Kestrel Sport Switzerland: Football Academy Training Kit Field Test Report
Kestrel Sport is a Switzerland-based brand whose football academy training kit is one of its most demanding programmes. Kestrel Sport runs its football academy training kit across Switzerland and asked us to prove the fabric in the field rather than in a brochure. This report covers a full season of real use with recycled nylon interlock.
Kestrel Sport: Recycled Nylon Interlock in use during daily squad training in all weather
Evaluation background
The programme covers training shirts, shorts and warm-up tops, used for daily squad training in all weather. The environment is contact, sliding and heavy perspiration and the requirement written into the brief was tear resistance with colour consistency across a squad. Fabric was selected on that basis rather than on price alone.
Fabric under evaluation
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Recycled Nylon Interlock |
| Composition | 78% GRS recycled nylon / 22% spandex |
| Weight | 270 GSM |
| Width | 165 cm |
| Primary function | stays fully opaque under tension while carrying a recycled claim |
| Target | opacity above 96% at 30% extension |
| Test method | AATCC 183 |
| Additional note | GRS chain of custody documents |
| Certification | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 |
Recycled Nylon Interlock close-up showing the fabric surface
Test scope
Twenty garments were issued to regular participants and tracked for eight weeks. Every item was used for daily squad training in all weather and laundered under the same domestic conditions, so the only real variable was wear.
Conditions covered
The programme ran through contact, sliding and heavy perspiration. That is the environment the fabric has to survive, and it is harsher than any laboratory chamber we could have built.
Evaluation session with the Kestrel Sport team
What we measured
Garments were inspected every two weeks for surface wear, seam condition, dimensional change and retained hand. Fabric was retested at the end of the period against AATCC 183.
What users reported
Participants logged comfort, drying behaviour and any irritation. The recurring comment was that the recycled nylon interlock stayed comfortable at the point where tear resistance with colour consistency across a squad would normally be lost.
Test records and inspection notes for the Football Academy Training Kit
Scorecard
| Criterion | Result |
|---|---|
| Comfort in use | 4.7 / 5 |
| Drying behaviour | 4.4 / 5 |
| Surface wear | 4.8 / 5 |
| Dimensional stability | 4.6 / 5 |
| Value | 4.5 / 5 |
“Fifty washes later the fabric still performs. That is what convinced our buying team.” — Kestrel Sport Technical Team
Packed bulk rolls before shipment to Switzerland
Verdict and recommendation
Field testing confirmed the laboratory picture. The recycled nylon interlock held its opacity above 96% at 30% extension across the whole season and we recommend it for the next programme without change. For Kestrel Sport the practical next steps are to keep the current specification for the repeat, retain the shade standard, and issue AATCC 183 results with every lot so any claim can be supported with data.
