NPO-SM Shtorm

One of the first widely used Special Materials assault vests. The original Shtorm saw widespread use in the hands of the MVD during the First Chechen war, during the Second Chechen war it was used alongside the new Shtorm-2. The fact that the Shtorm is one of NPO-SMs earlier products is quite obvious. Quality wise it is a rather inferior product compared to its successors.

The quality of the Shtorms seems to vary from piece to piece, as example the writers own had many faults: One velcro-patch was unfinished, therefore the hook-and-loop system was missing the "hook" side, therefore rendering the pocket in question almost useless. The magazine pouches are very tight, sticking two magazines into some of them is almost impossible. One of the first things to happen when fiddling around with this particular vest was the backpack ripping off from one of the straps it's sewn onto. One velcro patch was so badly attached that instead of coming with the opened flap, it decided to stay in place against its counterpart. Apart from these flaws the Shtorm in question is rather nice, after all, it is a war proven vest and has historical value.

Features
The main material that all the pockets and pouches are made of seems to be pure nylon, with a printed camouflage in either Reed- or SMK-pattern. The Shtorm utilizes a lot of different straps for closure and adjustement. The frontal closure consists of five straps paired together with five simple stamped steel buckles, each strap must be threaded through its individual counterpart. This system is very, very slow and awkward to use. All pouches are closed by a patch or two of velcro, these are either sewn onto flaps or simple straps that reach over the openings.

The Shtorm has four magazine pouches located on the chest, each of these is divided into two parts. These fit a total of 8 AK-magazines. RPK magazines can be stuffed in too, but if that's done then the pouches cannot be closed. There's one strap with velcro per compartment for closure, when one magazine is removed the other one stays firmly in place.
 * Pockets for eight magazines.

Under the magazine pouches, at about waist height, four VOG-grenade pouches can be found on each side. These can carry up to a total of eight VOG-grenades. These pouches are closed by short straps with velcro on them.
 * Pouches for eight VOG-grenades.

On the sides, under the users arms, are three pouches per side. These are stacked upon each other and positioned horizontally with the opening towards the users front for easy access. The exact use of these pouches is a sort of mystery, AK-magazines do not fit into them, and they are clearly too big for any pistol magazines. These pouches are closed by straps with velcro on them.
 * Six pouches under the arms.

Beneth the rows of VOG-pouches are two utility pouches, one to the right, one to the left. These are about the size of a small soft-back pocket book, unlike all the other pouches these are covered by a large flap with two velcro patches.
 * Two medium sized utility pouches.

On the sides of the utility pouches, stretching along the users hips, are eight grenade pouches, four on each side. In these fit any standard Soviet or Russian hand grenade, one per pouch. These pouches have an elastic band sewn into the opening, helping to keep the grenade inside in place. These, as most other pouches on the Shtorm, are also closed by a simple, short strap with velcro on it.
 * Eight hand grenade pouches.

The backpack, a simple small sack, is located at about shoulder height. It is not removeable and quite flimsy. The backpack features a zipper equipped main compartment and a smaller side pouch, which closes by the means of two velcro patches. All in all the backpack is rather shitty, it's just a simple bag of floppy nylon.
 * A backpack.