Today we're going to be talking about what type of magazine pouches exist out there and what their best uses are. Just to keep the topic from going too broad, we'll limit the pouches to rifle magazines and pistol magazines.
All these pouches that I am mentioning are for MOLLE-type gear. If you need an explanation about that, be sure to check out our previous videos and blogs on What is MOLLE gear.
The most basic type of pouch would be a flap-type pouch. The flap closes over the top to keep your magazine from falling out and is generally the most secure.
The flap might be held by a buckle or velcro or something of that nature. These might be the slowest to reload from though. One tactic would be to use these pouches to carry the majority of your magazines while utilizing a different pouch type for your "speed reloads".
Open-top pouches are pouches with no flaps to work with. You can reload very quickly from these and on some pouches that are more rigid, you can also reinsert magazines easily too.
Open top pouches might be the least secure when it comes to things flying out so know how you move and anticipate what you might be doing otherwise you could lose some magazines. The deeper pouches are not as prone to this nor are the more expensive pouches that might utilize some sort of grippy material.
There is also the open top pouches that have a bungee built in. The bungee is meant to give your magazine an extra layer of security so that in case you do get into a scenario where you are jumping around or doing crazy stuff, your magazine will still be there. It might slow down your reloads having to pull them out of the way, so some people have developed their own tactics on how to use this type of gear.
Here's some of the pouches we offer from various companies.
Starting with Condor who is a great budget friendly gear source, we have pouches of various styles. They do pouches in all the styles I mentioned from flap types to the bungee type. Many of their pouches feature MOLLE on top so that you can stack other pouches on top of them to customize your loadouts further. You will find these in popular colors like OD green, tan, and black. They use very tough nylon material that will last you a long time.
We'll move into the "real steel" gear that we carry here with HSGI and Blue Force Gear. As airsoft and real firearm enthusiasts here at Fox, some of us have decided to invest a bit more in our gear so that it will last us longer.
HSGI is one brand we like for very fast pouches to reload from. Their signature TACO pouches come in all shapes and sizes and are open top style. These utilize bungees with panels that squeeze into the magazine or item you have inserted, doing away with custom fit mag pouches. These retain gear very well especially for flat range work and are easy to reinsert if you have to.
Blue Force Gear is another brand we like. They utilize a hybrid material that is not as bulky as nylon/Cordura and is also lighter, while being even more durable. They have pouches of various configurations from open top to covered pouches. Most of their pouches are designed to retain a low profile so that elastic material is going to be a bit of a pain if you plan to reinsert your magazines into these pouches. They also come at a steep price by comparison to most, but with everything in the gear world, you pay more for anything that is lightweight, durable, and low profile.
Also as a friendly reminder, if you are not all about reinserting your magazines into these pouches or don't want to be bothered to do so, look into complimenting your loadout with a dump pouch. We have some videos/blogs on them as well but essentially this is a wearable pouch that you can put your expended magazines into and not have to worry about the mags getting lost.
Ultimately the goal of gear is to keep everything you need where you want it when you need it. If you are looking to build a loadout, keep in mind your budget, what you would like to carry, and what you see yourself doing. This will help prevent you from blowing money on pouches you ultimately end up not using. The gear won't make you automatically play better so don't be sucked into an elitist mindset that some gear enthusiasts seem to preach. Rather, look at gear as an enhancement to your experience in airsoft and pursue the way you ideally see yourself playing.