Beekeeper pants polyamide

01 · THE FABRIC

To sting, a bee first has to get a grip

A bee that lands on your leg needs purchase to curve her abdomen and drive the sting in. On a rough cloth she finds it at once; on a smooth surface like this one it is a good deal harder, and that is the first thing the fabric does. The second comes from the double layer: it holds the cloth away from the skin, and that gap is what really counts, because a single layer stretched tight over the thigh or the knee is one a sting goes straight through. Hence the only rule of use that matters: wear them loose. Tight beekeeping trousers stop protecting exactly where you press them when you crouch.

02 · SIZING

Order your usual size, and if in doubt the larger one

They run from S to XXXL, six sizes, and the sizing matches the usual European scale: there is no need to go up a size as with the shop’s cotton trousers. If you are between two, take the larger — the elastic waist keeps them in place and you gain the slack that does the work. And one point that saves a return: the S is an adult size, not a child’s. For a child the garment is not this one but a beekeeping suit in a children’s size, which covers the torso as well.

03 · LIMITS AND CARE

Light in the apiary, delicate with brambles and sparks

Polyamide is comfortable to move in and dries fast, but it catches on scrub, on protruding wire and on brushes, so in an overgrown apiary it lasts less than a cotton cloth. And like any synthetic, it does not take a spark well: keep your distance from a lit smoker and do not leave the trousers resting on a hot bellows. The ankles close with elastic, not a zip, so they are tucked inside the boot rather than pulled over it. Check for snags and pinholes before putting them on again: a small hole in the outer layer means you no longer have two.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Double layer does not mean sting-proof: no garment guarantees you will not be stung, and on very defensive colonies or long manipulations a ventilated multi-layer suit protects more than any trousers.