SUIT12_LARGE (TM) Beekeeping Suit with Veil, White

I am clearing a large five acre parcel around my new house. It is partially forested and largely untouched in decades. Lots of piles of branches, old leaves, ground cover, etc... Perfect nesting ground for yellow jackets. I have mowed over multiple nests. After the first two rounds of stings, I decided to look for protection as apparently this is a new theme in my life.I have no bees, will never have bees. I suspect I will continue to discover yellow jacket nests as I run my brush mower over them, and subsequently walk right over their holes. Since I don't know when or where I will get attacked, and because as I clear this land I am limbing trees, dragging refuse, operating a 500 lb mower, etc... I need to be able to sustain high intensity work. To that end, mobility and comfort were a must.I settled on the above. First, the construction and usability. I have worked very hard in this suit, six hours a day, in full sun, and been comfortable the entire time. To that end my expectation are greatly exceeded. Also, while the three layer construction of this suit looks fragile as hell, I have found it is remarkably tough. Again, I am clearing over grown forest in this thing. I am getting snagged on branches, wrapping my arms around bundles of 15' long droopy cedar limbs, etc... I started off stepping and working gingerly like I was in a tissue paper jump suit. No need. The thing is remarkably tough.Yeah, but how about those stings? When I got this thing out of the package my heart sank. You can see right through it. It's triple layer construction looks like a bad joke. Seriously. It looks like a gag you'd play on someone. With ZERO difficulty you can take a short pin and simply pass it through this entire suit without even making contact with any of it. So does it stop a pissed off yellow jacket?Well, I have indeed, mowed right over yet another large yellow jacket nest while wearing this suit. In fact, I must have mowed over it one way, turned around and mowed right back over it the other, just like I did with the previous two. Given the brush mower's engine noise and my ear muffs, I don't hear them swarm. Anyway, while I got the hell stung out of me the first two times, I did NOT, repeat, did NOT get stung a single time wearing this suit.So how come not five stars dude? Well, here's the thing. They didn't even land on me. You know? I mowed and tread right over the top of this nest twice, and while wearing this suit they completely IGNORED me. As the reaction I get from these stings seems to get worse every time I'm swarmed, I did not have the balls to just walk in there a third time, jump up and down, and try and MAKE them land on me, but the fact remains, I did not get stung.*shrug*In other words, I think, at least, *white* REALLY works. Does the suit? I have no idea. It sure doesn't look like it would, but I can't say. I have little doubt I will happen upon more nests this season and I will update this review if I am ever so lucky enough to get a nest to actually try and attack me while wearing it.Fingers crossed?Oh, I am 5' 10.5" with a fairly athletic 178lb frame and the large fits *perfectly*. I did buy extra tall boots to keep the ankle cuffs over leather. If I was any taller the crotch would be pretty damned snug and the ankle cuffs more of an issue.

I bought this suit so that other people could go with me when I working on the hives. Seems like a nice bee suit so far, but a few things worth noting. First, like another reviewer said....the leg zippers end at the knees, not at the waist like shown in the picture. My other suit has zippers up to the waist, and bidirectional, which is nice. But that's not a big deal. Also.....this suit has no thumb loops on the wrist. What?!? Having those keeps the suit secure on your wrist when you put the gloves on....you don't want the sleeve riding up your arm and exposing your wrist/arm to the wimpy fabric of most bee gloves. Hopefully Ultrabreeze reads reviews and will fix these problems. I had my wife sew some thumb loops on this suit.Fit and finish seems nice. I ordered a large and it fits me fine (5'11", 195 lbs, but not fat), but wouldn't fit anyone larger. I'll be using this suit mainly for women and kids that want to watch me work, so it's better to be too large than too small/snug.

i couldn't wait for this to arrive in the mail. the suit i had before was a disposable tyvek suit that was like walking around in an oven. i am very happy with the performance of the ultra breeze. from the pictures, i was afraid it would be too flimsy, but it's much more substantial than it appears in the pictures. three layers of different meshy materials are thick enough to keep even determined bees at bay. and the air the mesh lets through is fantastic. it lets you focus on the bees, not how hot you are. the zippers are heavy duty, though they stick a bit sometimes. i think with use, they will get better in that regard. the elastic at the wrist and ankles are nice and strong, with velcro straps for extra protection. the veil piece detaches easily if you have your own or if you prefer not to use one, but i really like the design of the veil. the two zippers meet snugly at the neck and have velcro immediately behind. it seems almost impossible for a bee to get through that. velcro also protects the front zipper at the neck, so no fears there either. the side zippers are great for letting even big boots through the pant legs, though if they are too big around the ankle, you are not going to get the zippers all the way down. i ended up just putting my rubber boots over the pant legs instead, no big deal. i'm 5'10" and fit into the large pretty well, but if you are taller, you might want to get an XL size. i'm fairly skinny, but i think even if i had an extra fifty pounds, i'd still be fine, girth wise.all in all, this is a fantastic suit and it was obviously designed with great care and attention to detail. if you plan on keeping bees for the long term, do yourself a favor and invest in something like this that will both protect you and leave you comfortable enough to focus on the job at hand. the bees deserve it, and you will never regret the extra money spent.

My original Ultra Breeze bought years ago? Still going strong. The Ultra Breeze jacket bought as a gift years ago? Still going strong. Why buy another? Because I was tired of wearing a non-vented or vented knock-off when the original was loaned or to a visitor - its that good.This new version has the same material thickness as the original. The brass zipper is thicker and comes to the knee on the legs rather than the waist on the original. No knee pads, not that the original has ever worn through without one.They are sized small for length. I prefer the large size for leg length versus the medium, even as a short dude.No tears in the veil, ever, means no tears while wearing the veil, ever. Wear the suit with confidence.

I did some extensive research on YouTube/Amazon and narrow down to 2 brands (Mann Lake and Ultra Breeze).References (links might or not works but you can copy & paste on YouTube):Ultra Breeze Bee SuitVENTILATED BEE SUITS: Humble Bee VS. Mann LakeMann Lake Vented Bee JacketMann Lake Vented Bee Jacket Issues (Update)I believed Ultra Breeze has good reputation mainly for their workmanship and materials used, excellent construction quality suits and excellent customer service.C&P from amazon.com respond by Ultra Breeze Suits:This is Stephanie from Ultra Breeze Suits. I wanted to let you know more about the holes that you pointed out in the veil. They are not a defect, but rather we create these holes so we can insert the boning that holds the veil off of your face. I hope this information is helpful and that you enjoy your suit. StephanieI am 5’ 11” 165 lbs and I purchased the large Ultra Breeze Jumpsuit (fitment is good) after doing extensive research online. I prefer full EVA foam mesh used everywhere (other used canvas at the end of sleeves and legs) and Ultra Breeze is the only brand constructed with both elastic and velcro at end of sleeves if the elastic is shot you still have Velcro.First impression, excellent workmanship, all YKK brass zippers are heavy duty, thicker EVA foam mesh between 2 polyester mesh. BTW the 3 cuts (see attached image) in the material of the Veil are not a defect.New Updated/improvement Ultra Breeze Jumpsuit- New heavier duty/more durable YKK brass zipper goes from ankles to knees instead of hipsEmail sent and respond by Ultra BreezeWe updated our zippers to a heavier duty zipper- these zippers are much more durable but they are heavier. As a result, we now use a zipper on the legs that goes to the knees instead of the hips.BestStephanie