rat.bastard.reviews: Russian Cold Camo (RCC)#2 SSO SMERSH
Disclosure: I have risen once again to drop knowledge on the fucking dome piece of every boy, girl, and androgynous space creature interested In load Bearing equipment(LBE) with the force of a 9lb hammer. With that being said a very good friend of the bastard has hooked up with me to sponsor a second review, this time focusing on the ATACS FG SSO SMERSH available from Russian Cold Camo (RCC).This Item was received free of charge in exchange for an HONEST review, If you are new here and have any doubt on the authenticity of that statement I encourage you to read past reviews; I fuckin' call em' bud. Cheers!
Initial Impression: Anyone who's anybody in the Tacticool fashion scene knows that Load bearing equipment is the new hotness, microrig's are out, and vintage kit is way kitch. Don't believe me? take a look at all the phat-bottom boys on the gram running rhinestone LBE and bedazzled SKS'. That's right finally all the Dad-bod Dilf's like myself have a moment to bask in the lime-light with RCC's availability of the SSO SMERSH. First things first this has been a sexy fucking look since its introduction even on curvy boys like myself, but they are also practical, functional and high quality kit you should feel good about using in a real world scenario or showing off for the boys at the weekly 7-11 midnight gag n' rally.
Breakdown: The Smersh is based off of equipment used by special forces units of the Russian armed forces, the interior Ministry, the FSB and other law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation and holy fucking shit fellas, SSO has hit it out of the park again with this one. its a functional system compromised of several pieces including the Shoulder straps PLSE MOLLE mount, MOLLE base belt with hip platform attachment, the Tactical belt " RS-31", A Food belt bag SPP Mall, Pouch for relief, PRG1 MOLLE - 2pcs, and AK 2 MOLLE - 4pcs. The fit and finish is of the absolute highest quality; the materials are very nice and the design is intelligent. When I first felt the polyamide straps I was thinking that I was going to be a bit underwhelmed since the thickness didn't match the experience that I have had with military grade webbed nylon/Cordura straps however by design the strapping doubles over on itself several times making it very durable and secure. Every other piece of this system is overbuilt to the point I think outside of spine snapping snag the SMERSH will likely outlive it's owner. The camo pattern and coloration hold well on the 100% polyamide material and there are several camo variations available for purchase through RCC, I went with the ATACS-FG but the Olive was honestly the most appealing aesthetically.
Storage, I managed to ranger roll an entire 3 day away kit into my dry sack with extra socks and underwear and closed her up tight. The 2 side saddle mag pouches both hold 4 STD 7.62x39 AK mags and 2 grenades totaling 8 mags and 4 grenades. Believe it or not, I don't own that many grenades and have in turn packed those areas with essentials like Whopper jr's, hand sanitizer, shit-tickets and a unique cocktail of Dramamine and hard candy. The PPI/First aid kit was taken off mine, Its well built but not a conducive size to its purpose and its intended placement is downright fucking bananas; I highly recommend finding an alternative way to carry medical supplies. The traditional SMERSH configuration leaves high ride space up towards the shoulder straps to potentially add a small backpack or hydration bladder, which will likely be how I end up rigging mine; solving my medical kit dilemma as well as allowing the addition of a tarp, small food items, and a bedding solution. This would be a perfect rig for grab and go if you had to hit the woods on foot in 30 min or less.
Performance, I love It. I think LBE is often overlooked in exchange for a minimalist rig because that's the flavor of the week, and honestly a minimalist set up has its place but most of us in a situation where we need to be kitted are not going to be running corridor sweeps and clearing rooms, we are going to be hunkering down in concealment and avoiding confrontation and then evading once we do make contact. You need a kit that can accommodate those more realistic scenarios or you are not properly prepared for them. The SMERSH is light weight enough to sprint while in full kit, and holds enough goodies to keep you out of the shitstorm for a few days, it's also durable enough to not leave you looking like a busted ass Wish.com warrior and holds enough ammo to at the very least clear Nakatomi Plaza on your own. And Jesus H. Christ I cant forget about going prone! Oh my Goddess, there is absolutely nothing between your dickydo and mother earth herself with the SMERSH; this allows you to get as flat against the ground as physically possible and just lie and wait with an unobstructed path of reach to your spare mags AND Whopper Jr's(which is how I will be spending my hypothetical SHTF Scenario)remember kids no contact is good contact.
Complaints, We already mentioned the PPI/First Aid kit; additionally I'd like to add that as over built as the shoulder straps are the drag handle on the harness feels like a fashion over function decision and im uncertain of its effectiveness on any person over 130lbs. My only other complaint for this rig would be that the belt buckle plastic doesn't feel cheap but doesn't really feel super durable either, and like I said by design If I needed to use this and low crawl over cement or asphalt I wouldn't want to look down later and find my main buckle is terribly deformed and needs replacement after 2-3 recon outings, that should have been steel construction honestly; The belt is the mechanism that props and distributes your kits weight onto your hips for this rig.
Special Mentions: I'd like to use this section to highlight the real champions of this review Russian Cold Camo They have been so fantastic to me since I started this review page and I really cant thank them enough, They are a family run US business that offer tons of great gear with really honest product descriptions and reviews available on their site. I certainly Do hope everyone takes some time to go check them out the sales they run easily put products at the lowest price point on the web. Second, id like to use this platform to say definitively that ATACS FG is the camo master race and all of SSO' Camo patterns blend seamlessly and look amazingly professional together. If you live in the South Eastern portion of the USA please do yourself a favor and ignore the MC Tropic recommendations and give the old ATACS a try RCC carries a lot of good in this pattern and it blends so well with natural light and foliage, small pattern camo like Multicam just looks like a solid color at distances past 50 yds. there I said it, you don't like it? suck a dick.
Final Thoughts: If you don't already have a solid piece of LBE just get the SMERSH, honestly at the price point what excuse could you really have? how many chest rigs can you actually justify having? If you are looking for a cheaper time proven option you can always get the ALICE pack from a surplus store, but prices fluctuate and your pieces are going to be plug and play which is rad for you if you can make it work but can also become difficult to make a functional kit from if you don't have a wide availability of accessories to choose from. My choice hands down is the SMERSH because the configuration works for me, Its likely what I would put together for myself. However The important thing is that you become familiar and proficient with the kit that you are using and honestly the best example that I've seen in a long time would be @_angel_of_verdun and the set up of her ALICE kit, check her out for a real world example on a proven kit and be inspired to create what works for you if you don't think the SMERSH would be a good option. I'll be posting below an instructional piece for putting together the SMERSH on your own, I'm also posting a link to @_angel_of_verdun' video here as it is a fantastic example of fitting your kit to work around your own needs.
-Rat Bastard
@russiancoldcamoreal
https://russiancoldcamo.com/
