Bee Suit

Bee Suit Review

This is a vital piece of kit if you want to inspect your bees without fear of being stung.  I relate my experiences with economic half and full suits before graduating to a quality Sherriff bee suit.

Beekeeper Suit – Economic, Half Size

As a new beekeeper I didn’t want to spend too much and hence bought a cheap half suit, as below.  The problem with the half suit I bought was that when I bent over, it opened a gap at the back and the bees got in.  I now reserve this suit for my guest beekeepers!  In the photo below, this guest got stung through his skinny jeans – a full suit would have obviously provided better protection on his legs.

Thriller Bees
Thriller Bees (that’s me on the left with full suit)

Beekeeping Suit – Cheap, Full Size

So the next stage was to buy a cheap full bee suit (photo below). Again, this proved not to be bee tight with a definite gap by the zips at the neck and the bees could definitely sting through the material.

Inspecting Frame - Capped Brood In Centre
Inspecting Frame – Capped Brood In Centre

With a very aggressive colony that pursued me 100m home and caused me a lot of stress I started researching into the ultimate beekeeper suit.

Bee Suit – Top Quality, Full Size

And such research quickly brings you to Sherriff. This UK company (with global distribution) has been making top of the range bee suits since the 1960’s. Members of beekeeping forums rave about their Sherriff bee suits (some of whom are using the same ones for the last 40 years) and these suits come with the recommendation of expert beekeepers working with the Africanised bee as well as gentler honey bees.

Sherriff Logo
Sherriff (new logo)

I particularly like the family ethos and manufacturing approach. All Sherriff bee suits are individually hand-cut at their base in Cornwall and then is stitched by local, highly skilled, experienced machinists at their homes. There is something quite modern yet artisan about their bee suits and way of working. Read more about Sherriff.

I am a lucky duck and the Sherriff team have provided me with their classic Apiarist suit in khaki. I hoped this blogging malarkey was going to pay off at some point.  Here I am below.

Bee Suit - Sherriff Apiarist
Bee Suit – Sherriff Apiarist

Having used the Apiarist suit a few times now – I am loving it. It’s light weight and the zip at the neck gives huge confidence that it is bee tight.  I have yet to use this bee suit with an aggressive colony yet – but I’m feeling a lot more confident with the bees.

Ultimate Bee Suit

So perhaps I am at the end of my journey to find a quality beekeeper suit .. unless, perhaps, one day, I may receive the ultimate beekeeper suit … the Beepro by Sherriff.

Beepro suit
Beepro suit (featuring Angela, owner of Sherriff)

The more I read about it, the more I want it … “features a new innovation in the shape of a substantial New Foam Sandwich Net lining acting as an extra body shield for those seeking to keep bees at bay if one is sensitive to bee stings.  The thickness of the new liner net holds the outer layer of the garment more than the depth of an average bee sting away from the body”.

Washable Leather Gloves

If you are sensitive to stings you might be interested in their washable leather gloves.

Please note the links on this page are paid for by Sherriff.

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4 thoughts on “Bee Suit”

  1. I love my Sherriff Khaki Apiarist Suit, new this year after having a cheaper microfibre beesuit, I feel I could “shout from the rooftops how enthuastic I am about this product! It’s in a class of its own, on comfort, versatility and safety! It’s extremly easy to put on and the clever fastenings on the zips make this super speedy. Once you buy Sherriff you will never buy anything else.

  2. Do stings often get through the Apiarist Suit? I know the BeePro touts its properties and says it is virtually impossible for a sting to get through but I wondered how effective this S36 suit is.

    1. Hi Steve, I wear the Apiarist. I wear a thick shirt and jeans under the suit, plus wellies. I can still get stung but not very often, perhaps once a year I feel a bit of a sting.

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