WEIGHT -  A deep, 10 frame brood box, full of bees, brood, and honey should weigh about 80 lbs, and a medium 10 frame super, full of honey, could weigh up to 50 lbs. In peak season, you could be lifting 4-5 (or more) 50 lb supers, and at least one of the 80lb brood boxes in order to inspect. For me, that's just too much...  with my horizontal hives I don't have to do any lifting at all, well I guess I have to lift each of the frames, but you get the gist. 

LESS STRESS ON BEES - In beekeeping with a vertical Langstroth hive, the hive bodies must be un-stacked and re-stacked every time you do an inspection, as you well know this really disturbs the bees... Not the case with a horizontal hive!

FRAMES -  As a bonus,  my long Langstroth Hives use the same deep Langstroth frames as a vertical hive, so it will be easy to find honey, and wax processing equipment, and if you already have processing equipment, it will still be functional! Since you don't have to lift 10 frames at a time, as you would with a vertical hive, you don't have to worry about the weight of a super, and can standardize to using deep Langstroth frames, for brood and honey! 

INSULATION -  Traditional hive boxes, that you would buy from a supplier, are made of  1" (or less) thick boards. My Long hives are made from 2 by material, which provide much better insulation for our cold, long winters. My hives also have built in insulation in the lid to keep the girls cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. 

CONDENSATION -  Bee's release quite a bit of  moisture while they eat through their winter honey stores. The moisture condenses on the sides and tops of the bee hive, and can cause mold and can be very detrimental to them if they dripped on. My long hives are equipped with a moisture pillow made of wood chips, which actually has two benefits, it absorbs excess moisture, and insulates!

MULTIPLE COLONIES -  In a vertical Langstroth hive, you are limited to keeping only one colony. With my long hive, I provide 2x divider/follower boards which replaces a frame, and will allow you to break your hive into 3 separate sections. This might come in handy for a swarm that needs a temporary place to stay, or overwintering two-three smaller colonies to help conserve heat.

COMFORTABLE WORKING HEIGHT -  The  frames of  my horizontal hives sit at approximately 2'-6" tall,  to make for a comfortable work zone. I should add, the height is completely customizable, if you need shorter... maybe for kids, or taller... if you're so blessed with those genes, let me know!

LESS MONITORING & SWARMING -  In a vertical hive, you have to constantly modify the hive volume by adding boxes, and you must do so at just the right time to avoid cramping their style and encouraging them to swarm.  Because warm air will rise to the empty top box and leave the lower story chilled, you can’t put all of the boxes on at once. Horizontal hives don’t create the same chimney effect, so you can add many frames to give your bees the freedom to expand at their own pace throughout the season, and to give you a break from constant monitoring. Less beekeeper monitoring, means less disruption to the girls, allowing them to be bees!

Honeyside Gates -