Tag Archives: kommandostore

Vintage

Old School Soviet Digital Watch Is Back

Leave a comment

The US and USSR going “Band for Band”

Our friends at kommandostore talk about the Cold War on their site so often, it’s become one of their defining aesthetics…..and that’s a good thing- read on!

Grand armies and weapons are arguably less than half of the story.

Many of the cold war ‘battles’ from the 1950s through the 1990s took place in the minds and on the wrists of millions of people. Some might say they certainly still do…

Rogue media campaigns, protests & activism, black ops — they defined the hottest parts of the Cold War. But what if we told you that the watch you were wearing was just as important? The Soviet Union sure thought so…

Having gotten sucked into the almost endless lore rabbithole of watches, the first thing that kommandostore sought to bring back from obscurity was the Elektronika 55B — the soviet union’s most popular digital watch that went the way of… well, the Soviet Union… When it collapsed in ’91.

Above all else, there’s one story about this watch that truly stands on its own, a story that will make you realize that there is much more to this little watch that jovially plays chiptune soviet music…

It involves two of the most powerful men in the world, Leonid Brezhnev and Henry Kissinger convening and comparing their new digital watches.

Ok, they weren’t really wearing the watches in that photo, but such an encounter really did happen between the two gentlemen in the early 70s, one that subtly let the United States know that the Soviets were right on the US’s tail for semiconductor technology.

On a somewhat-routine visit to Moscow, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wore a Pulsar P2 Watch — one of the very first digital watches. Known for it’s striking red LED display and appearance on the wrist of none other than James bond.

It also carried a hefty price tag, with the 21k gold edition costing enough to buy you a car in today’s money.

You tell us, is $1800 usd/ $2,526 cad in today’s money worth it for one of the two base models? 

The meeting was with Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Soviet Union. He remarked that he did indeed like Kissinger’s watch, being a man of taste.

Then he told Kissinger that the USSR had already developed a prototype using the very same technology.

Kissinger was reportedly astonished — and was presented with a functioning Soviet-Made digital wristwatch, the Elektronika B6-02. Featuring CMOS circuits, it was blocky, brutalist, and affordable enough for practically anyone to buy when it officially launched.

The whole Elektronika series carried this statement — the latest fancy tech of the west is cool, but when it’s done the soviet way, for way cheaper, it’s not a luxury to be worn by only the elites.

It didn’t take a horology enthusiast to buy and wear this watch. It’s Kalashnikov-esque ubiquity meant it was worn by everyone from party members to coal miners. 

Sure, in 1969 we brought a luxury-watch masterpiece, the Omega Speedmaster, to the Moon before the Soviets were able to. But as a tool of propaganda, the USSR might have had us beat, and the Elektronika 5 appeared in space several more times…

We found it intriguing and somewhat disheartening that Elektronika, what seemed to be the people’s choice, was snuffed out much in the same time period as the Soviet union.

In a world full of Casios & Timexes, who can’t help but succumb to the charm of the plucky Elektronika, so why not give it the wrist time it deserves…because it is now available once again and this time in a near perfect reproduction right down to the packaging.

 A 1:1 functional replica of the original Elektronika with 4 new Slav-approved “Melody” alarms. Sanctioned to the second-hand market (pun intended), thankfully kommandostore thought that the watch deserved a proper revival after its unceremonious disappearance following the collapse of the USSR. 
 Just like the original, it’s an affordable and reliable piece with just enough fun to get even the most uptight horologists asking you questions.  But unlike the OGs, the sad truth of capitalism is that we’re slaves to supply and demand. They are running out fast, and even though there are plans to quickly continue production, there may be a slight gap. So, if you’re interested, this is kind of a last call. 

Click the following link to place your order while supplies last.

Elektronika 55B Melody Watch

Fashion

Burning & Dying Up Camo For Fresh Looks

Leave a comment
 A few weekends, late nights, a powdery mess of raw ingredients and a 3-foot-long ( 0.944-meter- long) immersion blender working up a storm later ,it’s become more than apparent that our friends lab at kommandostore has been cooking up another big batch.…Of Versengtarn & Acidtarn.We get it, they’re in South Dakota, USA but what did you think we were talking about? Tabs?
 “Versengtarn” and “Acidtarn” are their most popular dyed-in-house military surplus garments by a longshot and it’s easy to see why. They use a special reactive dye that lasts far longer than most off-the-shelf compounds & a top-secret DJ routine on a washing machine for a shadowy redux of Flecktarn Field Shirts & Parkas that you just can’t find anywhere else.  Being pre-inspected and laundered during the dye process, they’re ironically some of the best quality flecktarn pieces you can buy from kommandostore.  
 Versengtarn is the classic, an almost Multicam-black-esque variant of flecktarn that’s been created that quiets down the classic camo pattern to a whisper, giving it an ashy appearance that’s fantastic for working in to your daily wardrobe or just being a little edgelord who loves buying black stuff. Acidtarn is much of the same but has a green-er overtone. It retains the subtlety, and a bit of the original military looks of the Flecktarn Field Shirt. 
 With the first batch a few months ago being a massive success,  kommandostore heard you guys loud and clear. The perpetual dyeing industrial supercomplex in their warehouse now cannot be stopped .
So, whether this is your first time dyeing with them or you missed out on the last batch, today’s the day to click the link above and get an order it. They’ve got plenty of other dye projects to do before circling back to good ol v-tarn so it might be a while before it’s back… 

The Lore Drop

What watching the first season of True Detective does to a mfer… If you cant tell how excited we were after learning about dyed flecktarn, the double-exposure edit above should give you enough of a hint. It goes hard in a way we just can’t match one for one these days.
Fashion

Legendary Sneakers Worn For Combat

1 Comment
What is with the connection between running shoes and combat? Comfort and stealth? Style and speed? Whatever the case it is time to take a look at another “fighting sneaker”. The Cheetah is made in Pakistan by long-lived footwear juggernaut Servis.  A sneaker so intrinsically tied to wartime Afghanistan, it’s been the subject of controversy ever since a few western stores started stocking them on their shelves, our friends at kommandostore included. With it’s looks that embody a time capsule of 2000s shoe design, and its ties to legitimate warfighting in Afghanistan, it’s cemented a legendary status on our store. 
 Outside of Afghanistan, these runners went viral for their apparent association with insurgency – but inside Afghanistan, as one NYT article reports, they’re a “status symbol worn by warfighters” including the Afghan security forces that also took a liking to them. But tales of internal squabbles and “forever wars” aside, we’re inclined to agree: You’d never guess it based on the design of the shoes alone, but the men who wore them earned them their status as shoes you can literally trust to go to war with. 
 But reputation only brings a pair of shoes so far — any sneakerhead among you is going to want to look for finer details. And Alhamdulilah, you’ll be pleased. Being made in Pakistan instead of China, you really don’t see the common corners cut. The materials are nice, the outsole surprisingly durable. It’s no wonder that like many throughout history, Afghan warfighters on all sides wore cheetahs as a lighter, nimbler alternative to heavy boots. 
 And of course they love how they look too. Looking fresher than pre-creased Jordans never had such a close vicinity to the country of Jordan…

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Reviews

Operation April Showers- Introducing Weather Resistant Kommando Notebooks

Leave a comment

Our usual milsurp article is a bit different this time around- a little less about gear in the typical sense and more about the introduction of a side project our friends at kommandostore.com have been working on for months: The long-awaited return of EDC “Range Notes”, now better than ever in any weather. It might be nearing the end of April but let’s face it rainy weather never really goes away and if you are planning on an outdoor adventure the odds are you will need to plan for the possibility of getting wet.

Why this makes sense

Maybe you are a writer or a journaling die hard or the sort of person that likes to jot things down while they are outside. Perhaps the elements stir something and help fuel your creativity. I get it. There may be waterproof smartphone screens out there but nothing beats the mind-thought-write -it-down connection between good old fashioned paper and pencil (or pen).

KommandoNotes V2 have arrived!

Do you need to write in the rain? Or when you’re covered in warm, viscous liquids, preferably non-human in origin? Look no further than KommandoNotes waterproof range notes! Seriously, DON’T KEEP LOOKING. With ten times the autism and twice the schizo-posting capacity (double the pages!) of comparable field notes, you can record far more information than anyone needed or wanted no matter where you go, and it’ll survive the sweaty, unventilated confines of your flecktarn (check out my quick review of one of my favs here)parka pocket. 

The binding is a heavy-duty spiral that lets pages flip easily, even with gloves on, and the cover is a thick, weather-resistant plastic printed with our sharply honed autism. Each notebook measures 4.75″ x 7″, with gridded pages for precision mapping or quick notes. This lightweight notebook is light enough to toss in your pack and sturdy enough to take endless beatings. Whether you’re scoping out land to squat or tracking recalcitrant livestock, KommandoNotes keep your data dry and legible (if you write legibly–that’s really on you).

Specs

Weather-resistant coated paper with plastic “pretty much everything-proof” cover

4.75″ x 7″ (12 x 18 cm for non-moon visiting nations)

64 sheets (128 pages)

Land Navigation & Military Grid Reference System Cheat Sheet by Redbeard Tactical

Spiral bound

Ruler edge, land nav guide, and compass rose for orientation and measurements

Available in “A Magical Place,” STALKER, and Cashel Valley Bean Man designs

Hetero Green (Olive Drab) cover and grid pages

Highly recommended. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Fashion

The Tale Of Tropentarn and Flecktarn German Camouflage Patterns

Leave a comment
Shadow
Flecktarn is one of the most ubiquitous camouflage patterns in every military surplus enthusiast’s closet and I bet many of you guys  and gals already own some. But every now and then, our friends at Kommandostore get in something arguably even more special: Flecktarn’s tropical cousin Tropentarn. Wait…what? What the heck are Germans doing making a desert camo? 

via ufpro.com– Just like M81 Woodland and DPM, 5FT Flecktarn decisively influenced the development of other camouflage patterns and their adaptation by other countries. One might say these three patterns inspired the next generation of camouflage patterns, much as the three were inspired by the WW2 patterns that preceded them. Accordingly, several countries merit mention:

The People’s Republic of China outfitted its Border Defence Units with an unlicensed copy of Flecktarn. Also, utilized in Tibet and the Bejing Military Region was a recolored, brown-dominant variation (which is highly sought-after by collectors).

Belgium interpreted German 5FT Flecktarn in a variant that was worn by its Airbase Security Personnel until 2000.

Denmark developed a green-dominant variation using only three instead of five colors. Tested in 1978, it today calls attention to the close cooperation of textile companies back then, since it is rumored to have been jointly developed with the French company Texunion.

The Netherlands briefly considered fielding Flecktarn as a camouflage pattern, but for political reasons decided against it (Dutch decision-makers felt there was too close a resemblance to the patterns used by the SS during the Second World War).

Japan created its own Flecktarn version and in 1991 fielded it within the JNSDF.

 And before you go and say-  “Hey buddy, the Germans have had a bit of a history fighting in the desert”, Tropentarn comes from trials after the successful implementation of Flecktarn. Good ol ‘Fleck had a bit of a hard time getting fully fielded as Germany was a bit sensitive to using any kind of pattern that resembled the various Waffen SS experiments in the 40s for obvious reasons. This was back in the late 70s after all. 
But after ‘fleck got through the filter, Germany’s increased presence as peacekeeping forces brought them to the doorstep of everyone’s favorite sandbox, the middle east. A new camo was needed. As early as ’93, Tropentarn would appear as a reduced 3-color (vs 5 colors in normal flecktarn) arid version of the now beloved pattern. Unlike many desert patterns of the era, the Germans tastefully sprinkled in a few specs of green to really make the camo versatile beyond the dunes in Iraq. 
Shadow
 If you’re not aroused by the typical brown, brown and more brown nature of a lot of desert camos, Tropentarn might be the right one for you. It even has a few bonus features over the normal field shirt that make it a little more breathable in the summer if you live in the south or simply yearn for temperatures over 70 Fahrenheit in polar vortexes like today’s… 
It even works wonders in the great plains since everything turns tan come the wintertime and it gets just as much attention from fellow milsurp enjoyers and normies alike.  So if you’re in the mood for another flavor of flecktarn in your wardrobe you’ll definitely want to dive in and grab one on the kommandostore site while you can, they’re always popular…and stock won’t last long. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Featured image- Erbsentarn 44 dot peas pattern German WW2 Waffen SS standard camouflage pattern.

Art

An Anime Sale At An Army Surplus Store?

Leave a comment

Those who are in the Armed Forces and the general population of Anime fanatics seem to overlap too often to be coincidence. What one armed forces deployment in Okinawa, Japan does to you…

Remember who you’re fighting for. For us, It’s always been Ankou team. Yukari is best girl.

To take a few educated guesses: there’s some of you who are still in denial about liking anime, some of you who are seething with rage that anime even exists in the first place, and probably a few older fellows who are about to be extremely confused. (we’re sorry)


BUT For those of you who already know what’s up: here’s the skinny- basically this post is just a heads up on a sale of all things anime at the kommandostore. Yep that store. Impressive surplus and new military style clothing and ephemera. That shit looks good and holds up. It is tough.

So what about the anime sale?

No codes, human instrumentality, getting isekai’d by truck-kun, or magical-girl transformations needed to take full advantage this weekend.
Whether you’ve deliberately sought it out or stumbled upon it on accident, there’s no running from the appeal of anime merch. It’s fun, colorful, sassy, sexy, suggestive and playful. The perfect sort of addition to a pack or helmet cover or laptop or whatever. You get the idea.
Maybe you didn’t even know that the kommandostore, known for high quality new and surplus military clothing and items even did that kind of stuff and are just finding out now? If that’s the case, know that all the merch is done in collaboration with Atamonica and is our magnum opus.


The founder of Anduril loves it so much that it’s officially licensed, but that’s a story for another day…

Anduril- transforming US & Allied military capabilities with advanced technologies.


So regardless of if you’re ready to disappoint and confuse your loved ones, or if you’re in the ironic denial phase of being an Anime-watcher ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US! We hope you enjoy all the deals with us this weekend.​


Just throw it all in your cart and we’ll do the hard work while you finish catching up on the seasonal shows/Vtuber VODs/manga… 2D > 3D (´･ω･`)
We love the anthropomorphized missiles so much it’s unreal.
Go follow Atamonica. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.