NIKE LASER PREMIUM GAME TEAMWEAR JERSEY & SHORTS REVIEW
By Jonne Keränen
Over the recent years Nike, along with other brands such as Adidas and Puma, has started to release the authentic player version shirts for the general replica shirt markets. From a business point of view this can be seen as an act to try to increase the profit margins of these products. For consumers this means a wider range of products that can be seen as a positive development. Basically for more money you get some added performance features but if you don’t want to spend there are also cheaper options available with the same style as the authentic ones.
Manufacturers also offer teamwear shirts with same performance features that the authentic player version shirts have – or at least they claim that the teamwear shirts have these advanced features. In this review a Nike Laser Premium Game teamwear jersey (size large) is compared to different Nike authentic player version club and country jerseys (all size large). As a bonus, a pair of Nike teamwear shorts are compared to Nike replica shorts.
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Nike Laser Premium Game teamwear jersey front.
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Nike Laser Premium Game teamwear jersey back.
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Nike authentic player version shirts.
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Nike teamwear shorts.
STYLE
The Nike Laser Premium Game jersey basically has the same style as the current Nike Brazil shirts. From a distance you can’t really notice any significant differences to authentic player shirts. Style wise the shirt has nothing special, it might even be seen a little boring. Some people might be put off by the big panels on the cuffs.
FIT
Nike claims that the Laser Premium Game jersey tight performance fit. In reality it’s not even close. The Nike authentic player version shirts are a perfect example of shirts with tight performance fit. They hug the form of your body but are not uncomfortably tight. Depending on different types of Dri-Fit material they can also stretch a little. The Laser Premium Game jersey however has more of a fit of a normal Nike replica jersey. The fit is very loose and baggy. Of course you could buy the shirt in a smaller size but still you won’t get that tight body hugging fit of an authentic Nike player version shirt.
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The difference in fit can clearly be seen in this picture.
MATERIAL
Almost all Nike football shirts are made out of Nike’s Dri-Fit material. However Dri-Fit is not a unambiguous material. Dri-Fit can be tough or soft, it can stretch or in some products it doesn’t stretch at all. If Nike says that some product is made out of Dri-Fit you really don’t know what you get before you can test the product. Though usually Dri-Fit has reasonable sweat wicking capabilities it is very light. Over recent years Nike has started to use recycled polyester in their products. Although this might be seen as a marketing trick the thought is nice.
The material on the Laser Premium Game jersey is 100% recycled polyester Dri-Fit. It’s quite close to same as on the Nike authentic player version shirts or replica shirts. It’s stretchy but you won’t get any benefits from that since the fit is so baggy. The material feels very light but not specially comfortable. The material is very thin and seems a bit cheap. Some Nike authentic shirts have some cotton added to the material (for example 12-13 Holland away authentic shirt) that makes the feel of the shirts very comfortable. The cotton can be clearly seen from the different color tone on the inside of the shirt. The authentic player version shirts usually have a bit more thicker material than normal shirts. That makes the shirts feel stronger and not so cheap as on replica or teamwear shirts. Still there is a lot of variation between the materials on different Nike authentic player version shirts. Some shirts (for example 11-12 Inter and Juventus home shirts) don’t stretch at all while some (for example 11-12 Brazil home shirt) has very stretchy material.
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Nike Laser Premium Game teamwear jersey front and back material.
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Added cotton can be seen when the shirt is turned inside out (white tone color).
CONSTRUCTION
The Laser Premium Game jersey has different materials on front and back. On the front you have the basic Dri-Fit material and on the back a mesh panel. The construction of the shirt seems to be very simple like on any other regular Nike Dri-Fit shirt. The shirt has laser-cut holes under the arms for better heat management. This is maybe the only common thing that the shirt has with Nike’s authentic player version shirts. One additional feature that has been popular on Nike authentic shirts are plastic t-bars on the shoulders of the shirts. The purpose of these t-bars is to make the seams stronger and more durable. In addition they are also a style feature making the shirt look better and differing it from regular shirts. The Laser Premium Game jersey doesn’t have the t-bars making it feel yet more like a regular shirt. In addition the jersey has embroidered Nike Swoosh on the front. On Nike authentic shirts all the logos are printed reducing weight (although the effect is minimal in reality).
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Laser-cut holes under the arms.
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T-bar on Holland away shirt.
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T-bar & printed Swoosh on Brazil home shirt.
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Nike Laser Premium Game teamwear jersey embroidered Swoosh.
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Printed logos on Holland away shirt.