PlayBrave clothes and accessories

rosen88

Rookie
A little more than a week ago I got the chance to try out clothes from the new brand PlayBrave. My name is Patrik Rosenholm and I am a swedish tennis player that has been ranked as high as 723. When I saw on TW that a new brand has made specific tennis clothing in merino wool I got excited. My mother has been teaching textile handicraft in school for almost 40 years and she has been telling me since I began playing tennis that she can not understand why nobody tries to make a breatheable and moisture wicking shirt out of a natural fiber like wool. So I contacted PlayBrave and after some e-mailing back and forth about the tennis clothes and performance I got some garments and acessories shipped to me in Sweden. Since I have read two threads here on TT about clothes from PlayBrave I thought I should post my thoughts about them.

Blake Merino Polo
Merino wool is with out a doubt the best material you can use to make a shirt for playing tennis in, or any other sport for that matter. The wool is in a way like polyester in that it wicks a way the moisture. I have never been a big fan of playing in cotton due to the fact that it bacomes heavy by absorbing the sweat from your body. Neither wool nor polyester does that. The merino wool also has some fantastic characteristics in that it is keeping you warm when it is cold outside and keeping you cool when it is hot outside. Moreover, the wool in the polo is elastic and lightweight. But the best thing for players like me traveling around the world playing tournaments is that it does not smell. Wool wicks away the sweat and in some way it also keeps the bacteria that causes odor away from growing. Of course it is also macchine washable, has UV- protection and sustainable due to the fact that it is biodegradable. I can tell you that I have never worn a shirt this comfortable on a tennis court, and I have been sponsored by brands like Lacoste, Lotto and Under Armour. The most amazing thing with PlayBrave is its attention to detail. The packaging the clothes arrived in and the tag that tells you about the logo and the philosophy of the brand screams quality. The minimalistic design and the safety pin used instead of the usually plastic that connects the tag to the garment is something that atleast tells me that this shirt is going to be of high quality. Then we have the buttons on the polo and the stiching. As I said, my mother has been teaching textile handicraft in school for almost 40 years and she thought that all the garments I recevied from PlayBrave were made to a very high standard. No loose threads and made out of first class materials was what she said. I have some more positive thing to say about the Blake Merino Polo. Usually you will find a tag behind your neck while wearing a polo. A tag telling you the size of the shirt and some more information. PlayBrave removed this tag and insted printed the details on the inside of the polo. This eliminates the rash some people can get from that tag. Also the polo has an extra layer of textile at the part where the collar and the rest of the shirt is sewed together to reduce the chance that the stiches will brake apart. The logos on the polo is made out of plastic and I think glued to the shirt. This means that there is no stiching inside the shirt. I do have one negative thing to say about the Blake Merino Polo. I did find the button placement not to my liking. I would like the second button to be place a little bit higher up so that the shirt will have a tighter fit in around the neck and shoulder area. This is of coruse just nitty picking and I really think this polo is the best shirt I have worn on a tennis court.

Terence Technical Tee
This shirt recived the same attention to details from PlayBrave and the only difference from the Blake polo is that the Teraence Tee is not a polo and is made out of polyester. The ony think I can add about this shirt is that it is that the polyester feels much softer than my Lacoste or Under Armour shirts. I do not know why but it feels better on teh skin to me. As with the Blake Merino Polo I have one thing that I would like to point out as someting negative. And it is that I feel like the size of the Terence Technical Tee is a bit larger than the Blake Merino Polo. I would like the to shirts to fit exactly the same.

Luther Athletic Short
Very nice and deep pockets that easily carries a tennisball and prevents it from hoping out. The shorts are elastic and have some very nice side panels and a part in the crotch that are made out of mesh and is extra elastic. But the big thing about the Luther Athletic Short is the Scothguard that makes the shorts water resistant. If you spill something on the shorts it will just run off then. This creates a non smelly pair of shorts. One thing about the details again. The cord used to tighten the fit of the shorts in the waist is a flat one made out of cotton. It is maybe nothing you may recognize at a first glance but it is much easier to tie a wide, flat, cotton cord than a round one that most brands use.

Max Fleece Tank
This vest is light weight and made out of eleastic fleece. I do not use some extralayer when warming up... before trying the Max Fleece Tank. When playing in this garment I do not get cold and the vest is so light that I do not even feel that I have anything more than a T-shirt on me. This vest is really nice to wear during warm up.

Pierce Fleece Jacket
Just like the Max Tank this jacket is made out of extreme light weight fleece. Apart from being warm, it has pre bent elbow shaping making it more comfortable to play in and also this jacket has some thumb holes to keep you hands warm when you are not playing.The zipper has some kind of textile on it to prevent anything from getting through. A nice touch I think. I almost forgot to include that PlayBrave have done a smart little thing of putting some textile on top of the zipper so that the zipper will not touch your skin and irritate it. A perfect jacket to wear off the court and between matches.

Marcus Merino Gilet
This vest is made of merino fleece and has the same characteristics as the Blake Merino Polo. But of course it is thicker and warmer. The zipper has textile on top of it just like the Pierce Fleece jacket. This is a piece of clothing I will be wearing a lot when we start playing outdoors again here in Sweden in the end of april.

Samson Softshell Jacket
This is a polyester jacket that is water and wind resistant making it good to wear during really cold wether or when traveling to and from matches and practice. It has a two way zipper so when you sit down you can use the lower zipper to make it more comfortable. The Samson Jacket also has a fleece-lining making it warm and a plastic layer on top of the zipper to make it totally water proof. Just like the Pierce Fleece Tank this jacket has pre bent elbow shaping so that it is easier to wear while playing. Last but not least this jacket has some zippers under the arms for ventilation and also to increase the range of motion when you are playing.

I also recived some wristband made from cotton from PlayBrave. They are thinner than my Lacoste, Under Armour and Lotto ones but they do absorb all the sweat and retain their shape after macchine washing them. I have not been using them long enough to say that they are better or worse than anything else I have tried before. But since the other stuff I have tested from PlayBrave have been very nice I doubt that the wrist bands are not as good.

One thing that PlayBrave have developed that no other brand has is a glove for playing tennis in. The glove is made out of the same fabric as the Samson Softshell Jacket. I have not tried the glove and I belived when I first saw it that it would not work or bring anything useful to the table so to speak. But now I could se myself wearing it during the first couple of weeks when I start playing outdoors again to keep my hands warm.
 
No way in Hades am I going to pay $110-125 for a tennis polo. That'll get me 5-10 wicking shirts.

If you want one, help yourself.
 
It will be very difficult to get many to foot the bill for these products. Simply too expensive. No amount of marketing will change the bottom line. I spend way too much money on tennis clothes and still wouldn't consider spending that much for one item. Just my opinion.
 
It will be very difficult to get many to foot the bill for these products. Simply too expensive. No amount of marketing will change the bottom line. I spend way too much money on tennis clothes and still wouldn't consider spending that much for one item. Just my opinion.

It is my opinion as well. Is a merino wool shirt more comfortable? Of better quality? Will it last longer? Does it feel better to play in? Does it look better Will I play better in it? It think I could answer yes to those questions after trying one out, BUT is it so much better that it is worth 125 dollars? That is the question you have to answer.
 
I just wanted to let you guys know that I have been practicing with Söderling for the last five days. I was wearing PlayBrave during the training sessions and I can tell you that I felt dryer and more comfortable in my merino polo than I usually do when I wear some kind of Dri-Fit garment.

If you would like to watch a bit of the practice here is a video :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04V3A8rODfU
 
I just wanted to let you guys know that I have been practicing with Söderling for the last five days. I was wearing PlayBrave during the training sessions and I can tell you that I felt dryer and more comfortable in my merino polo than I usually do when I wear some kind of Dri-Fit garment.

If you would like to watch a bit of the practice here is a video :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04V3A8rODfU

Impressive, must of enjoyed the opportunity. you should post this in the general pro discussion.

There is another swede here Themagicianofprecison who was a former pro, you might know him.

I notice in the drill where you were hitting passing shots Sod was coming to the net he didnt get a lot over the net. It was only a small extract but anyway do you find him capable at the net? Gets a lot of stick on here as one of the worst volleyers in the top 10.
 
My question would be: Why is Sod hitting everything to you fh?

@rovex: Sod was playing maybe at 50%. He can kill every single ball like those...
 
My question would be: Why is Sod hitting everything to you fh?

@rovex: Sod was playing maybe at 50%. He can kill every single ball like those...

Because I am trying to run around my backhand playing only forehands. In that tempo I have to try to hit my best shot all the time. Yeah he could probably kill every ball during the warm up :P... But anyway when I play my best and he is a little bit unfocus I do keep up with him. I win one or two times out of ten if we play without serve to from the backcourt. We haven't played that much with serve thou. The last time we played some games I was down 6-5 and serving when the time was up. It was the day before his first round of Stockholm Open. So, as I said if I am playing my best tennis I may be able to get it to a tiebreak. But then again when I am a little bit unfocus and he is playing good it is almost impossible to hold serve.
 
Because I am trying to run around my backhand playing only forehands. In that tempo I have to try to hit my best shot all the time. Yeah he could probably kill every ball during the warm up :P... But anyway when I play my best and he is a little bit unfocus I do keep up with him. I win one or two times out of ten if we play without serve to from the backcourt. We haven't played that much with serve thou. The last time we played some games I was down 6-5 and serving when the time was up. It was the day before his first round of Stockholm Open. So, as I said if I am playing my best tennis I may be able to get it to a tiebreak. But then again when I am a little bit unfocus and he is playing good it is almost impossible to hold serve.

Did you ever get close to breaking his serve in that set? :)
 
Impressive, must of enjoyed the opportunity. you should post this in the general pro discussion.

There is another swede here Themagicianofprecison who was a former pro, you might know him.

I notice in the drill where you were hitting passing shots Sod was coming to the net he didnt get a lot over the net. It was only a small extract but anyway do you find him capable at the net? Gets a lot of stick on here as one of the worst volleyers in the top 10.

I do not plan to post it anywhere else. I do not feel like getting any more negative comments from people (thanks for your positive one :).). I want to focus all my energy on my tennis.

One of my best shots is my running forehand so when he gets to the net I will hit a hard ball down low or wide. But I still feel like his volleys is lagging behind his other strokes. Since last time we played (1 month ago) he has started to move much better at the net. His volleys are better then almost everybody outside the top 100. I know that on TV it does look like he is not that good at the net, but I will tell you that when he attacks you do get afraid and have to play a great shot to win the point.
 
I did have one breakpoint and got the ball in play but lost it. On the other hand he did not have any chances to break me :P.


Good luck, in your carrer.You playing in Rotterdam? Do you ever come over to america and play the us open series?
 
Because I am trying to run around my backhand playing only forehands. In that tempo I have to try to hit my best shot all the time. Yeah he could probably kill every ball during the warm up :P... But anyway when I play my best and he is a little bit unfocus I do keep up with him. I win one or two times out of ten if we play without serve to from the backcourt. We haven't played that much with serve thou. The last time we played some games I was down 6-5 and serving when the time was up. It was the day before his first round of Stockholm Open. So, as I said if I am playing my best tennis I may be able to get it to a tiebreak. But then again when I am a little bit unfocus and he is playing good it is almost impossible to hold serve.

Yep, Rafa and Fed said pretty much the same thing. Power to you! :D
Btw, I do appreciate your optimism ;)
 
I did have one breakpoint and got the ball in play but lost it. On the other hand he did not have any chances to break me :P.

Rosen, thanks for sharing the vid. You are playing at a level many on this board can only wish for. Good luck. Glad you like the Play Brave--I have enjoyed the vest. You may have convinced me to try the shirt. Take care.
 
I also own some playbrave products!

Sophia Softshell: This jacket is the whole package. It is warm, wind resistant, and light, and it has many cool features like a flap of fabric at the top of the zipper so it doesn't constantly scratch your face. Also, the elbows are very roomy so i wasn't afraid of stretching the jacket out of place by bending my elbows. The look of the jacket is very sleek and cool with the shiny welded logo. The armpit zips were both useful in airing out the underarm area and providing extra reach when warming up with a jacket on. There are elastic strings to adjust the waist area of the jacket.

microfleece jacket: The most alarming thing about this jacket is the lightness. It's as heavy as a pair of socks. Despite the lightness, of the jacket, it's very warm and it includes the roomy elbow but no armpit zips. Something it does have that the Sophia Softshell doesn't is thumbholes. It's a basic microfleece without bulk and the logo is embroidered.

Merino Polo: You would think that wool is cottony and scratchy but it actually felt like a silky blend between dryfit cotton. The shoulders have a girly ruching and rounded collar. It kept me dry and cool in a couple 3 hour matches despite the fact that i wore the black one in beaming sunlight. The neck has a zipper instead of buttons which is a cool look and more easy to adjust.

Technical Tee: I would say this shirt is a regular dry fit shirt but slightly thicker and more durable feeling. It feels very cool against the skin and has the welded logo. The torso is slightly looser than the polo shirt's torso area.

Skirt: This skirt is perfect all around. There is a mesh panel on the upper butt area so sweat does not build up there. There are some other mesn panels in the front. The attatched shorts are extremelly comfortable because unlike other brands, they aren't tight and short, they're slightly longer and looser but short enough so they don't peek out under the skirt and not loose enough to not hold the ball. There are attached ball holders on the side of the spandex underneath.

Backhand glove: This glove is pretty cool because it is a softshell material with the welded logo on the back of the hand but there is no material at the palm. Instead, there are 4 loops for all the fingers except the thumb and each loop has a rubber grippy strip so the racket doesn't slip. It is useful for cold winters when gloves hinder your play but being bare handed makes your hands numb.

Long Pants: These pants are made of a papery dry-fit material and they are reasonably fitted. They are a very slight bootcut style pant with a zipper from the bottom of the pant to the lower thigh for ease of removing. It's basically a windpant.

Hoodie: This sweatshirt is very simple. It's a classic hoodie from any brand but slightly thicker and more well made. The outside does not feel much like soft fleece but more like the outside of the softshell material. There is ribbing at the neck for detail and an embroidered logo. It's perfect for the court or on the street.

The sweatband, towel, and bandana are all pretty regular except the logo gives them an added cool factor.

All the clothes were exactly true to size to what i wore from nike and adidas.
 
Hey ctennis10, good copy-paste job!!! Do they pay well viral marketing internet warriors?

Yeah, its pretty amazing. How many tennis message boards are there out there that if you are going to go to the trouble of doing a write up like this that you couldn't go the extra step and be a little smarter about it? Here we are on TW, one of, if not the busiest Tennis forum on the web, and this company is a tennis apparel company selling via TW, and they can't find someone that knows enough about tennis to rack up 20 or so posts before surreptitiously slipping in a product endorsement for an item or two? Then a few more over time?

But trying to shoot the whole wad by mentioning eleven items in one post?! And then make it your first post?! Then top it off by making post #2 identical to post #1?! How daft do you think your potential customer market is?! Especially the high end market you are evidently targeting?!

I love Smart Wool socks so I assume your items are quite nice if you are using high quality merino wool but if you are going to try to plant some marketing in tennis forums put a little effort into it. I hope you put more effort into the design and production of your clothing. ;)

BTW, if I do a Google search for "Play Brave apparel" your company website doesn't even pop up...at all...just the two TW threads pop up! Might want to read up on "search engine optimization" or hire someone.
 
I checked the Play Brave selection. Sorry but the color schemes doesnt attract me. Too plain and been there done that with so many brands.

May be when the selection improves i might consider them. Also the price is high. Ofcourse if the quality is good, it might be alright but it needs to be proven.

How about giving some stuff on sale until the brand picks up?
 
I actually tried all those products and I made an account so I could post my reviews here.. and I copy pasted because there were 2 threads on it... if you didn't appreciate it, you didn't have to reply
 
I actually tried all those products and I made an account so I could post my reviews here.. and I copy pasted because there were 2 threads on it... if you didn't appreciate it, you didn't have to reply

If that's the case I apologize. One sees a very similar type of post fairly regularly if one hangs out in online forums long enough. A product is mentioned and along comes a new poster who writes glowingly about the product with their first post and then are never heard from again.

In your first post you stated you "own some playbrave products!" and then go on to list eleven! In your last post you state you "actually tried all those products" which is of course different than owning and might have been a bit more believable. Granted you said "some" in your first post but its easy to see one would assume, mistakenly in this case evidently, the list that followed that statement would be the items you own.

Where did you try them on? Was it in the U.S.? Do they have retail outlets? Did you order them online and then return them?...if so why? Tennis Warehouse doesn't seem to carry all the items you listed, where else can one buy or try them? Is there a reason you never posted about the apparel you "wore from Nike and adidas"?
 
Man alive....thats some serious good hitting there!!!
I dunno if I could rally like that, for sure I'd get nervous rallying with the World no:5 in the world......that would seriously be in my mind, you look relaxed.....really cool, is this your first time hitting with Soderling? Or have you hit with him in the past? Thanks for posting the video....the "KABOOM" makes it all worth while!

Cheers!
 
Man alive....thats some serious good hitting there!!!
I dunno if I could rally like that, for sure I'd get nervous rallying with the World no:5 in the world......that would seriously be in my mind, you look relaxed.....really cool, is this your first time hitting with Soderling? Or have you hit with him in the past? Thanks for posting the video....the "KABOOM" makes it all worth while!

Cheers!

No, I have practiced with him before. That was actually the first of 6 days of pratctice with Robin. The day after our last practice session he went to Rotterdam. He did win that tournament and he also won the next one. So now he is 17 to 1 this year I think. Preatty good stats :).
 
I never posted about nike or adidas because they are big brands and they have always been popular. Everyone buys them without having to read a review. But Playbrave is a new brand and I liked it a lot when I tried it. So far you can only get the items sold on tenniswarehouse in America. I wore them to a couple junior tournaments and got some questions on the products. I like the company and wanted to help it out and it's a European brand so you know it's quality stuff. Also, even if you think it might be cheesy, if you go on their website, they have a brand philosophy which to me, is pretty inspiring.
 
It will be very difficult to get many to foot the bill for these products. Simply too expensive. No amount of marketing will change the bottom line. I spend way too much money on tennis clothes and still wouldn't consider spending that much for one item. Just my opinion.
Look how overpriced racquets are….
 
Back
Top