REVIEW: RATNIK VKBO 4th Layer Summer Uniform

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Ready for action? Thirsty? Then quickly pull on the Cheeki Breeki balaclava, it's incredibly beautiful. But actually, it's about what we're wearing: the foundation of the new Ratnik combat suit of the Russian Army: VKBO Level 4, the summer uniform in a unified Digital Flora pattern.

In Russian, this system is called Всесезонный комплект базового обмундирования – for those who can't read Cyrillic: Vsesezonnyy komplekt bazovogo obmundirovaniya. Abbreviated VKBO. In English, quite simply: Year-round basic equipment.

The Russians are masters of camouflage and have countless patterns in use: Digital Flora is the new standard for the Russian Army uniform, a pattern that fits well in European, temperate climates. The Russians also call it "Pixelka," which perfectly describes what it is: a very fine pixel pattern consisting of light green, dark green, reddish-brown, and black.

The uniform comes with a field blouse and pants. At first glance, we would say: the Russians took some good inspiration. The American Army Combat Uniform (ACU) was likely an influence here and then they made changes in the East to suit their needs. The entire VKBO system resembles American uniform systems with its levels. But we're used to this: when it comes to equipment and weapons, the Russians are very adaptable. And when they adopt something, they make it better.

The Russians, of course, avoid the US mistake of the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) - mockingly called MoldyTarn. This image clearly shows how efficient Digital Flora is compared to the Western failure. The gray-green environment matches perfectly with the camouflage pattern.

Let's start with the field blouse: there it is, the mandarin collar. It velcros shut to protect the neck.

The field blouse is double closed: a zipper does the work, along with a flap that covers it and is closed with velcro.

Velcro areas on the chest pockets.

The chest pocket is closed with buttons. Apparently not a problem for the Russians, even if a plate carrier needs to go over it.

The fabric is dyed on one side only. The Russians call this RipStop material "Yelochka." It consists of 65% cotton and 35% polyester, known as NYCO in the West. The field blouse has an inner pocket and an additional fabric square for self-sewn repairs.

Viewed from the side.

The Russian wears rank insignia on the shoulder. The camo stripe can cover them when necessary.

Both sleeves have upper arm pockets with velcro areas.

These are spacious. You can fit about two packs of cigarettes in there.

There are padding as well: there's a velcro area on the elbows for inserting padding.

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