Help design the Ultra Breeze pants

[magnet-man]

I have a lot of peanuts from the peanut gallery wanting pants and I want to hear what people are potentially looking for in those pants. I did a poll a while back on this subject, but I want to address the issue again to cover some of the details.

Cost is a very big issue for beekeepers and I know the Ultra Breeze can cause some people to go into sticker shock. Also some want bibs and bibs are going to be expensive and time intensive to make. So here are the options.

There are three main types of pants that can be made:

1. A sweat pants style with an elastic waist band and draw string. The advantage of this is cost. These would be the least costly of the options to make.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Sweatpants.jpg/250px-Sweatpants.jpg

2. A painters style pants with belt loops, front zipper and pockets. These are more like traditional style slacks and I see fitting issues. Cost would be significantly higher because they are more labor intensive to make. Suspenders could also be offered if desired.
http://www.southernreps.com/assets/images/painter_pants.gif

3. A bib style. Again more costly, but maybe less fitting issues. But is extra height that a bib offers really needed? The jackets are fairly long so I don’t think there would be gap issue when bending over.
http://www.etreavis.com/acatalog/94130.jpg

[magnet-man]

Bending over seems to be the biggest concern for a lot of people. Bend over the jacket pulls up and your lower back is exposed. I was thinking of putting two snaps or buckles in the back of the jackets and the pants to tie them together.

I can use snaps which are low profile but are not easily retrofitted to existing jackets.

http://www.bizviet.net/images/img44a55c8dd6d9a.jpg

Plastic buckles on webbing can easily be sewn on existing jackets and easier to connect than metal snaps.

http://cdwplus.com/photos/whitesingle58.gif

So give me some feedback.

[learning]

As a female with hips and smaller waist I vote for the sweat pant style. At least something with a drawstring. The issue I can see is the guys that have the waistband under their belly. I think fit will be a big issue with most women with either the bibs or the painter pants. JMHO.

[Conchis]

I'd vote for the sweatpants style as well. Might be nice to have a few velcro type patches that could be quickly stuck on the inside of jacket top of pants to remedy the bending over problem easily....They come with the pants...beekeeper application

[Sundance]

A zipper for a man is a must IMO. For obvious
reasons.

Suspenders can be added to anything really, even
sweats.

Musts:

*Fly with zipper.

*Reinforced knees.

*Pockets front and back.

I'd prefer a low bib, but even sweats with suspenders
will work. No personal interest in belt loops.

[peggjam]

Sweat pants would be ok...must have pockets though. One long narrow one that would hold a hive tool, and then some whatnot pockets.:)

Let me know when you get a pair done....thanks.

[mgmoore7]

The sweat pant style is good for me. I too would like to see a long pocket on the side to hold the hive tool.

Not sure what to suggest for securing the jacket to pants. I am not sure I like the snaps. The clips that you show might be better but they are bulky.

[magnet-man]

The velcro sounds like a good idea. Easy to apply and when not in use it doesn't jab you in the back. Might even sew the velcro to the back of the pants and the beek could sew the other half to the inside of their jacket. Having the beek do it would be good because they need to be at different palaces depending on how tall the beek is.

I was planning on having hive tool pockets on each side, but didn't think about other pockets since they would likely be covered by the jacket that has pockets.

I did find a supplier for white suspenders.

[peggjam]

They could be placed like the cargo pants have, down on the lower leg:). Would be a good spot to carry queen cages an such:).

[Sundance]

They could be placed like the cargo pants have, down on the lower leg:). Would be a good spot to carry queen cages an such:).

If I have pockets they get used.........:) On the down side
of pockets is the restriction of air flow.

I could live without a load of them. Even one cargo style
would work.

Of course pockets could be made from the ventilated
material!!!

[peggjam]

My ideal pair of pants would have the military kind of pockets...so I can stuff'em full of things....:D..I never have enough pockets.

[iwombat]

You should take a look at hockey jerseys for the snaps. They've got a built-in elastic strap with snaps for attaching to the shorts. Why re-invent the wheel?

[magnet-man]

You should take a look at hockey jerseys for the snaps. They've got a built-in elastic strap with snaps for attaching to the shorts. Why re-invent the wheel?

Wombat, can you look around the web for a picture for me? I am from New Orleans so I have never seen hockey equipment.

[KQ6AR]

After reading a lot of the replies, it sounds like there are several advantages to the sweats. It would be nice if they had pockets. The zipper may not be necessary as sweats are easily opened, if you don't use suspenders.

[Sundance]

I could live with no zipper as well. We have a great
seamstress in town that can install one cheap.

[magnet-man]

Please stay on topic.

[wfarler]

large enough cuff to pull on without taking off your boots - velcro or elastic that would then form around the top of the boot. My Honey maker 'sweatsuit' has zippers at the pants leg + elastic - works pretty well to allow it to pull over my boots but in the end is too short and end up taking stings on the sock sometimes.

Suspenders are a definate plus, drawstring waist. Bend over without running out of slack - so baggy is good.

I use the pockets in the jacket so don't care about the pant pocket so much. mainly just need spots for a hive tool, cell phone, queen cages and a frame puller.

If you decide to make a jumpsuit style watch out for the zipper length. My honeymaker somehow is hard to put my arms through because the front zipper is too short-hard to describe unless you watch the contortions.

[summer1052]

Everything "learning" said! We've covered some of that before. Still wondering (and my long ago pm never got answered) if you are going to put alexander style veils instead of hood veils on jackets. They are a much better option when dealing with Africanized ladies who like to fly straight towards your face! :lookout:

Other commentary:

Duluth trading company makes a "long-tail" t-shirt designed to deal with "Plumber's Butt". Not as good as a jacket , but better than bare skin.

Bu-Jin design company makes martial arts wear -- do-gi and so on. They have some truly excellent pants that I wear working bees. If I can do a high fall, rolls, and so on ("ukemi") on them, they will flex for lifting and moving bee boxes. The number one drawback is that they are high-waters, since on the mat, your feet are bare. Also a nice heavy cotton that is warmish.

But take a look at what these folks are doing. Maybe seeing them will give you ideas you can incorporate.

Anything you make with a bib I will not buy or will just cut off. Unless it's custom, no point in trying to hope it will fit.

For Sundance and the other determindley male wearers ( :p ) Make them a dang fly with a strip of velcro UNDER the elastic waist band. He can unvelcro if he must, and the rest of us won't care one way or t'other. :D

Summer
:cool:

[Hobie]

I agree with wfarler: You have to be able to put on/take off the pants without removing your boots. A zipper ankle and maybe elastic (like jacket sleeves) would be ideal. I wear leg bands so a tight fit is not necessary for me.

As for style, I vote for sweat pants style. Fits more body shapes. I have a pocket in my jacket so am ambivalent about additional pockets in the pants.

[Mathispollenators]

I'm a tall skinny guy and a problem I see is the pants aren't long enough for me. If it fits somewhat in the waist and all it's too short in the legs. If I try a large sized suit it's too big in the arms as such. I would like the painter pants type if it fit right but the jump suit types usally end up fitting me best. So I guess I would vote for the sweat pant style.

[TodesSchatten]

IMO a BDU style (gusseted seat, reinforced knees, cargo pockets, drawstring ankles...) I think would good but with waist like hip waders not as high as an bib overall but goes all the way around w/ suspender not many sizes would fit a lot of body types and would not gap if you bent over

[sjbees]

An open waist that can be used with suspenders would suit me. Easy to get in and out of, and suspenders let you put the waist where you want it, which may not be where your body shape lets it lie. Your jackets are long, and the suspenders will prevent an opening at the back when bending over.

I would prefer that the leg bottoms be left open, with the seam on one side open for about 6-8" because the open side seam makes it much easier to make the turn with your heel. Once the boot is on the fabric can be doubled over and held in place with velcro strips. Elastic in the cuff narrows the opening and makes putting a boot through more difficult.

If you decide to go with elastic, can you avoid using the kind as on boxer briefs and athletic pants which are integrated into the material? Please use the separate elastic which can be threaded through an opening that is stitched like a button hole. That will let those of us who do not want elastic to remove it, those who want draw strings to thread it, and everyone who likes elastic will be able to replace it when the compression ages.

The simpler the better from your point of view so if you left a fly zipper out it would not be a big deal. Gym pants and sweat pants don't have zippers either.

Pockets are a nicety I could live without, as a loop is sufficient to hold a hive tool in place.

[rw3212]

Everything in the above post (from sjbees) gets my vote.

[Hobie]

Please use the separate elastic which can be threaded through an opening that is stitched like a button hole. That will let those of us who do not want elastic to remove it, those who want draw strings to thread it, and everyone who likes elastic will be able to replace it when the compression ages.

This is brilliant! Hear! Hear!

[iwombat]

Finally got back to this thread. Here's a picture of a fight strap on a hockey jersey. It goes through a loop in the pants and snaps back on itself. No reason you couldn't make this snap at both ends and have loops in both the top and the bottom.


http://www.johnsonsjerseys.net/hockey/echl/gre20_strap.jpg

[magnet-man]

That is an interesting design. It actually would use the jacket like a pair of suspenders. So are the straps just the back of the hockey jersey or also on the front?

[iwombat]

They're just in the back.

See, the NHL had this problem of people getting into fights (once upon a time). And, see a common technique was to "sweater" the opponent which consisted of pulling the back of the sweater up over the guys head so he couldn't move his arms. Now, the counter to this technique was to shed the sweater entirely. This resulted in a buncha guys fighting in their underwear, which the NHL decided was an image issue.

So, now they've got these fighting strap deals on the back of the sweaters that every player is supposed to fasten or suffer a game misconduct.

Progress.

[btr568]

well I'm not hung up about any style you settle on for the pants.Except one.Ankle to hip zipper with the zipper that can be opened from either end.In other words a zipper head(what ever you call it)at both ends.Being from NO,you know about snakes and snake boots,I'm gonna stuff them rascals into a pair of Rockys,so opening at the top and botton is something I need.If you look at the leg zippers on a pair of insultated Charhartts you'll see what I mean.

[peggjam]

MM

How we doing on these?:)

[thelorax]

I've been researching equipment and thought I'd try to bounce this thread up, Magnet-Man can you give an update?

Thank you

[DiverDog]

Seems like this thread just fizzled out. What happened? Have you come up with a design yet? Have you thrown in the towel? Let us know what is up cause it seems a lot of people were and are interested.

[magnet-man]

I have been very busy with my day job, but the pants are sill on the table.