As a bump.....

Lancers on sale....Transulcent $15, Opaque $12 LINK

Pmags also onsale for 20-30% off (search pmag on the above website)

A lot of us have subscribed to this thread. Can you please post a link to the new thread when you post it? Thanks again for the hard work and expense you've put into this.

Far more abuse than I'd ever expect to subject a mag to, but THANK YOU for the hard work and "mental energy" you put into the test.

A+

Great thread!

Thanks OP!

Great job OP, I just finished reading the entire thread and enjoyed every bit of it. A huge thank you for all of the time and effort you put in to do this!

I just read this entire thread from beginning to end...  GREAT WORK, OP, AND THANK YOU!!  

pretty awesome test!  Thank you for taking the time!
had wondered about polymer vs different chemicals.

thanks for putting in the time, much appreciated.

Very fun read. I enjoy that a couple companies hopped on board with the fun! Gotta keep them all in mind for my next order.

I have read through this whole thread and it really has been great. I never considered a lancer mag but now want a few lancers and some Troys. I do wish the thermold mags made it to round 2. Keep it up this is entertaining and informative.

I quit buying Lancers because they will not fit into my Eagle Industries M4LE chest rig . The Troys I have fit in my "tight" lowers very well, and they are very easy to draw from my chest rig, but the follower will allow a lot of tilt. That being said, I still have not had any malfunctions with them.

What surprised me most in this test was the Tapco mag. People hate on them, but the truth is their stuff isn't absolute garbage like some people think.

I have almost exclusively GI metal mags, except for a couple of PMags I got during some trading, and some Orlites that I picked up when they were REALLY cheap.

When the Troy mags came out I picked up two, just to try them out and see how they worked.

After this thread originally finished, I saw both TangoDown mags and Lancer Mags (the 20 rounders) on sale at prices too good to pass up after seeing how they performed during this test.  So I grabbed some of each.  Thanks again for your time and efforts in doing this.  

I also would have loved to see a 5.45 included in the test, as that is one of the variants I have.  Oh well, maybe in round 3...  

Say, any chance we can see some renewed testing with the new MagPul M3 version.  Which is reported to have improved impact strength.  

I've primarily used USGI and PMags and been happy with them. I just got 10 Lancer 20s and a couple Troys to try out too. My initial impression is good of both.

Great thread OP.

I am soo watching for the next round of tests. I also will donate a mag or two for testing.

I'd like to see how they fit in standard mag carriers, but i realize that would mean multiple of each mag type.

Can't wait to see more of these! It'd be nice if you could do this with Magpul and others AK 7.62X39 mags. Oh wait...

just saw this on youtube, the description is interesting, and the USGI mag jam is wierd because it looks like it almost made it, as in the mag did its job but the carrier was out of energy or something.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQxYXTYohPI&feature=em-subs_digest-newavtr&list=TLZLsVAgiRRfA


I am really jealous of you btw, nice gear, when you're not punishing it.

I'm kind of holding off doing anything else for a little while to incorporate this new magazine.

Because I know for a fact if I run these through the next day Magpul will start shipping the new M3's...



Thank you and thanks everyone for the magazine offers, but I have all the ones I need for now.

I'd suggest trying your own tests on one of your favorite mags and seeing what happens. (That's how this whole thing started )

I am going to see what happens but this might turn into a cold weather test before too long.

But but but its only a sample size of one...

And there was no controlled method used for that drop test,like a chute.
How do we know that the feedlips hit at exactly the same angle

All that talk about controlled scientific experiments and they used dummy rounds, talk about confounding an experiment.

Cool video though, wish I had a camera that could do 5000fps.

Great thread, OP.

How do you know what angle the mag will hit when you fling it from you gun.  I didn't see one mag in any of these tests that I wouldn't trust.  They had the crap pounded out of them and they all kept working.  And lets be real "if shtf and you had no way to replace mags and your magpul mag crack" you would drill a hole at the end of the crack so the crack wouldn't run, then you would hot knife (melt) the crack together again.  OP, awesome job.  Your tests have shown me that you can put a hell of a pounding on these mags, even the USGI ones that I thought would be the undisputed losers.

Funny how well USGIs do in actual side by side tests outside of advertisements.......

Thats what I was trying to get at.

I'll be glad to donate a Canadian issue Thermold.  Slightly used, never abused, in great shape.  Might have 100 rounds through.

The only Orlites I have are very used.  I can testify they'll work for quite a while after the spine and lips crack.

GREAT job OP.
I'd like to see one of the steel Fusil mags done in your next test.

I gotta keep up with this  one
 

tag for later

Awesome job OP.  Bookmarked for updates

Job well done to the O/P.    This is one of the few 20 page threads I've ever read front to back.  

I think ultimately in the end it isn't about which mag is "best", but rather "wow, those mags went through a lot!"

I'd like to see some sort of stress test on having the weight of the rifle rest on the mag while inserted and see if the mags feed reliably.  Oh, and I too would have liked to have seen Thermolds go through the testing, I think they are better mags than most people give them credit for.  

I have a new respect for Tango Down and Tapco mags.  Nothing has changed my opinions of the Lancer, USGI, Troy, or Pmag magazines.  Nothing is absolute in this world and mags are no different, all things mechanical break down.

FWIW, this fellow will be sticking by his "3rd gen" USGI and Lancer mags.  I've been %100 satisfied with them and see no reason to drink another flavor of kool-aid  

hell of a thread



 

Excellent thread! Highly entertaining and I was able to gain some information.

I realize this was "unscientific" but was disappointed with the amount of rust on the Troy spring.

Looking forward to the next one.

Lancer for the win!!!

That why I love MAG-PUL and WI57 you did a great job.

First, that was absolutely outstanding.  

I was very impressed with how all of the magazines fared.  I wouldn’t feel too concerned about using any of them quite honestly.  The GI magazines did much better than I expected and lasted longer than expected.  The Lancer magazine appears to be very impressive, but I caveat that with the fact that this test was a sample of one, and very unscientific.

Of the synthetic magazines, I think the PMAG is still a very solid bet regardless of what you see there.  No it’s not invincible, but it’s pretty darned tough; especially when you consider the cost.  Add to that the fact that there are oodles of them being used in war zones every day, so we have a good idea of how well they fare in the real world.  No, they won’t last forever, but they’ll serve you well and won’t break the bank when you have to replace them.  (just need to figure a way to get them into Afghanistan convenience stores so soldiers can just run to the Afghan equivalent of a 7-11 if he needs a replacement)

At the end of the day though, I have to say I’ve yet to see ANY mag out-perform a Bulgarian synthetic circle 10 waffle AK magazine; to me, that remains the gold standard.  Not a fair comparison, because the design of an AR mag well precludes the thickness afforded to the AK mags, since original steel AK mags had reinforced feed lips.  Still, the Bugarian mag and perhaps some anecdotal evidence from this test show to me at least that a combining of steel and synthetics seems to be the best bet.  While my Bulgarian synthetic mags may last a LONG time, they’re nowhere near as inexpensive for replacement as a PMAG; which remains a damn decent magazine.  

MESSAGE TO MAGPUL

1 – I’m still a fan, given the BIG picture which includes cost; you make a VERY good product.
2 – There’s always room for improvement.  Perhaps a model incorporating a steel reinforced feed lip similar to the Lancer is worth looking at.  Maybe even Tenifer coat said steel part for ultimate corrosion.  View windows are always nice...would be cool to find a clear synthetic that can really take the rough stuff.  And of course, in light of recent announcements, make it more M249 friendly.
3 – Did I mention I’m a fan of MAGPUL?  Keep doing what you’re doing.

OP, thanks for the extended testing you did on the other caliber rounds with the different mags.  Based on your testing, I put an order in last night directly to Lancer for a few AWM mags anticipating a future 458 SOCOM build.  Who knows what's going to happen in the near future, and I was glad to be able to get these when I did.  Thanks.

Glorious thread, WI57!  Thank you for all that you did.  It was informative and amusing.

--Rome

David Fortier's test had pretty much the same exact conclusions. (GI mags did better than expected, couldn't break the Lancer)  I wouldn't say this test was VERY unscientific.  You could argue it could be more scientific with a larger sample size but it is hard to argue that two similar test showing basically the same results is not meaningful.  I know of no similar tests using large numbers of magazines under "controlled scientific" conditions.

You need an overall post in the OP or maybe a spreadsheet that shows the results of all these tests

This post is EPIC

Just read this front to back and loved every minute of it. Thanks WI57! Regardless of cost the magpul is a great mag as we already knew, the lower cost is just a bonus. My marine buddies love their magpuls!

Excited to see the new tests

I keep watching the videos and am amazed at the amount of movement between the upper and the fore end, the mag catch, the mag itself.



 

So the winners were the Lancer and the Tapco?

I will just stick with my USGI w/tan follower. Served me well as a soldier and continues to serve me well as a civilian