Brave Soldier Friction Zone

by Brave Soldier

Product Features

• Superior anti-chafing
• Cold water and sweat resistant
• Occlusive silicone/botanical barrier protects and conditions skin for hours
• Helps prevent blisters and reduce rash irritations

Product Description

Endurance sports formula. No petrolatum so safe for wet suits. Long lasting protection from any sports activity where gear chafing of your skin is a problem. Antibacterial formula helps prevent minor skin irritations.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001F1FVPC
• Item model number: 5017
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,180 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When you're itching to go riding, December 22, 2008

By 

John P. Thiel "John T." (Astoria, Queens, New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

Your endurance and enjoyment of cycling or running isn't purely a matter of conditioning and mental toughness; the more you can do to make yourself comfortable without it infringing on your performance, the better, faster, and longer you will be able to go in endurance sports.

I had a chronic case of heat rash and chaffing 'down there' for about two decades until I started using Friction Zone. I did try other creams and such, but none worked so well as Friction Zone on the rash resulting from the heat and moisture of long days on the saddle or running, as well as the chaffing and itching that would result.

Friction Zone is both slippery and tacky enough to prevent these maladies as well as stay on all day with a single application. It also smells rather nice and keeps your privates from stinking like a third armpit--after all, you can't put antiperspirant 'down there' (and yes, I did actually try that--trust me on this one).

Also note that Friction Zone will not damage or stain your clothing, and comes out completely in the laundry.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: Some things that didn't work in my experience for comparison:

Talc/baby powder and the like is OK as a deodorant and to keep you comfortable in your summer clothing, but during sports it's really useless;

Aveeno moisturizer is a good treatment for chaffing, but again not something that's useful when you're active (not slippery enough and has no protective function for your skin with regard to friction);

Jock itch powder/cream is completely useless because the problem is not a fungal infection--it's the moisture followed by dried out, flaky skin. Jock itch powder/cream can actually make the problem worse in my experience;

Other chamois creams and lotions meant to treat what is essentially diaper rash didn't do a damn thing except stain my expensive cycling clothes and clog up the wicking function of performance fabrics;

KY Jelly, I did not try, but don't imagine it would stay on long enough for an all day effort and would need to be reapplied.

APPLICATION and TIPS: You don't need to put gobs of this stuff on for it to work properly. In fact you just want a thin layer right where saddle and rider interact with each other. For you guys I recommend you also spread some futher up, to the left and right of your 'ball and cannon,' your 'Jolly Rodger and crew,' your 'One Eyed Jack and . . .' you get the idea. It's also good--and this note is particularly for women--wherever you may have straps and seems rubbing your skin (such as your sports bra, panty line, or a heart rate monitor strap).

Give the container a bit of a shake before you squeeze some out because the ingredients may have separated a bit. And when you sqeeze a dab out it should only be the size of an U.S. nickel.

Apply with only one hand--especially if you're married--because you need the other hand to be free to turn on the faucet and dispense soap without getting sticky/slippery goo all over everything.

Spread it on, wash your hands, put on your sports clothes and ride or run.

CAVEATS: Don't apply this to places that you don't want to be friction free, such as your feet and hands. Even if you're experiencing chaffing in these areas, you don't want to be struggling to keep your hands in place and putting more effort than necessary into running or pedalling because your slipping around in your gloves and shoes.

Though this stuff works great for treating skin overall, Aveeno moisturizer works just as well chaffing and heat rash when you're not in the middle of doing sports. Brave Soldier antiseptic first aid cream also works great on rashes and abrasions.

BOTTOM LINE: This is great stuff for preventing and treating rash and chaffing while doing sports, and need only be applied once for an entire day--even if you're doing a century ride or marathon. A little definitely goes a long way.

Also, by increasing your comfort during sports you're also improving your endurance. Forget ergonomic everything (they're just a gimmick and actually diminish performance in my experience), 'comfort saddles,' gel seat covers and the like. The more you ride or run, the more accustomed your body will be to that activity. On the bike, your butt muscles will get stronger and it will no longer feel like you're sitting on a brick; and new runners will feel better and better as they continue to run season after season and get the right clothing and equipment.

Especially with regard to so-called 'comfort saddles' I have to say I find them the opposite, because the cushy padding causes the saddle to cut off my surface circulation and that results in pain and cramping like sitting in a bad movie theatre seat for a couple of hours.

It's better to get the right cycling/running shorts and apply this cream than to go out and spend silly amounts of money on technical solutions that avid athetes don't actually use.

Brave Soldier makes great stuff, and I'll be using it as long as they keep making it. And thank goodness Amazon now sells this with free super saver shipping besides.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 9 miles and no chub rub, August 7, 2011

By 

Sabrina L. Downard "niqui" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brave Soldier Friction Zone (Health and Beauty)

As a triathlete and aspiring distance runner, and as a woman who weighs north of 200 lbs. and has had thunderthighs since early adolescence, chafe is a serious issue for me. I've been using Bodyglide, which is fine, but when you have to stop every 4 miles to reapply, it loses its charm rapidly. The first time I used Brave Soldier Friction Zone was like a revelation. I'd say it was like a choir of angels came to sing about how my thighs weren't chafing, except for the part where I never even realized until I got home. There was no heated inner-thigh reminder of impending doom, no stopping to reapply, no insistent need to yank my shorts back into place every five minutes -- it was just running for 6, or 8, or 9 miles. I don't even fear a half marathon now. I don't know how I made it as long as I did before discovering this stuff. This is what I use when I'm waging war against chafe... and I intend to win.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cycling Butter I have found, June 3, 2011

By 

M. Sullivan "Live Life" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brave Soldier Friction Zone (Health and Beauty)

Brave Soldier Friction Zone is the best chamois butter I have found yet. Last for long rides. Keeps sores and other skin problems at bay in a sensitive high friction area. A little goes along way. It is easier and cleaner to twist the cap off and get a squeeze out instead of using the flip cap. The cream does clump up over time in the tube but it doesn't seem to affect performance once spread on.
Brave Soldier makes great stuff. Try the antibiotic ointment for wound healing, nothing better.

A video review would make this review X rated.