Beekeeper suit ICKO Integral Combi Pro

01 · PROTECTION

What it covers, and how far it goes

ICKO classifies it as Category I PPE, the limited-risks band, and that sets how it is worn: over other clothing, never against the skin, and with the zip, the hook-and-loop strip and the elastics properly closed. It reduces the risk of stings; it does not guarantee you will not be stung, and anyone allergic should treat it as what it is — workwear, not an absolute barrier. Nor is it an Asian hornet suit: working on Vespa velutina nests calls for purpose-made kit.

02 · THE VEIL

Fencing type, and it unzips right off

The veil is the fencing type: it holds the mesh away from your face, so it does not stick to your forehead when you sweat and does not cut off your downward view, which is where you look as you lift a frame. It folds back onto your shoulders when you do not need it, and comes away from the suit entirely on its zips. That matters at washing time: the suit goes in the machine at 30 °C, no bleach and no tumble dryer, but the veil is washed separately and by hand — the mesh does not take kindly to the drum.

03 · FINISH

The details you notice by the third hive

It carries a mesh panel across the back, at shoulder-blade height, which is where the heat escapes when you are working bent over. The knee pads are padded, welcome when you are checking floors or working at ground level, and there are several pockets for the hive tool, the hand smoker or the pen for your hive records. The closure is finished with a hook-and-loop strip over the zip, and the elastics sit at cuffs, waist, ankles and under the foot: that last one is what stops the leg riding up as you crouch and leaving your ankle bare.

04 · SIZING

Measure your chest before you choose

ICKO's guide crosses height against chest measurement, and covers from 1.55 m upwards with chests of 86 to 118 cm. The cut is close-fitting, particularly from shoulder to crotch: if you are between two sizes, or of a stocky build, or you like to work with room to spare, go up one size.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

What arrives is the complete suit with its fencing veil fitted, in four sizes from S to XL. It weighs 550 g, so it folds into any toolbox in the apiary.