We don’t do very many guest posts/reviews here on AR15NEWS but when Steve Aryan, Director of Training at the US Shooting Academy, asked us to help share his review of the ITW Military FastMag Pistol Pouches we were honored and more than happy to assist. Be on the look out for more articles from Steve in the near future including some great fitness articles. For now please take a minute to read his review below. – Ben
FAST….by design
I used these pouches on my High Speed Gear padded war belt. As an instructor I find myself using this belt as much as I can. Its comfortable, easy to use, and practical. Its something you can throw on quickly and go. The FastMag pouches were right at home on it. They were very natural for me to grab and as a result my reloads were quick. This review was conducted over a 3 month period of time. This was not a “24hr” review. I wore this in classes, competitions, and any other time I had my rifle with me. Below is my conclusion.
FastMag Pistol
The magazine pouch is designed in a way to secure the mag but to also allow fast access. The rubber bands that wrap around the magazine pouch can be moved up or down to adjust the amount of tension that is on the mag. I had no problems with the lesser tension setting. The mag was out when I wanted it out and stayed in otherwise.
The “Bullet Outwards” design took up less space on the belt and was extremely easy to pick up.
One thing I was worried about after receiving the FastMag was the fact that the pistol mag pouches point outwards instead of the typical “bullets forward” that I have used for hundreds of thousands of rounds. Muscle memory is a big part of my training. I am pleased to say I found no issues in the new direction my bullets were facing. Its hard to explain but even when you grab the mag in the same manner you would a bullets forward pouch I found no problems reloading. If you think about it this direction actually makes more sense because the bullets start out in the same direction they need to end up in. Another nice point is that the bullets outward design takes up less space on the belt. The real estate on your belt or vest is valuable. Finding gear that takes up less space and works good is a win win.
I was able to consistently index the mags quickly
Reloads were fast and natural with the ITW FastMag Pouches due to the fact the the mag starts off the way it will end up.
Another thing that was a huge perk to me is that I can switch pistols out and not have to change my mag pouches. The groups I teach range from civilians to military. Some weeks its a Sig 226 I need to use, some weeks a Beretta M9, others I am using my M&P 9mm. I use my HSGI belt in conjunction with Safariland’s MLS kit which allows me to change holsters out quickly and seamlessly. The combination of your pistol pouches with the Safariland system has made me not worry about switching my entire belt up every other
week.
Being able to switch holsters out without having to switch out the pistol pouches was a huge advantage.
Conclusion
I have had no problems and great success with the pistol pouches. I never had a problem with mags coming out but I also didn’t preform any aerial operations in it. I would prefer to have some sort of fail safe for the mags to be able to fully trust them while jumping out of a plane. I think the way to do that is to run it on the sides and over the top. A small strip of velcro or a bungee would add the security of knowing to matter how fast your falling the mags wouldn’t come out. I will continue to use the pistol pouches and will be securing more of these to replace the pistol pouches I had before. If your in the market for a MOLLE pistol pouch I highly recommend the ITW FastMag.
Steve Aryan is the Director of
Training at the US Shooting
Academy. Check them out at
USShootingAcademy.com and on Facebook.