Review: PUMA v1.11 Clothing Range

Sportswear giant PUMA has launched the PUMA v1.11 Clothing Range (now available at World Soccer Shop) to complement its new v1.11 soccer boots. Key items in the line include the PUMA v1.11 Tech Tee, Knit Bermuda Shorts and Lightweight Woven Top. Over the past few days we’ve had a chance to look at these in-person by giving them runs at the gym and on the training pitch. Here’s what we thought.

PUMA v1.11 Tech Tee

Absolutely stylish in brilliant green, navy and white colorways, the extra lightweight PUMA v1.11 Tech Tee feels as good as it looks. In fact, its light weight makes it feel like you’ve not got anything on. It also has excellent ventilation via the use of polyester mesh for its side panels and back and PUMA’s unique v.11 mesh on its front.

During our weights workout and following soccer training session with the v1.11 Tech Tee, we found that the PUMA USP technology used for it absorbs sweats rapidly yet does not retain it through a quick moisture evaporation mechanism.

Our favorite visual features of the navy version of the training top that we wore were the bright green accents in the neck and side areas (great for being spotted on the fieldby teammates), the v.11 print that is part of the fabric on the front and v.11 graphic on one side of the shirt. Through in a club badge and a printed number on the PUMA v1.11. Tech Tee and you’ve got one of the best looking kits of 2011/12.

Lasty, our tester tested his usual size of US Large for the Tech Tee and found it to fit true to size. If you’d like a tighter fit (as many guys do nowadays) a size down should work well for you.

Knit Bermuda Shorts

Another lightweight gem, the PUMA v1.11 Knit Bermuda Shorts also feel like you’ve got nothing on and pull sweat as well as the Tech Tee. However, their mesh lining avoids the uncomfortable, clingy “wet shorts” feel that might occur before the sweat evaporates or when playing in the rain.

While the v.11 Knit Bermuda Shorts have a somewhat tamer design that the Tech Tee, the navy version does have bright green stripes on its front for some spunk. Throw in the pockets on the shorts, they become multifunctional and can be used for soccer, hiking, casual wear and indoor and outdoor training runs.

In terms of size, our tester who has a 31″ waist and is somewhere between a size Medium and Large for shorts found that the size Large v1.11. Knit Bermuda Shorts fit him well. He did have to use the built in draw strings to tighten them up a bit during his soccer runout for an optimum fit however.

Lightweight Woven Top

The navy PUMA v1.11 Lightweight Woven Top stands out from other warm-up / cool weather training tops on the market via well-place bright green accents on its waist, cuffs, zipper, inside hood and side panels. The result is an eye catcher for when working out in cooler weather.

The v1.11 Lightweight Woven Top is light enough to not affect your speed when running yet insulated enough to keep you warm during those Autumn and early Winter training activities. It also has a velcro-fastened pouch at its front for storing items such as keys or ID when out on a run or even hike. When the inevitable happens and you get hot while running, training or playing in a pickup match then the front zipper comes down to mid-chest to allow additional air into the torso area.

While we could not test the v1.11 Lightweight Woven Top in cooler weather, we did use it for some night time ballwork. We found that its polyester inner shell and mesh overlay pulls moisture very effectively and dry as quickly as the v1.11 Tech Tee and Knit Bermuda Shorts. All in all, another brilliant product from the designers a PUMA.

Lastly, we did find the PUMA v1.11 Lightweight Woven Top to fit through to size. However, because this is a pullover designed to be adjusted for various temperature conditions, we do not recommend going a size down for a tighter fit.

Thanks to the always incomparable Heather B. for making this review possible!