Bluez
Full Access Member
With the explosion of different magazine types in recent years, we now have more choices than ever.
From low priced polymers (such as promag and others) to US GI alum., to Pmags to Troys, Lancer and Tangodowns and many others.
With these different designs strength of body and lip are not the same.
And as a result neither are dimensions.
The extreme example is the TangoDown shown on he right of the first couple attachments.
Also Check out the very first pic contrasting the USGI with the Tangodown ,I think its easy to see how much bigger the TD is, even though it even sits a hair higher, you can see it extends much lower.
Pmags are the 2nd thickest/longest of all the magazines shown after the TDs.
The TD however is incredible strong and you can probably beat someone to death with that magazine and then the next guy too and then load and shoot all day.
And in pure strenght the Lancer is probably a close second and it even has Steel lips(!).
But I digress ,this is about fit, not ruggedness/function etc.
And here we get to the crux of the topic.
Many times I’ve seen students struggle at class with magazines that were too large for their rigs , (PMags in ALICE for example) or where too “bumpy” at the base and so gave some students trouble for the one hand TAC reloads .
If you run a rig whether is the preferred battle belt set up, or an ALICE rig or a FLC chest rig or a Blawkhawk or a UW gear rig, etc, you will see different dimensions available in those pouches for your magazines.
As a rule USGI rigs such as ALICE and FLC do not tolerate the bigger magazines well, sometimes not at all.
This is because they were designed for the dimensions of the slim USGI Mags.
For example my Tangodowns dont fit into an ALICE rig or my FLC at all, no matter what the effort, you simply cannot close the flap!
Pmags are also a problem but can be made to work with some effort as can Lancers (with a bit less effort on the Lancers)
But there will be some time consuming struggle on the lane with those 2 (never mind the TDs)
If you run gear like that and you wan to “operate” smoothly then you pretty much are limited to USGI Mags or Troy mags (FS for $9 at Quantico tactical, used to be a $13-15 mag!)
Troys are also nice and flat at the base and so facilitate your one handed TAC reloads.
When I was running my Army-issue FLC I pretty much transitioned from PMags to Troys after a while.
The troys are even a tad slimmer than the USGIs and were a wonderful fit in that rig.
Many of the aftermarket rigs especially those with Velcro or the adjustable “open” mag holders are much more tolerant of the larger mags such as PMags and Tangodowns.
In the end the bulk of my mags are still Pmags,… but I find myself rarely using them now…
This is because when I use a tight rig like a FLC (or my ALICE back-up to the back-up) I will run my troys and when using a more generous pouch (such as Blawkhawk etc) I like to take advantage of my super premium Mags such as the Lancers and TDs.
When I run a rig thats in-between, such as UW gear ,I can run USGI, Troys and Lancers.
PMags are a bit tight but can be made to work as well, though they are slightly taller/thicker than a Lancer.
TD’s are a no go.
In the end though I just run Troys in those mid sized rigs too.
I hope this all made a bit of sense, when you are struggling with the mags in your rig, maybe it’s not you, but your mags are just a tad too bulky for your rig.
From low priced polymers (such as promag and others) to US GI alum., to Pmags to Troys, Lancer and Tangodowns and many others.
With these different designs strength of body and lip are not the same.
And as a result neither are dimensions.
The extreme example is the TangoDown shown on he right of the first couple attachments.
Also Check out the very first pic contrasting the USGI with the Tangodown ,I think its easy to see how much bigger the TD is, even though it even sits a hair higher, you can see it extends much lower.
Pmags are the 2nd thickest/longest of all the magazines shown after the TDs.
The TD however is incredible strong and you can probably beat someone to death with that magazine and then the next guy too and then load and shoot all day.
And in pure strenght the Lancer is probably a close second and it even has Steel lips(!).
But I digress ,this is about fit, not ruggedness/function etc.
And here we get to the crux of the topic.
Many times I’ve seen students struggle at class with magazines that were too large for their rigs , (PMags in ALICE for example) or where too “bumpy” at the base and so gave some students trouble for the one hand TAC reloads .
If you run a rig whether is the preferred battle belt set up, or an ALICE rig or a FLC chest rig or a Blawkhawk or a UW gear rig, etc, you will see different dimensions available in those pouches for your magazines.
As a rule USGI rigs such as ALICE and FLC do not tolerate the bigger magazines well, sometimes not at all.
This is because they were designed for the dimensions of the slim USGI Mags.
For example my Tangodowns dont fit into an ALICE rig or my FLC at all, no matter what the effort, you simply cannot close the flap!
Pmags are also a problem but can be made to work with some effort as can Lancers (with a bit less effort on the Lancers)
But there will be some time consuming struggle on the lane with those 2 (never mind the TDs)
If you run gear like that and you wan to “operate” smoothly then you pretty much are limited to USGI Mags or Troy mags (FS for $9 at Quantico tactical, used to be a $13-15 mag!)
Troys are also nice and flat at the base and so facilitate your one handed TAC reloads.
When I was running my Army-issue FLC I pretty much transitioned from PMags to Troys after a while.
The troys are even a tad slimmer than the USGIs and were a wonderful fit in that rig.
Many of the aftermarket rigs especially those with Velcro or the adjustable “open” mag holders are much more tolerant of the larger mags such as PMags and Tangodowns.
In the end the bulk of my mags are still Pmags,… but I find myself rarely using them now…
This is because when I use a tight rig like a FLC (or my ALICE back-up to the back-up) I will run my troys and when using a more generous pouch (such as Blawkhawk etc) I like to take advantage of my super premium Mags such as the Lancers and TDs.
When I run a rig thats in-between, such as UW gear ,I can run USGI, Troys and Lancers.
PMags are a bit tight but can be made to work as well, though they are slightly taller/thicker than a Lancer.
TD’s are a no go.
In the end though I just run Troys in those mid sized rigs too.
I hope this all made a bit of sense, when you are struggling with the mags in your rig, maybe it’s not you, but your mags are just a tad too bulky for your rig.
