Gear

The Most Adaptable Mag Pouch Isn’t New

Technically I am in the business of wanting you all buy placards, but this is an image I wanted to post up anyway. The first PALS pouches I ever purchased myself around 2006 were of this basic design, which was the standard for a solid decade and probably longer in military service (vs the commercial market).

I’m not 100% who originated the design with the piece of elastic running around the front, I presume Eagle but I’ve never dug in to it. These particular ones are generic USAF issue and I don’t know the manufacturer, but they fit either 2 556, 2 AKM or 3 metal SMG mags (if rotated 90 degrees from depiction). You can even tuck the flaps in and ta-da its basically a placard with an elastic insert. Some pouches of similar type are a lot tighter and struggle with 2 USGI alu M16 mags let alone 2 AKM mags, but these ones are pretty roomy; you get more retention when you’ve got flaps tucked with the former though. Kinda similar capability to a modern modular placard though overall.

There’s advantages to the modern setup of course, particularly where speed is concerned and especially when you look at the modularity of the various latest releases in terms of extra PALS space, Tubes and adjustability. Retention with these old pouches isn’t necessarily great with the flaps tucked and doubly so for SMG/PCC once you take one mag out.

All that said, I still think these pouches are great and for the front of a PC they’re the only gear I use other than a modern type modular placard.

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