Russian GORKA suits

[Quinten]

Forumers,


Surfing trough the images provided in the Russian army topic back on the striclty photos and videoboard i noticed the big difference in Gorka-suits.

Are they made by one manufacturer, or does the name "gorka" stand for a specific type of clothing. What are the characteristics of this garment? Water and windproof?

I googled abit but didn't find anything usefull.

Thanks!

[Kak]

They are all made by the same manufacturer, SPOSN, and yes there are variations in colors. I'm not 100% sure about the water and windproof thing, but I think they might be. I do know they are pretty heavy duty (and extremely well made and rugged) and not something you really want to wear in warm weather.

[Ubar]

This is not true, ANA also make Gorka, and Gorka is a term applied to similar suits made back into Soviet times.

It is generally applied to this type of outer clothing which is Water Resistant, and sometimes Waterproof. A friend of mine had a soviet example which was made of tight weave cotton, which would keep you dry for quite a long while, but it was still not as good as the modern SPOSN or ANA made items.

[Firefly26]

Forumers,


Surfing trough the images provided in the Russian army topic back on the striclty photos and videoboard i noticed the big difference in Gorka-suits.

Are they made by one manufacturer, or does the name "gorka" stand for a specific type of clothing. What are the characteristics of this garment? Water and windproof?

I googled abit but didn't find anything usefull.

Thanks!

There are currently three companies that manufacture Gorka suits. ANA, Splav and SPOSN. The SPOSN suits are much more elaborate in construction and have the most diversity in their designs. SPOSN models feature the distinct rugged multi-layer fabric rip-stop reinforcment areas. The ANA and Splav ones are pretty plain with two-pieces made of a single layer of duck cotton with a button up front and a hood on the top with simple pull-up trousers. All suits are made out of a that very heavy duck cotton which is pretty inherently wind resistant. While this won't happen quickly, water will penetrate if it is sitting on the fabric for long enough. It is also not very breathable and is better suited for cold weather. They are made for very rugged terrain like the mountains. The few I am familiar with are the Gorka S, Gorka R and Gorka E. They are all two piece. The difference between the S and R are and I may be mixing these up at the minute, the R top is button up like a shirt, while the S is an anorak. The S and R are both the olive drab cotton, while the E will have patches of another pattern of camouflage like partisan or berezka on the reinforced areas and pocket flaps. I believe the E is the same top pattern as the R being button up, but I have to check mine to make sure. It's a great piece of kit for cold weather with the proper insulation.

[Quinten]

I found out that "Gorka" or "Горка" means "Hill" , makes sense.

Thanks for the input guys!

[RomanS]

Quinten, who is in your avatar?

[Quinten]

Quinten, who is in your avatar?

Me, but it doesn't matter.

[RomanS]

Me, but it doesn't matter.

well I thought it looked interesting, post a high res if you have

[Kak]

Damn sorry, I was wrong, and I knew better too, I'll just blame it on it being early in the morning ;)

I didn't know Splav had a version though.

[Firefly26]

[EDIT] My link up there was going to the wrong place. I can't seem to find sposn's new website, but here is a place showing the different ones.
http://www.soviet-propaganda.com/bdu/od/

Yeah the Splav gorkas are marketed as "the mountaineering suit" instead of gorkas in most places, but they are almost identical to ANA's gorka.

[TacoDelRio]

I'll let you know soon. I may dare to wear mine while mountaineering this winter... probably going to regret it to be honest with you. Probably going to have to treat it quite a bit to be "waterproof" (nothing is waterproof). It feels as if it will cut out most wind.

Just gotta fix that cuff. Thanks Roman!

[Quinten]

A little review would be nice indeed:)

[TacoDelRio]

I'll put one up as soon as I give the set a shot.

[RomanS]

I'll let you know soon. I may dare to wear mine while mountaineering this winter... probably going to regret it to be honest with you. Probably going to have to treat it quite a bit to be "waterproof" (nothing is waterproof). It feels as if it will cut out most wind.

Just gotta fix that cuff. Thanks Roman!

You are welcome, test that **** asap, also try the Smersh vest with it.

Take pics as well

[AmericanKaliber]

whats the Ghorka made out of?

[RomanS]

whats the Ghorka made out of?

your mom p-)

[AmericanKaliber]

lol...god.

[Quinten]

"Duck" cotton

[Firefly26]

It feels alot like canvas. These SPOSN gorkas feel like wearing a GP medium.

[TacoDelRio]

I don't think it's cotton. It may very well be... it just defies logic that anyone would wear cotton in a cold and wet environment.

Roman, here's the SPOSN SMERSH setup. This was the first time out, so I had to adjust it so it was higher. Still gotta mess with it. It fits right at the moment, but there's room for improvement.

Yours truly


It's obviously way too low in the picture, but that's not the case anymore, in case anyone notices.

[Quinten]

What would be the best way in making it somwhat waterproof?

[TacoDelRio]

What would be the best way in making it somwhat waterproof?

You can treat various fabrics with... treatments...p-) but in the end, any one type of fabric will always retain its' properties.

If you want Gorka, go for it. If you're looking for something "waterproof" (which, form my experience, is fantasy), the most basic thing would be wool base layer and a shell. Layering.

[Catch22]

http://www.nikwax.com/en-gb/index.php

But as Taco said - its only a temporary solution and needs reapplying after certain time and use.

[Galileo]

use Fjallraven Wax , it is better than nikwax.

[STEPAN1983]

"Gorka" or "Горка" means "Hill" , makes sense. - No, it means "small mountain, mounty", hill is "holm - холм" in russian.
Ill try to explain the origins of this suit. The wide use of this mountain heavy canvas (heavy canvas - "bresent" in russian) suits began in afghanistan war. Suit was based on german WW2 mountain suit. Then heavy canvas suit became very popular among russians. There is a lot of mountain suits, tourist suits (called "shtormovka" - storm suit). The reason of popularity is a strong fabric. It cannot be torn in the forest, so this suit is used not only in mountains. In USSR and Russia the cotton quality was always very poor. Thats why many people prefer this suit. The best Gorka suit is made by SPOSN conpany, its popular among the russian special forces. It is made of heavy canvas plus polycotton for reinforcements wich take a half or more of the suit surface. There is a number of generations of SPOSN Gorka, beginning from anorak-style suit, then parka-style jackets, use of canadian buttons, use of camuflage reinforsements instead of one-color fabrics, and once ive seen light full-camuflaged Gorka.

[STEPAN1983]

catalog: http://specosnashenie.narod.ru/price.html/

Gorka with camuflage ( based on SS pattern :)) reinforcemets http://narod.yandex.ru/shop.xhtml?site=specosnashenie&p=134572&g=2&n=2

http://narod.yandex.ru/shop.xhtml?site=specosnashenie&p=134572&g=2&n=3 without camuflage

http://narod.yandex.ru/shop.xhtml?site=specosnashenie&p=134572&g=2&n=4 anorak-style

[jcareaga]

catalog: http://specosnashenie.narod.ru/price.html/

Gorka with camuflage ( based on SS pattern :)) reinforcemets http://narod.yandex.ru/shop.xhtml?site=specosnashenie&p=134572&g=2&n=2

http://narod.yandex.ru/shop.xhtml?site=specosnashenie&p=134572&g=2&n=3 without camuflage

http://narod.yandex.ru/shop.xhtml?site=specosnashenie&p=134572&g=2&n=4 anorak-style

Partizan p-)

[maple.leaf]

Gorka-C

RAID BDU



Partizan






Birch or "sunray" camoflage

[TacoDelRio]

Pics ain't workin'...

[LEGEND]

Even though Gorka does mean a "small mountian", i doubt thats the meaning for the name of the suit. The meaning is "mountain clothing" just like vetrovka, shtormovka etc.

[Purely Defensive]

Gorka is made of the same material as the Plasch Palatkas, Shelter-Cape as was The Soviet Meshok ( Backpack) and other Baggage.

[clouser1]

Just received my Gorka-S today from Soviet-propaganda and it is fantastic. Can't wait to test it out in the snow/ice conditions here in the Northeast. Great fit and feels tough. No wonder these are so popular with the Russian forces.