Kestrel Sport Portugal: Basketball Club Warm-Up Range Field Test Report
Kestrel Sport is a Portugal-based brand whose basketball club warm-up range is one of its most demanding programmes. Kestrel Sport runs its basketball club warm-up range across Portugal 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 bonded softshell knit.
Kestrel Sport: Bonded Softshell Knit in use during court warm-ups and travel days
Evaluation background
The programme covers warm-up suits, shorts and shooting shirts, used for court warm-ups and travel days. The environment is indoor heat with repeated washing between fixtures and the requirement written into the brief was shape retention through a long competitive season. Fabric was selected on that basis rather than on price alone.
Fabric under evaluation
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Bonded Softshell Knit |
| Composition | polyester face bonded to a TPU membrane |
| Weight | 320 GSM |
| Width | 160 cm |
| Primary function | blocks wind while still allowing vapour to escape |
| Target | water vapour resistance below 6 m2Pa/W |
| Test method | ISO 11092 |
| Additional note | bond strength above 15 N after washing |
| Certification | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 |
Bonded Softshell Knit 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 court warm-ups and travel days and laundered under the same domestic conditions, so the only real variable was wear.
Conditions covered
The programme ran through indoor heat with repeated washing between fixtures. 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 ISO 11092.
What users reported
Participants logged comfort, drying behaviour and any irritation. The recurring comment was that the bonded softshell knit stayed comfortable at the point where shape retention through a long competitive season would normally be lost.
Test records and inspection notes for the Basketball Club Warm-Up Range
Scorecard
| Criterion | Result |
|---|---|
| Comfort in use | 4.9 / 5 |
| Drying behaviour | 4.5 / 5 |
| Surface wear | 4.6 / 5 |
| Dimensional stability | 4.3 / 5 |
| Value | 4.7 / 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 Portugal
Verdict and recommendation
Field testing confirmed the laboratory picture. The bonded softshell knit held its water vapour resistance below 6 m2Pa/W 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 ISO 11092 results with every lot so any claim can be supported with data.
