REVIEW: IRT Sbruya Partizan AK Version

In the years 2003/2004, strange images emerged from the depths of the Russian Empire. Men wearing camouflage suits that resembled historical German patterns. But everything above that remained deeply Russian, as did what was inside: In the photo, members of the domestic intelligence service FSB can be seen in their then-new gear. Above the camouflage suit is the Sbruya Partizan armor from the manufacturer SPOSN. Both together were issued to the paramilitary FSB soldiers. The originals have since become sought-after collector's items. From IRT there is now a reproduction of this Eastern classic.

At that time, it was referred to as Gucci Gear, although it is still unclear to us why: It is a carrying system with AK pockets on the right and left and a bread bag on the back, the strap system goes over the shoulders and is partly made of mesh to allow air to the man. The set without content weighs about 2 kilos.

When taken off, it looks like this: you can see the padding of the strap and the arrangement of the pockets well. The color, which comes from the material called Avizent, is typical. On the front of the chest, the pocket for the radio is mounted.

The man from both sides, you can see the arrangement of the pockets when wearing it. In contrast to Chest Rigs, the magazines here are closer to the hips. A very comfortable solution, especially for soldiers who need to be on the move.

Well equipped: a flare hangs in the loops outside the pocket. In the pouch, there are two AK magazines in two compartments each. On the front of the pocket, a hand grenade pocket is attached. You can also see the clip closure on the belt here.

At the back, a small storm pack (left) with attached pockets and inside (right) segmented. The English closures on the rig are typical: a fabric strip through a metal eyelet.

The whole system is assembled. The base is the belt, then the padding comes on top, followed by the shoulder straps and finally the pockets. The rig is available in several configurations, with two large pockets for PKM machine gunners and as armor for SVD sharpshooters (both also available as IRT replicas) and also original RPK pockets are available.

CONCLUSION: The Russians are actually known for many Chest Rig solutions before they became popular in the West. The Sbruya Partizan is a clear departure from that and a role model for many carrying systems currently used by Russian forces. Innovative in its simplicity, it is functional gear that is excellent to wear, has plenty of storage space, and does not restrict the shooter's mobility. If more protection is desired, the Sbruya Partizan can be combined with heavy armor such as the Defender. The Sbruya Partizan is then worn over the Russian CIRAS.

The IRT Sbruya Partizan is available at Redstar Militaria for 249.99 euros.

The video compares an original Sbruya Partizan with the IRT replica presented here. You can see that the clone has the same quality as the original. Small details deliberately distinguish it from the authentic SPOSN Sbruya Partizan.