# Ultra Breeze Chin Protection



## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

Are you wearing a cap with a bill? This helps to keep the mesh away from your face and neck. I have the Mann Lake vented suit and have not gotten one sting. The cap was not my idea, I'm just relaying what I was told to do.


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## Risky Beesness (Dec 29, 2010)

Yeah, wear a cap. I have never been stung through my Ultrabreeze, and had some very hot hives this spring. Is your suit very roomy? Mine is probably one size too large, so there is plenty of room when I squat or bend over. A friend of mine got some stings the same way as you, using a differnet suit, when he bent over to pick up a hive. The mesh pulled tight to his chin and they nailed him. The one thing I have notice is I'm starting to get some burn holes in the wrist from lighting the smoker. I assume there are tiny embers coming out of the smoker and landing on the nylon. I will have to watch it and learn how to seal them with something.


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## bruce todd (May 11, 2010)

Are you zipped tight, and pressing the Velcro tab above veil zipper down securely? Ive never been stung with my Ultrabreeze on. I always wear a hat too.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

I think the veil is the weakest link, but for a different reason. The mesh is very flimsy and mine has started to come away from the seams in several places. I fixed it with window screen and a hot glue gun. However, I got a few stings including one to the back of the head that hurt the worst. If the screen was made of wire it would be more durable.


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## wolfpenfarm (Jan 13, 2009)

i've found the wire mesh on one of my veils is lousy. They get bent too easily and where it bends it breaks. I prefer the nylon screen and mesh around my neck area. That keeps teh bees away from me. Every now and then i get one that finds its way under the veil mesh. They are persistant buggers.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

i did make sure that the zippers were zipped and the velcro was secured properly. What was happening was when i looked down at the bees, just above the zipper would fold under my chin rather than hanging away from my face. When I remembered to pull the veil away from my face all was well. After about 15 to 20 stings under my chin I started remembering to adjust the veil! lol


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

The only time I've been stung there I didn't have the jacket zipped all the way up or the velcro wasn't closed or I forgot to zip the veil all the way up. I learned to check...


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

15-20 stings under the chin....those weren't all in one day, were they???? inch: Gotta have pictures if they were!!!! 

Ed


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Wear a visor, works like a charm .


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

Yep, all in one morning! lol I looked rather funny this morning. I did not have a double chin, in it looked like I tried to swallowed a ball! I picked the stingers out for a while, and had to get my dad and a buddy that was helping me get the rest. It has gone down a lot now.


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

Dog gone, man, you gotta do something about that chin situation. I wore a baseball cap the other day for the first time under my GB jacket. I wasn't to thrilled about it...I'll have to work with it a little to get it adjusted right. So far I haven't had an issue getting stung through the screen, though, and was just trying out using the cap.

Best wishes,
Ed


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## cbinstrasburg (Feb 18, 2012)

ouch


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I've been stung through the UB veil a couple of times. The way the veil sits, I find my chin actually touching the veil, which results in the sting. I also agree with the comment above that "the veil is the weakest link". My first UB veil failed at the end of year two and when it fails you'll have lots of bees inside the veil - not an enjoyable experience. The screen material breaks where it attaches to the ribs and once it starts, it propagates fast. New UB veils are expensive and should be made to last more than a couple of seasons. I have a Dadant suit that is 10 years old and the veil is in perfect condition. This is my only gripe with the UB suit, but I sure wish they would improve the design.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

That is exactly the thing that happened to me. The veil touches my chin, and by the time it touches my chin, it it also touching my neck under my chin. The the girls have a heyday! If the veil would just fall away from my chin that would solve the problem, however with the design of the velcro that doesnt seem possible. I am thinking about putting some tape on the veil in that area to at least create a barrier. Even adding a little more of the 3 layer material to go up the neck would be helpful, or even using Velcro to attach it to the inside of the veil would help.

Other than this one thing, I love the suit. On Friday and Saturday I will be harvesting and there is one HOT hive that wouild love to find that weakness!!!

I did send UB an email with a picture of where the stings were, and a description of the problem. maybe they will come back with a solution.

Oh well, any suggestions will be appreciated.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

I did receive a call from Ultra Breeze tonight and we / they are working on a solution. I am Ultra Impressed with the response and will keep everyone posted on the progress. 

Just wanted to give yall an update.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

Just an update. Ultra Breeze has been wonderful to work with so far. I received some of the suit fabric this morning to prototype a guard to protect my neck and chin. I enlisted the help of my mother this evening to sew the fabric and we put together a guard that should work. It is velcroed to the insie of the hood and I will be testing it out Friday and Saturday. We will be taking honey off of about 15 hives. One of the hives is WAY HOT so it should be interesting to see how the guard works.

I will keep yall posted


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

I found a pith helmet keeps the veil off my face.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

tbeckett said:


> Just an update. Ultra Breeze has been wonderful to work with so far.


 If you don't mind, please inform them of the veil failures that some are experiencing. As I mentioned above, the screen is shearing off where is attaches to the support ribs. I communicated this to UB and didn't get much satisfaction. They told me that I could take the old veil to a seamstress and have the screen replaced, but I didn't find that solution very attractive. I believe that the veil portion needs to be rugged enough last nearly the lifetime of the suit - particularly a suit that claims to have such high quality standards. Don't get me wrong, I love the UB suits (I own 2), but the veil is substandard and need to be redesigned.


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## toekneepea (Jul 7, 2010)

[ I posted this reply in another thread, but it also applies here... ]

I have an UB jacket and suit. I don't have any issues with the veil on the jacket - probably because it's the right size.

I ordered the next size up on the suit to make sure that it had enough room and wasn't snug.

If there was some sort of stiff collar ring around the bottom of my suit's veil it would hold it's shape and wouldn't collapse in.

Tony P.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

Ok, just another update. We split 30 hives today and I did not get a single sting anywhere. The UB suit held up to its reputation of keeping the stings away, and with the guard in place they could not get to my neck through the veil.

I have sent pictures and other information to UB with the results. I think they are working on some ideas.

It is a great suit and it does allow the few breezes we had to day to come on through. The Southern Sauna is here, can't wait till it gets really hot!!! 

Astro, i did pass your request along as well.

Tony P, what size did you buy. I got the XXL. I also passed your idea along as well.

Tim


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

No stings thru my Ultra Breeze


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I just can't shell out that much money for a suit, and these complaints are making me feel better about it. They're a good operation though - they'll improve the design.

Adam


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## Apple Farmer (Apr 14, 2009)

Tim, Thanks for working on the one flaw that many of us have found with the UltraBreeze. I hope your design change works. I may wait until it's put into production before I buy my next jacket from them.


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## toekneepea (Jul 7, 2010)

Tim,

There's another thread discussing the same issue, and Monkadelic improvised and implemented the stiff collar that I suggested...



Monkadelic said:


> Toekneepea's comment about a stiff ring just made me think of a possible solution... I have a similar problem with the veil on my BBWear suit (I assume from washing it often). Perhaps a strip of plastic boning (used in corsets and dresses) stitched around the perimeter of the veil would work. I might have to try that and see, if no one beats me to it.





Monkadelic said:


> Haven't tried it on yet but I did find some boning and stitched it to the inner seam just above the zipper where the veil connects. It now stands up on its own!


If you could forward this onto the folks at Ultrabreeze, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Cheers,
Tony P.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

Ultra Breeze has been wonderful to work with and I know they will come up with a great solution. 

Here is the solution I came up with. It worked great, but I am sure there are other ideas that might work better.

I sewed veclro to the fabric and then sewed velcro to the hood support pouch. With this people with longer necks and shorter necks can adjust the guard up and down as necessary.

















When working the bees yesterday, the bees collected at the bottom of the veil but were not able to sting through the guard. Not a single sting anywhere. 

Tim


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## Apple Farmer (Apr 14, 2009)

I bought a new hood for my UB Jacket and asked if it would be possible to get veil material to replace the original with (ember damage). Received the new hood (came with new chin protection modification installed) and found precut pieces to replace all of the veil material in the old hood....Thank you Stephanie!!
I've made a couple of visits to the bee yards and very please with the new design. Wore the jacket without a hat and went through 32 hives.... some with an attitude that I'm hoping a new queen takes care of. The new design has stays installed in the chin area of the hood and performed flawlessly!
I have asked my wife to sew some stays into the old hood, so it's as sting proof as the new.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Hey AF.........got a pic of the new veil/hood?

Tks!


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## Apple Farmer (Apr 14, 2009)

snl, wife left the camera on top of a hive...and naturally it rained! So no pics until we can get another.


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## tbeckett (May 19, 2011)

Just to chime in, I received one of the new hoods several weeks ago and i have been working a lot of bees, and it has worked flawlessly through this summer. I will post a pic of the new hood that I have and see if it is the same as yours, AF. And yes, Stephanie is wonderful to work with!

Fixin to order my Dad one, I guess at 82 years old he deserves one!!!! lol Just kidding he deserves that a a whole lot more for putting up with me for the past 50+ years!!

Thanks,
Tim


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