Designed and made in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Protective Sleeve

Custom sleeve for bundling and protecting hoses, cables and wire. Cut and sewn to your size, length, colour and closure.

Red protective sleeve bundling hydraulic hoses

Why use protective sleeve?

Hoses wear out from the outside in. Sleeve takes the abuse so the hose doesn't.

  • Bundling

    Keeps hoses, cables and cords together and organized, with separate compartments if they need to be kept apart.

  • Weather protection

    Shields hoses from the sun, cold and moisture that harden the cover and crack it.

  • Abrasion resistance

    Protects hoses that are dragged over gravel and concrete or rub against racks and trays.

  • Leak containment

    Our sleeve is nearly impenetrable, so a failed hose sprays into the sleeve rather than onto the ground.

  • Identification

    Colour-coded sleeve shows which hoses carry what, and which truck or crew they belong to.

  • Road protection

    Guards hoses, wire and cable on transport equipment from road gravel, salt and debris.

Yellow protective sleeve over a suction hose with a cam-lock coupling

Sizes other manufacturers don't make

Most sleeve comes off a roll and stops at 6 to 8 inches in diameter. We make sleeve from 1 to 18 inches in diameter, in lengths from 1 inch up to 300 feet (90 m) continuous, all cut to the length you need.

Because we make it here, custom orders turn around quickly. Most are ready within two weeks, faster than you'd wait on an overseas manufacturer.

  • 1″ to 18″ diameter (3″ to 56″ circumference)
  • Up to 300 ft (90 m) continuous
  • Usually ready within 2 weeks

Construction and designs

Every sleeve is built for how the hose is used: pulled off a reel, laid in a tray or opened often for repairs.

  • Fixed (double sewn)

    Sewn the full length twice with heavy nylon thread, for a seam that nears the strength of the fabric. Best for hoses pulled on and off a reel or dragged along the ground, such as on tankers that load and unload often. The hose is pulled through with a fish tape, so the sleeve is sized to slide over the couplings.

  • Hook and loop

    Hook is sewn to one edge and loop to the other. Lay the sleeve flat, lay the hoses on it, wrap and fasten. It fits more snugly and opens for repairs or to replace a hose. 1½″ is standard; 1″, 2″ and 3″ are available, and wider hook and loop lets you adjust the size when installing.

  • Duplex

    Two or more tubes in one sleeve keep hoses or wires apart and stop them wearing on each other. A load-bearing cable can run in one tube to support the hoses in the others.

  • Access points

    Openings can be added for inspection and repairs, or for connections, gauges and test points partway along the hose.

Blue hook-and-loop sleeve wrapped around hydraulic hoses
Hook and loop, wrapped around hydraulic hoses
Black hook-and-loop sleeve fitted over a large coupling
Hook and loop, sized to fit over a large coupling
Sleeve bundling air lines and power cords
Air lines and power cords bundled together

Materials

Our standard material is 1200 Denier polyester with a PVC seal coat, about 22 oz per square yard with 27 × 27 threads per inch. The tightly woven polyester resists abrasion and the PVC coating keeps out weather and water.

Normally the polyester faces out for abrasion resistance. If moisture is the main concern, the sleeve can be made with the PVC facing out.

600 Denier polyester is an economical, lighter option that's easier to handle, which makes it a good choice for identifying hoses and pipes. Polyester with urethane backing, Cordura®, nylons, vinyls and other fabrics are also available for different colours, wear characteristics and temperature ratings.

Keep in mind that a snug sleeve in a heavier fabric affects how easily the hose flexes.

Choosing a fabric

For wear and abrasion
Heavier fabrics
For weather protection
Medium-weight fabrics
For identification and colour coding
Lighter fabrics, which are easier to handle

Colours

Black isn't the only option.

  • Black
  • Dark Grey
  • Grey
  • Beige
  • Brown
  • Gold
  • Yellow
  • Fluorescent Orange
  • Red
  • Burgundy
  • Purple
  • Royal Blue
  • Navy Blue
  • Teal
  • Jade
  • Forest Green
  • Olive Green

Colours may fade with weather and other elements, and not every colour is available in every material.

Sleeve fabric in several colours
Sleeve fabric in some of the colours available

Applications

Identification and colour coding

Colour-coded sleeve reduces the chance of mixing or contaminating product, for example blue for clean water, yellow for fuel and green for dirty water. Connection points can be coloured to match, so connections are made correctly, and hoses that are compatible with a particular chemical can share a colour.

Colour also shows ownership. If every hose on truck 35 has blue sleeve, operators can check the right hoses are on the truck before it leaves. On a job site with several contractors, you can quickly find all of your hoses, preventing loss and theft.

Matching equipment colour schemes

New equipment looks good in fresh paint until the hoses go on: black, blue, green and red hoses, each with another manufacturer's lay line. Colour-matched sleeve keeps the machine looking the way it was designed, organizes the hoses and protects them from weathering and damage.

Weather protection

Sunlight and cold harden the outside of a hose, causing small cracks when it flexes. Moisture gets into the cracks, then freezes and expands. As the cracks grow, moisture reaches the reinforcement, rusting wire braid and rotting cotton braid. The next pressure spike means a hose failure, fluid on the ground, downtime and a customer upset by another delay.

Protecting a new hose from the weather may seem like an extra expense, but the long-term savings are significant.

Abrasion resistance

Hoses on construction equipment rub against other parts of the machine and have material fall on them. Hoses used to load and unload tankers are pulled off the truck, dragged across crushed rock or concrete and pulled back on.

Sleeve reduces damage from sharp edges on hose racks and trays, and from dragging on gravel and concrete. Hoses carried outside the truck face water, salt, gravel and flying debris as well. Sleeve protects against all of it, extending hose life and improving safety.

Hose protection on mobile equipment

Hoses on mobile equipment, construction machinery, trucks and farm equipment face weather, salt, road gravel and debris, all multiplied when the equipment is moving. Sleeve prevents the hardening that causes micro-cracks in the hose cover, the first step towards rusted wire, separated fabric and hose failure.

That means fewer breakdowns, spills, repair bills and delays.

Bundling hoses and cables

Today's equipment needs many hoses, cables and wires to control and monitor it, and a single damaged hose or wire can sideline the whole machine. Sleeve comes in colours for coding functions, and in multi-tube designs that keep wires, cables and hoses apart.

Containing hose failures

Sleeve is often used to control the spray from a failed hose, but the porous nature of many sleeves lets fluid leak through and spill. Our sleeve is nearly impenetrable to fluid, so it stops the leak from spreading, and it can be installed to direct the leakage to a safe place.

Request a sleeve quote

Tell us about the hoses and the job. We'll come back with pricing and a delivery date.

Sleeve details

Include as much as you can. The more we know, the more accurate the quote.

What does the sleeve need to do?
How many units will you need if the first is successful?
Up to 300 ft (90 m) continuous.
1″ to 18″ diameter, or 3″ to 56″ circumference.
Hydraulic, air, crude oil, chemical, electrical, etc.
How many, and how far from one end.
Design
Is this a prototype?
Temperatures, chemicals, types of abrasion, etc.

Anything else about the job, such as how the hoses are used and what wears on them. If you're not sure about any of the details above, tell us what you know and we'll talk through the options.