Kestrel Sport Sweden: Swim School Programme Durability and Abrasion Evaluation
Kestrel Sport is a Sweden-based brand whose swim school programme is one of its most demanding programmes. Abrasion is the most common reason a technical garment is retired. We evaluated the silver ion antibacterial knit against the contact surfaces found in swim school programme.
Kestrel Sport: Silver Ion Antibacterial Knit in use during daily pool sessions for children and adults
Evaluation background
The programme covers training swimsuits, swim shorts and rash guards, used for daily pool sessions for children and adults. The environment is chlorinated water and repeated drying cycles and the requirement written into the brief was chlorine resistance with reliable shape retention. Fabric was selected on that basis rather than on price alone.
Fabric under evaluation
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Fabric | Silver Ion Antibacterial Knit |
| Composition | nylon spandex with silver ion filament |
| Weight | 250 GSM |
| Width | 160 cm |
| Primary function | stops the bacteria that turn sweat into odour |
| Target | bacterial reduction above 99% |
| Test method | ISO 20743 |
| Additional note | performance retained after 30 home washes |
| Certification | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 |
Silver Ion Antibacterial Knit close-up showing the fabric surface
Method
Fabric was abraded to ASTM D4966 against both a standard wool abradant and the actual contact surface used in daily pool sessions for children and adults. Seam strength was tested to ISO 13936-2 in parallel.
Results
The fabric passed the agreed cycle count with no yarn breakage and seam opening stayed inside the 6 mm limit. Pilling remained at grade 4 or above at the end of the test.
Evaluation session with the Kestrel Sport team
Where wear appeared
Any surface change appeared first under chlorinated water and repeated drying cycles, which is expected and is why we recommend panel placement rather than a single fabric across the whole garment.
Service life estimate
On this data the garment should complete a full competitive season before appearance becomes a reason to replace it, which is the commercial target Kestrel Sport set at the start.
Test records and inspection notes for the Swim School Programme
Scorecard
| Criterion | Result |
|---|---|
| Abrasion cycles | 4.9 / 5 |
| Pilling grade | 4.5 / 5 |
| Seam strength | 4.6 / 5 |
| Appearance | 4.3 / 5 |
| Estimated service life | 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 Sweden
Verdict and recommendation
Durability is sufficient for the intended use. Keep the current construction and revisit only if the garment moves into a higher abrasion category. For Kestrel Sport the practical next steps are to keep the current specification for the repeat, retain the shade standard, and issue ISO 20743 results with every lot so any claim can be supported with data.
