The NVA Sturmgepäck

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This pack:

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History:

This is a real blast from the past!

The year was 1931 and Der Deutsche Buntfarbenaufdruck(The German Chromatic Colors Imprint) had developed the Splittertarn for the German Reichswehr(German Army)

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In 1956 the Polish started using the Splittertarn-camouflage, known officially as Vz. 56

This was based on the Splittertarn originally designed by Der Deutsche Buntfarbenaufdruck It was retired in 1958 and was replaced by what we western capitalist dogs have named raindrop-camouflage, which has the official name Vz. 58 Deszczyk, meaning “drizzle” as in drizzling rain:

As you might have noticed it looks like the Splittertarn, but with the colors removed, this was done to save money.

In 1958 the NVA(Nationale Volks Armee) of East Germany, introduced the so-called flecktarnmuster-pattern, also known as the Kartoffelmuster(Potato-pattern) or Blumentarn(flower-camouflage), which was based on the camouflage of the Waffen-SS:

In 1964(or thereabout) The East-german army generals looked at the Vz. 58 and said: ”Oh Boy, this sure is some terrible camouflage, but the Polish sure do look smashing! And if we adapt this we are going to look like proper, hard fighting, Warsaw-pact soldiers” and in 1965 the NVA adapted the polish raindrop-camo and called it Strichtarnmuster Typ 1. This relationship sadly only lasted for 2 years because already in 1967 the NVA made their own version, the main difference being the color-scheme, which is darker and has thinner drops that are also closer together, we westerners know this as the Strichtarn, the NVA referred to it as Strichtarnmuster Typ 2: 

The Strichtarnmuster Typ 2 was issued as a part of a new uniform system designed to modernize the NVA, and what a job it did. At this time in history most of the world had accepted that camouflage that was colored like your surroundings was significantly more effective than putting on a beige shirt when you had to hide in the woods. The NVA meanwhile rejected this and went for a camouflage pattern that has no camouflage properties unless you are fighting in a desert, and East Germany may be many things, scary, dark, filled big mustached men who seem to be speaking a language that the devil himself dare not put in his mouth, but a desert it sure isn’t.

Holy crap, that was a lot of info this time! let’s set sail for the review.   

The Pack!

When you get this pack, it doesn’t actually function as a pack right away. As I previously told you, this was designed to be a part of the uniform system released in 1967 which looks like this:

What you will notice is the two metal half-rings I have circled with red.

On the pack you will notice two karabiners, in each of the top corners, these are attached to the half-rings on the harness as such:

When you have done this then you attach these to your belt:

Your pack is now ready to use. The entire outfit probably looks something like this:

The pack in itself is very basic, I’ll put it at around 30 liters capacity and it’s essentially just a box made out of really tough cotton, strapped onto your back. No side pockets, no eternal frame, no pockets inside the main compartment. No nothing! The only extra you’ll get are three attachment straps, one on top and one on each side of the pack. These were used to carry your tarp, or in some cases a blanket, mine might just be too big, but it illustrates the point pretty good:

The carrying-system, when you get it too work, is quite effective. This is because of the relative small size of the pack, making it very hard to overload.

The closure system is pretty interesting. The pack has a big flap that covers the main compartment, it closes with straps and it looks like this:

You pull the strap through the metal clamp, you then pull back, this makes the “teeth” bite into the strap:

This means that even though you can’t get the strap completely locked, the flap is still secure and won’t suddenly fly open.

Anything else?

I usually reserve this spot to all the little details that makes me love the pack just that much more, but this time there is only one thing I can think off. This pack is made to last, and it is also made to keep your stuff dry when you have to fight those bloodsucking capitalists in the rain, inside the main compartment is a plastic liner, which works like this:  

You have your pack:

You open it:

Pull up the sides of the plastic bag located inside the pack:

You then put whatever needs putting, into the pack and roll down the sides of the bag:

If there’s room, you can secure it even more with this handy mechanism:

And you are good to go! Note the plastic lining of the flap on the last picture, really waterproof!

The negative

I really only have one negative thing to say about this pack, and it is quite a major issue. If you are not an NVA soldier, or reenacting one, or not in the habit of wearing your belt on the outside of your clothing then you are going to have a hard time with this pack, as it is clearly not meant for civilian use. But if you have a talent for DIY it should not be too much of a hassle, if you don’t, well, then you are screwed.

Price?, “HOW LITTLE? FROM WHERE?”

I got this pack for 7 Euro(6£ and 9$) from Varusteleka.com.

And I have seen them costing as much as 19 Euro(16,5£ and 25$)

You might be lucky to find one for as little as 5 Euro(4 £ and 6.5 $)

But don’t you dare pay more than 10 EUR(8,5£ and 13$) because if you do, you are being hustled, there are so many laying around that it’s not even funny, so it shouldn’t be too hard finding one for a reasonable prize.

Overall verdict?

I love the pack, it’s very versatile, and has more than enough room for the things you need on a daily basis. The major pluses of the pack are the water-resistance and the very low prize. While a downside is the way the carrying-system works. However when I bought the pack I bought two, because I had just gotten a new bike and I thought it needed some bling and what better way to bling-up your bike than to attach NVA Sturmgepäcks to the side!    

This essentially eliminated the problem with the carrying-system and I’d give this pack top marks! If it just wasn’t so damn ugly! I give it five sleeping sheeps out of six. 

Thanks for reading
Chris

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