[Brandon O]

I’ve gone through 2 jackets this year. It’s always the zipper on the veil that goes. Wife has tried replacing it but plastic zippers suck. Tried replacing it with a metal zipper but was just a temporary fix.
Is there one out there that is good quality and has heavy duty metal zippers that last and is not so freaking hot as the full cotton ones. Almost die wearing the full cotton jacket in the summer.

 

[JasonA]

Ultra breeze. American made. Metal zippers.

 

[tracyoverstuff]

I agree, this is great and effective.

 

[Boondocks]

I had posted a couple of days ago about a new jacket for a hot and humid climate. I did order a BEEKool Pro Ventilated Jacket from Blueskybees for $115. Thanks for the responses folks, it really helped.
I looked at the UltraBreeze jacket but it was $163 on Amazon.
The Guardian jacket https://guardianbeeapparel.com/shop/vented-jacket/ has a zipper to just open the front of the veil to take a drink or wipe the sweat, $159. I wanted it but then I thought an extra zipper would be one more zipper to fail. I may get it next year.
This guy demonstrates a few bee suits which points out some things to look for:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Rvmbcmwh4

 

[cfalls]

I have a ventilated suit from Brushy Mountain and an Ultrabreeze. The Ultrabreeze is better ventilated but heavier. Both seem sturdy. A good chunky plastic zipper can be very strong. I don't think there's much to it one way or the other.

I would recommend also getting a veil for when you don't feel like you need a suit. A veil and a smoker is often enough.

 

[Akademee]

Interesting, I too have gone through several bee suits, but it was never the zipper, always the veil material itself that failed. There really isn't much difference in plastic vs metal zippers any more so I wouldn't get too hung up on that. I actually prefer plastic zippers, I think they have smoother operation. But there are cheap ones out there, the more expensive suits have much better zippers.

These zippers that you had that failed, were you completely removing the veil from the jacket every time? The most common failure point for zippers is somewhere within the first inch from the 'bottom' end where they mesh together for the first time. If you keep zippers zipped up in storage, they will last significantly longer.

 

[LAlldredge]

Echo Ultrabreeze. US made and beefy zippers.