Some Magazine pouches PT 1

The best magazine pouch in the world is junk if your magazine is missing when you need it.  Finding that pouch that meets all of your needs for both protection and speed is very difficult.

Enter the ITW FastMag.  I thought this was going to be a gimmicky piece of plastic, and I admit I was wrong.  For T&E purposes I bought my first FastMag late in 2011.  Since then I must have 8-10 of them between my belts and vests.

The Fastmag uses a hinged design that when closed traps the magazine by friction.  Give that same magazine a slight rotation and now you have little to no friction and the magazine is instantly in your hand on its way into the weapon.

Tactical Tailor meets ITW Fastmag pouches.

There is a single rubber band that also provides tension, adding a 2nd or 3rd is possible but unless you are jumping from an aircraft or your body armor has too much play (that would be its own issue) you should never have any issue.  Replacement bands are very cheap also so it is not a bad idea to have an extra in a gear bag.

On the front there are built in slots to accept MALICE retention systems.   On my "battle belt" I placed a three pistol mag shingle over two matching FastMag pouches.  To limit interference with the vest the area above the mags (on the vest) is empty.  When worn together the belt and the vest match very well ease of movement is still maintained.

Two TT Direct Action Pouches plus two ITW Fastmag Pouches

Some Magazines

Magazines are commonly forgotten when we discuss the moving parts in an AR build. 

The first word in the magazine world you need to focus on is Magpul.  This company got its start in making small rubber tabs that wrapped around the base of a standard magazine to make pulling the magazine out of a pouch easier.

Years went by and they began making Stocks and Grips, making outstanding Stocks and Grips actually.  By looking at what was available on the market the fine people at Magpul made the decision to improve on the "throw away" item and make it more reliable.


The Pmag, short for Polymer Magazine.  Don't call it plastic, some people really get upset. The first one was the windowless 30 round magazine followed by the smaller 20 round version.  Able to take a beating and keep coming back for more. 

 For some of the European designs the Pmag did not fit as well due to the difference in magwell specs. For those weapons it is recommended to use the Emag (Export Magazine).  This includes the SCAR, FS2000, SA80 and the HK series of rifles.

20 Round Pmag with additional enhanced floor plate.

Pmag 30 with enhanced floor plate and Crye Precision Mag Clip

7.62 Pmag (only 20 rounds available)

 C-Products 32 Round 9mm Magazine.  For the dedicated Colt Pattern style of AR-15.  Also available now is the DDLES lower receiver that uses the standard Glock 17/34/26 Magazines.

 The best magazine I have ever used.  The best magazine change you make is the one that you don't have to.  This is a 60 Round Surefire magazine and it is a beast.  Quad Stack, 60 rounds and barely longer than the standard STANAG design.  The 100 round is also available but is much too long for most uses.  Going prone with the 60 is natural, with the 100 you can expect to rotate the weapon 90 degrees to keep the weapon out of the dirt.

For the dedicated .22 rifle I recommend "Black Dog" magazines.  I have no issues with reliable feeding and commonly use these on my range trips.  The original magazine that came with the .22 conversion kit was thrown away the first week that I used it (no regrets).  There is even a drum style magazine available that I am looking forward to trying.