I haven't found the perfect suit, but Sheriff comes close.
 
I hate to wear a suit - the heat bothers me far more than bee  stings.  
Like some others, my immunity is almost total - I don't feel  stings in most of 
my hand or arm areas, although the ear lobe still  smarts.  A sting under 
my dark glasses merely causes me to look a bit  tired.  It does help that my 
black, curly hair and beard are now mostly  white.  I used to get bees stuck 
in the hair, stings on the upper  lip.
 
My go-to outfit is a Sheriff  hooded veil with the mesh to cover  the upper 
torso.  If I'm in someone else's yard, where I don't know the  temper of 
the bees or how the bees have been treated when being worked, I  can put it on 
over my T-shirt, flip the hood back.  It is there IF I need  it. 
 
If moving bees or the weather has a chill, I drop a light-colored shirt or  
jacket over it.  For really nasty bees, like some from TX, I'll grab a  
coverall.
 
The Sheriff hood is light, rolls up into a small package, so it is easy to  
drop in my luggage - it has been all over the world with me.
 
Unlike many of the imitators, the Sheriff veil has a double screen on the  
sides, so the blind-spot is more or less eliminated.  I get my  beekeeping 
shirts and jackets from the Good Will - cheap, all weights for  all types of 
weather, etc.
 
Also, I find the Sheriff zipper is easier to work than most.
 
Down side - the screen is light weight material.  That makes  it 
susceptible to catching and tearing, especially if you're grabbing a  hive body off a 
tall stack - easy to snag the veil screen on the  box corner.  The screen 
also melts real easy - I've never had a  problem, but my crew somehow gets too 
close to their smokers, and one tripped,  fell this summer, and the screen 
snagged on some vegetation, ripped when he  stood up.
 
For cool weather, I've a light green, light-weight Sheriff jacket with a  
removable hood veil. I like a light color - something other than white looks  
better, longer. 
 
Most of the jackets, coveralls made in US are far TOO heavy.   Also, I am 
not real found of nylon; it is light, but doesn't breathe.  
 
I just got back from EAS, where I saw jackets made from a  tough-looking, 
double mesh.  The mesh material looks like it is more  durable than the 
Sheriff material, but the double material, plus rubber on  the arms, etc. makes 
it a HEAVY jacket. It may breathe, but it weighs a  ton.
 
Perfect veil - Sheriff type hood and zipper, Gortex or something more  
cloth-like for the part that protects my bald head from the sun;  with a  more 
durable screen, and again, something that either just covers the shoulders,  
or is a just a vest of tough mesh.  
 
And, as I get older, I find any screen hard to see through when looking for 
 eggs  - I'd like a clear window that doesn't fog in front of my eyes.
 
Seems the manufacturers forget - its a loose fit and material that moves  
easily that keeps the stings from reaching flesh (although I assume that is 
the  reason for the double mesh).  Heavy material settles against the body, 
and  the stings can still reach through. Its like getting stings through 
denim pants  - always on the  knees or rear, where the fabric pulls tight.
 
Finally, because I rarely where anything other than a cap and a T-shirt,  
and because we're working with a food producing system, I insist on my crew  
WASHING their suits.  
 
Randy and Bob talk about crew members wearing full suits and gloves being a 
 problem if you're not wearing  a veil or suit. 
 
A dirty suit is full of bee stings and pheromones, and it sends the wrong  
message to both the bees (here's a predator that we've been stinging) and  
to a public who trusts bees to keep the honey clean.  
 
I've seen beekeepers with filthy suits, hanging over the extractor, with a  
cigarette ready to drop ash, into the honey.  Not a pretty sight, terrible  
PR, especially if you've got a photographer or TV news crew with you.
 
Finally, as mentioned before - wash the suits someplace other than  in your 
house.  It was a Missoula doctor who first documented a high  incidence of 
bee sting allergy in the family members.  The take home is  that it is the 
constant, second-hand exposure that tends to lead to allergic  responses.  
Keep the suits clean and do the cleaning away from the living  area.
 
Jerry
 
 
 
 
 

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