In the first of (hopefully) many to come, it is time for FBR to dive into some kit, jerseys, training kit reviews. I have been fortunate enough to team up with Classic Football Shirts to bring you this review, and the next kit review posted. No matter if you are located in England where CFS is located or stateside like myself, CFS has the best prices on all of your favorite football kits. CFS has everything from on field player issue kits, to staff training pants and everything in between. If you want to check out their fine selection, click the link below and tell them FBR sent you!
Classic Football Shirts Website
To start off the series here on the FBR section of the Meet Me in the Middle site, I selected the 2012-13 QPR (Queen’s Park Rangers) 3rd kit made by Lotto.
Design: Lotto and QPR designed a simple, but clean looking kit that would be used as the 3rd kit option for the 2012-13 season. The Sky Blue color makes up the majority of the kit to contrast from the Home and Away kits offered in the same year. OF course the QPR crest is proudly displayed over the heart with a Lotto logo that is made up of the black bar and a Red square with the logo inside of it over the right side of the chest. The Navy Blue hoop across the middle of the chest is trimmed with white on the bottom to add even more contrast from the Blues. A Red “Air Asia” logo is the sponsor printed on the chest, as the airline was the main sponsor for QPR from 2012-16 with this being the first season the shirt featured “Air Asia” on it. The collar is Navy Blue that rises higher on the back of the neck with “Queens Park Rangers” in raised white letters printed. The sleeves features a large Navy stripe running down towards the end of the sleeve that goes the width of the sleeve cup and works across the armpit to the chest Hoop. A Lotto logo is placed on both sleeves that feature a Red square with the logo inside of the square in White.
Comfort: I was personally shocked to find out how comfortable the kit actually was. The fit around the shoulders felt a nice and relaxed, which is not often found in some kits, making this feel even more comfortable. As someone with rather broad shoulders, this is something I noticed right away. The kit does not fit too tightly around the stomach and back which allows for more people to fit into the kit that may have issues with a tighter fitting Nike or adidas kit. Overall, the material is extremely comfortable to wear and breathable enough to wear in a match.
Tech: Although I could not find exact details on the technology put into the kit, I just wanted to touch on how the kit felt compared to others. The material is breathable and lightweight compared to some of the other kits offered at this time. While it is the Replica version, it still offers a nice lightweight feel while not hugging tightly on the body. The blue hoop going across the middle is a more breathable material that is a flexible mesh material to offer a way to cool down.
Fit: As a replica kit, it will not be the same exact kit seen on field that the players wore that season. However, the kit feels like a higher quality replica kit than you will find from Nike. The fit is tight, but if you get the right size, it feels perfect around the shoulders and chest. I am 6’1 with an athletic build so I went with an XL to have the fit I personally prefer which is a little loose to have more breathability also to wear the kit both on and off the pitch without it being too tight. No matter how tall, short, skinny, any size, this shirt fits great for all soccer fans in all shapes and sizes.
Price: Here in the pricing section, I always will include what the launch price of the kit was, to what you can find it for current day. That way you can get a feel for not only how the kit has aged with time, how rare it is, and where you can find one for yourself. The QPR 12-13 Third kit can be purchased from CFS for only 7.99£. That’s only $10.41 here in the states. That is better that what you will find on any sale rack anywhere you physically try and find a new kit. If you are looking for incredible kit deals on amazing sale prices, Classic Football Shirts is the place to go.
Overall: 4/5. Although these ratings are my personal opinions, I have been blessed enough to own and be able to compare plenty of kits in my lifetime and the ratings compare to overall feelings from the categories above. For the price, comfort level, and being one of the only folks in the states you will see walking around with a QPR shirt, makes this a win for me. For a price under 10£, ($13), the QPR kit both looks superb, and offers a nice comfort that can be worn from playing to being casually worn around town in support of your club, or to just show off the QPR kit hardly anyone else you see will have.
Manchester City-esque shirt