Forest Beekeeping Jacket, Lightweight Air Mesh Bee Jacket with Veil Hood

I wear an XL or 1X in womens & am 5'5" tall; I ordered the Large and it fits fine with plenty of room. I really like that it is vented; you'll still sweat though on 90 degree days!! The zipper assembly moves well and feels well made. I have been using it now for about 2 months (about weekly or every 2 weeks for 2 colonies) and so far it is holding up well...I will give other reviews as it ages/wears. I like having a zipper down the front and a detachable hood; I have had a pull over jacket with a permanently attached fencing hood and I did not like it when I had to remove it...the fencing veil quickly cracked, etc...having a front zipper and a hood that you can open/loosen while working with your bees (ie., during some work you don't necessarily want to take your jacket off, but it is nice to be able to open your jacket and take off the veil (and let it dangle behind you) as you are moving supplies, etc...The pullover jackets are typically less expensive, but I would definitely recommend "splurging" for this type of jacket. I am very happy with this purchase and would recommend this brand and style of jacket/veil.

I have a very dangerous reaction to hornet/wasp stings and do a lot of yard work. This is awesome, well made, comfortable, not heavy. Visibility is excellent. I believe it would be hard to be stung through this, it has an upper layer that is light and ventilated, underneath that some sort of light foamy fabric, very dense but again lightweight and comfortable and under that another thin layer. The foamy layer keeps it from being plastered to my skin, so I did some very heavy work, temp in the 80s and was way more comfortable than wearing conventional, well tucked in clothing. The only small issue, I was using a chain saw and hedge trimmer and a lot of little bits of wood and dirt got between the layers so I hosed it before machine washing, came out very well.

I purchased 2 FOREST jackets and 2 pairs of FOREST Beekeeping Premium Goatskin Leather Beekeeper's Gloves in Spring 2022. My daughter and I have been using them the last year with no complaints and no stings. We caught 2 swarms this Spring 2023 without problems with movement, and again no stings. Very satisfied with our purchase. Jacket material is thick, somewhat stiff, but does what we want it to do - protect us. I've had several bees land on the mesh covering my face but, because the veil is fairly large, they had no access to my face to sting me. Very appreciative of the large veil. I've also hand-washed my gloves with warm water and soap, no problems with stiffness afterwards using the directions I have for washing these gloves. Both are excellent products, and both my daughter and I would recommend them to anyone.

I’ve been using this jacket for 2 bee seasons. It has held up well. No rips, or broken zippers. No stings over many many many hive inspections and some spicy bees. These ate some things I don’t like, and I’ll be passing this on to my kid. What I like: it’s incredibly ventilated. It breathes really well. Constructed well Good pockets. What I don’t like: The hood is very small and narrow there’s just not enough head room and my face/ nose smashes against the front. Not good. I’m constantly pushing it forward so I don’t get stung in the face. You cannot change out the vail. The fabric is stiff and I don’t love that. It’s just a bit weird. This jacket has served me well starting out, but the veil issue has me moving on.

Excellent value. Veil has very good visibility with zippers to allow it to flip back hang on your back. Complete protection from stings and angry bees (I shook out 5 boxes of bees and had bees everywhere with no problems). Ventilation is very good. Only shortcoming is I would have preferred having flaps over the pocket openings to prevent smaller items and hive tool from falling out when bending over. May 2026 - The screen material has gotten brittle and openings have occurred in several places, especially at seams. Not sure why this happened or if this is normal after 7 years, but I got stung in the face several times after a few bees got inside through the splits.

Overall the jacket seems well made. The zippers are heavy duty, but could run slightly smoother. Maybe a bit of beeswax could smooth them out a bit. The Velcro is very strong. I've had the the jacket a little over a week and have worn it three or four times already. I'm not convinced the jacket I received is what was pictured. You can compare my pics to those in the listing and judge for yourself. I will only say that the fabric on mine is very thick. That's fine, no real complaint beyond it was not exactly as expected. The fit of the jacked is good. I am 5'3", about 130lbs and I bought the small. The elastics fit snugly around the hem and cuff. There is plenty of room in the jacket. Movement doesn't feel restricted at all. The pockets are a very nice feature. They are large and secure with velcro spots. My biggest issue with this jacket/veil combo is with the veil. More specifically, at the attachment point for the veil. There is approximately a 4” piece of fabric just above the zipper that is very thick and rigid. This thick section of fabric forces it to stand up once the hood/veil is zipped into place. That effect forces the front of the veil to press up against your face (nose). I put a ball cap on under the veil, but the problem persists. Perhaps that section of fabric will relax over time. That would be ideal. In the meantime I may have to add a couple of stitches in that area to hold the veil forward. Nobody wants to be stung on the tip of the nose! Not to mention, the veil rubbing on your nose can get very irritating in short order. If you compare the pictures of my jacket with those included in the product listing you will see some distinct differences. My veil has one less segment than pictured. The difference means there is far less depth from front to back and may also be contributing to the issue described. If the issue with the veil was corrected I could easily give this product a 5 star review. Unfortunately, the problem is irritating enough to deduct 2 stars.

This is excellent for protection in hot weather. Comfortable and well made, it fits 6'5" 275 pound man with ease, size 3XL. It is a well made product.

This jacket is extremely light and cool but still sting proof. (You can feel the breeze through it) The hood velcro goes over the zip top tightly, three big pockets and great visibility with the fencing hood. This coat has been in use for over 2 years. (I remove the hood and machine wash the jacket in cold water). The bottom/wrist elastic is still nice and snug so no bees can crawl in. Cuff strings still intact. The other giant benefit of this coat is the GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE--they answer questions quickly and are amazingly helpful.

Good jacket, unusual material but stops the stings very good