hive for them. In the wild, beehives tend to naturally die out after a while due to the overflow of honey and beeswax.
Thanks to the efforts of a beekeeper, however, beehives can endure many months or even years of thriving life and productivity. This not only benefits the future of bees, but it can also benefit the beekeeper as well. Seeing as how bees tend to produce a good number of valuable artisan goods (such as beeswax, herbal jelly, and honey), the beekeeper’s primary job is to harvest these goods from the hive so that it continues to be clean and safe for the swarm. From that point onward, the beekeeper is free to do with the products as they wish!
Why Do You Need A Suit?
So you don’t get stung, of course!
If you’re want to work with bees on a daily basis, you NEED a professional beekeeper suit. There are more to unwanted bee stings that meets the eye, and we don’t mean that in a good way. Aside from the unbearable pain, bee stings can also leave incredibly nasty after-effects on certain individuals. For instance, some people are deathly allergic to bee venom in the same way that a large portion of the world is allergic to peanuts. If these individuals are stung by bees, they need IMMEDIATE medical attention straight away.
Even if you don’t have a bee allergy, bee stings can still cause a lot of horrible swellings on your body. Swelling typically goes away after a few days, thankfully. However, you want to avoid swelling if you can. And the best way to do that, ladies and gentlemen, is by wearing a hornet suit while beekeeping!
TOP 10 Best Beekeeping Suits
Comparison Chart
|
Our Rating |
Product |
Materials |
Gloves Included? |
|---|---|---|---|
|
#1 Editor Choice | VIVO BEE-V105XL Professional Beekeeping Suit |
Cotton |
Yes |
|
#2 | Natural Apiary Apiarist Beekeeping Suit |
Cotton/Polyester Blend |
No |
|
#3 | Humble Bee 410 Beekeeping Suit with Round Veil |
Cotton/Polyester Blend |
No |
|
#4 | Ultra Breeze Beekeeping Suit with Veil |
Polyester/Vinyl Blend |
No |
|
#5 | REAMTOP Professional Beekeeper Suit |
Cotton/Polyester Blend |
Yes |
|
#6 | FOREST BEEKEEPING SUPPLY Beekeeping Canvas Jacket with Fencing Veil Hood |
Cotton |
No |
|
#7 | Natural Apiary Max Pro Beekeeping Suit |
Cotton |
No |
|
#8 | BeeCastle Beekeeping Jacket with Veil |
Cotton |
No |
|
#9 | Luwint Kids Full Body Ventilated Beekeeping Suit |
Cotton |
No |
|
#10 |
Cotton |
No |
1 VIVO BEE-V105XL Professional Beekeeping Suit
After endless research and investigating, we’ve picked our winner to be awarded the title of the best beekeeping suit. Lo and behold, the VIVO BEE-V105XL Professional Beekeeping Suit comes in swinging and batting away the pesky stings of particularly miffed bees. This incredible suit comes to you with many different buying options. If you want the entire thing–gloves and all–just select the appropriate option. If you just want the jacket and hat, they can do that too! It’s all the same price, so you’d do better to just purchase the entire set!
Yes sir, this is most definitely the best bee suit that you’ll find in the beekeeping market today. Aside from the full set options, you’re also guaranteed to receive a bee suit that is well fastened and strong. No need to worry about any rips and tears as you shuffle toward your precious honey-makers. This suit’s got your back–and head, legs, arms…
PROS
- Affordable
- Wide range of sizes
- Hood is detachable
- Easy to wash
- Great pockets
- Elastic openings
- Comes with veil
- Zippers are good and strong
- Comes with gloves
CONS
- Cotton material tends to absorb heat
2 Natural Apiary Apiarist Beekeeping Suit
For another fantastic bee suit to write home about, the Natural Apiary Apiarist Beekeeping Suit has got your number! When you’re in one of these nifty beekeeper suits, you’re in safe hands. This suit doesn’t trap heat nearly as much as the number one entrant does, making for a much more comfortable time tending to your marvelous honey-makers. Not to mention it’s a lot more conveniently designed as well!
Strong zippers, big pockets, and detachable veil hoods–oh my!
However, because this suit isn’t crafted entirely out of cotton, it makes for a heftier price tag in the end. The reason why a lot of companies tend to use cotton fabrics is because it’s cheap to purchase and use large quantities of. For anything else, such as polyester, it costs them a bit more money to product…which in turn makes for a more costly purchase for the consumers. But hey, the bee suit is totally worth it, if you ask us!
PROS
- Wide range of sizes
- Not as hot as full-cotton suits
- Great pockets
- Elastic openings
- Comes with veil, Easy to wash
- Hood is detachable
- Zippers are good and strong
- Comes in multiple colors
CONS
- Expensive
- Doesn’t come with gloves
3 Humble Bee 410 Beekeeping Suit with Round Veil
Let’s get one thing straight: nothing is more swell than a humble bee suit. And with this particular humble bee suit, no exception can be found. The Humble Bee 410 Beekeeping Suit is crafted from the perfect blend of cotton and polyester (polycotton). What this means for you, ladies and gentlemen, is that you’re not going to burn to death while wearing this sting proof bee suit. Not that you’ll burn to death while wearing a fully cotton made suit, of course. It just means that less heat will be absorbed while you work. That’s quite the lifesaver when you’re working in the hottest part of summer!
Also, if you buy this sting proof bee suit today, Humble Bee sends 10% of your money to beekeeping organizations around the world.
Save the bees!
PROS
- Wide range of sizes
- Not as hot as full-cotton suits
- Great pockets
- Elastic openings
- Comes with veil
- 10% of earnings go to bee conservation efforts!
CONS
- Expensive
- Doesn’t come with gloves
4 Ultra Breeze Beekeeping Suit with Veil
And now to introduce you to the best ventilated bee suit on the market, the Ultra Breeze Beekeeping Suit. The first and only non-cotton made bee suit on our list, this ventilated bee suit is wearable by just about anyone with a body attached to their head. This ultra breeze bee suit is a powerful alternative to the cotton suits that rule the department of beekeeping equipment. Why is that, you ask?
Simply put, cotton gets way too damn hot after a long time of wearing it! With the beautiful blend of polyester and vinyl, you not only get a comfortable texture in the interior, but you also get a tough exterior that’s just about impossible for any bees to penetrate. It really puts the “breeze” in “ultra breeze”, if we’re being perfectly frank! If this ventilated bee suit came with gloves, it would just about be perfect!
PROS
- Suit is machine washable
- Ventilated
- Not as hot as full-cotton suits
- Comes with veil
- Elastic openings
- Fits multiple sizes
CONS
- Expensive
- Doesn’t come with gloves
- Zippers are a bit small
5 REAMTOP Professional Beekeeper Suit
Aha, finally!
A ventilated beekeeping suit that comes with gloves!
The REAMTOP Professional Beekeeper Suit is an interesting piece of beekeeping protective clothing. Not only does this beekeeper suit come with gloves, but it also utilizes the polycotton material to its fullest advantage. How so, you ask? By spacing the fabrics out just enough to allow some chill breeze to bleed through while you work!
You see, while cotton suits tend to absorb heat, polyester does not. And with a blend of both within this suit, you’re sure to feel extra comfortable while tending to your bees. Bear one thing in mind, however. Since the fabrics are spaced out in this suit, you may find that it’s not as thick as other suits. So be prepared!
PROS
- Fairly priced
- Comes with goatskin gloves
- Not as hot as full-cotton suits
- Comes with veil
- Ventilated, Elastic openings
- Fits multiple sizes
CONS
Not as thick as other bee suits
6 FOREST BEEKEEPING SUPPLY Beekeeping Canvas Jacket with Fencing Veil Hood
Before we get into how great this beekeeping jacket with veil is, let’s first appreciate the man that’s modeling with this product. The look on his face just says, “Let’s get beekeeping.” That’s right, he looks ready and willing to go out there and collect some honey! And can you blame him? Just look at that fancy jacket!
The FOREST BEEKEEPING SUPPLY Beekeeping Canvas Jacket is fairly priced beekeeping jacket with veil that promises maximum protection–no matter the odds. If you need to remove the bee helmet for any reason, no problem! All you have to do is unstrap the hood from the bottom and pull. Granted, you need to be careful or you might accidentally tear the veil.
PROS
- Fairly priced
- Comes with veil
- Hood is detachable
- Lightweight
- Three large pockets
- Easy to wash
- Wide range of sizes
- Elastic openings
CONS
Cotton material tends to absorb heat
7 Natural Apiary Max Pro Beekeeping Suit
Hey hey! Take a gander at THIS professional beekeeper suit!
The Natural Apiary Max Pro Beekeeping Suit is the bee’s knees (yes, you’re free to throw tomatoes at us now). Yes sir, this hornet suit is just what you need to get through a trying session with your lovely (and very angry) swarm of bees. Thanks to the high quality velcro straps, you’re sure to be fully protected. No more undoing of helmets for wrist ties! You’re safe to tend to your bees in peace!
PROS
- Comes in white and pink and camouflage
- Comes with veil
- Extra durable metal zippers
- Wide range of sizes
- Velcro seals shut nicely
- Extra large pockets
- Comes with veil
- Elastic openings and waistband
- Easy to wash
CONS
Cotton material tends to absorb heat
8 BeeCastle Beekeeping Jacket with Veil
In need of a good beekeeping suit? Does your child want one, as well? Heck, do you or your kid simply just want a good outfit to where during the Halloween season?! Well, we’ve got a good pick for you today!
This beekeeper suit name is BeeCastle.
Yes, BeeCastle.
10/10 best name for a beekeeping suit of all time!
Aside from the incredibly majestic name, the BeeCastle Beekeeping Jacket (with veil) is a dynamic option for those of you who want to introduce your children to the fine field of beekeeping. This suit is made for people of all shapes, sizes, and genders. This, surprisingly enough, is a rare thing with beekeeping suits, as they tend to normally focus on just one age group. At least with this bad-boy, you can buy multiple suits for the whole family!
PROS
- Designed for children and adults
- Affordable
- Extra large pockets
- Comes with veil
- Elastic openings and waistband
- Easy to wash
- Can be used as a Halloween costume!
CONS
Wristbands may be a bit tight
9 Luwint Kids Full Body Ventilated Beekeeping Suit
Alternatively, you can go with this youth beekeeping suit for your child!
The Luwint Kids Full Body Ventilated Beekeeping Suit is an excellent choice for your youngster and their first endeavors into the world of beekeeping. With the breezy veil armoring the bee helmet, your child is sure to be extra safe from any potential bee stings. Best of all, your child has easy access to beekeeping tools thanks to the four large pockets attached to this suit.
Honestly, your child couldn’t be in better hands with this bee suit!
PROS
- Designed for children
- Comes in white and camouflage
- Affordable
- Elastic openings
- Four pockets
- Easy to wash
- Comes with veil
CONS
Designed ONLY for children
10 VIVO BEE-V106 Professional Full Body Beekeeping Suit
And finally on our list of the top ten best beekeeper suits, we present to you the younger brother of our number one entrant–at number ten! The VIVO BEE-V106 Professional Full Body Beekeeping Suit, like its predecessor, is made entirely out of cotton with elastic materials around the suit’s openings (such as wristbands, footbands, and waistband). The fabric is plenty thick enough all-around, though it can get pretty hot inside the suit. Cotton has a way of trapping heat, after all.
This suit will be your best friend on a breezy day, to say the least!
PROS
- Sizes ranging from M to XL
- Height can support those nearly 6’0 tall
- Fairly priced
- Elastic openings
- Easy to wash
- Lightweight
- Comes with veil
CONS
- Cotton material tends to absorb heat
- Doesn’t come with gloves
Concluding Thoughts
Bees are a vitally important part of the taskforce that protects our ecosystem and environment. However, they can also be very nasty little buggers that packs one hell of a punch! It’s practically suicide to tend to a swarm of angry bees without any form of protection. Honestly, going without would just guarantee that you’ll be stung–which may or may not cause an allergic reaction in you!
Thankfully, beekeeper suits are here to keep you safe. Through their tough exterior, cozy interior, nifty helmet veils, and breathable elastic openings, you’re sure to have a blast when tending to your little honey-makers. Beekeeping can be a dangerous trade, but it doesn’t have to be. So long as you wear a suit, you’re all set!
Sarah Eberle qualified and became a member of the Landscape Institute in 1980. Over the last 26 years she has practised landscape architecture and garden design, running her own business in Devon.
During the 1990s, Sarah joined Hillier Landscapes as Design Director, where she is still a shareholder but also runs her own practice in Hampshire.
Sarah has an esteemed record in RHS shows, having won eight Gold medals, Best in Show and the George Cook award for innovation twice at Hampton Court. Sarah has also exhibited at Tatton Park and BBC Gardeners’ World Live.