I have several years of experience with Gen M2 PMAGS, and have been using Gen M3's since they debuted.  

If your rifle will run them, I don't think you can beat a Gen M3 PMAG.  Proven reliability.  Great grip texture.  A Variety of capacity sizes.  The window option is great.  Unfortunately, I have one billet lower rifle which I use in 3 Gun competition that isn't compatible with Gen M3 PMAGs.  So I've been looking at other options.

Gen M2 PMags are certainly robust and reliable but don't have the grip texture advantages of the Gen M3 - they're really pretty slick IMHO, which is a big disadvantage in 3 Gun.  But they do have the window option.  

I've been giving the Lancer L5AWM a try.  As much as I like the window option in PMAGs, I dislike the look of see-through magazines.  It's purely an aesthetics thing, which shouldn't matter but somehow does.  So I've been trying the opaque black ones in both 20 and 30 round sizes.  Aesthetically, they do look nice.  Their polymer feels "cheap" or perhaps lest robust to me than the polymer which PMAG uses.  But it could well actually be more robust for all I know.  In terms of grip, it's somewhat better than the Gen M2 PMAG, but not as good as a Gen M3 PMAG.  The Lance has some nice texture on the sides, but when I grip a mag, very little of my hand actually rests against the long sides.  It's the short sides (front and back) where you need some no-slip stuff happening, and the  L5AWM actually comes up short in this regard.  

I'm also giving Hexmags a try.  I've got two of their Series 1, and four of their Series 2.  I like the color options for the followers and base plate...but it's an expensive option to take.  The grip tape you can buy for the mags gives them a neat look, but doesn't do much for grip because (again like with the Lancers) most of your purchase comes from the short ends, not the long sides.  Fortunately, the Hexmags are well designed and provide about as good a grip as do Gen M3 PMAGs.

The general vibe of this forum over the last half decade or so has been that your magazine needs to be able to withstand being run over by a tank and being shot full of bullet holes and still function.  Now company produces a virtually UNBREAKABLE magazine and still everyone wonders why everyone wants them?? Ironically, the few posts I've seen from Lancer here they seem to care less about convincing anyone here to buy their stuff.

If manufacturer of 30 round magazines is illegal federally, the ATF and the Feds would rape anyone who dared don't is making them.

If manufacturer of 30 round magazines is illegal federally, the ATF and the Feds would rape anyone who dared don't is making them.  Texas can't even get away with asking for IDsn to vote...

Sorry, don't get on her much.
Virtually no difference between G2 and G3 from a practical use point. I would not suggest you sell G2s at a loss to get G3s

However, I do prefer the smaller base on the G3 and I like the extra stippling for grabbing and changing mags but if G3s are stronger I am not pushing either hard enough to know how

Yup.  I ruined a briefcase,  calculator, watch and sunglasses with DEET.  Imagine what that shit does to your liver.

DEET is a remarkably safe insect repellant according to studies dating back to 1944. Do you have a cite that shows negative effects on the liver?

Just don't soak your clothes in 100% DEET. Bug spray should be fine

I use G3 Pmags and Brownells USGI mags with Magpul followers almost exclusively.
Here's why:
They work.
That is all.
Lancers are interesting and might work great but I rotate about 20 mags from range duty to ready to rock.
Might try one someday but I have mags that work.
And whoever said full auto fire will melt your Magpul feed lips never shot Magpul mags in a full auto because that is bullshit to the nth degree.

All my pmags are in long term storage simply because they were cheap, all my rifles use Lancers in various colors.

What is wrong with your brain?  

Show me where I even brought up GI mags?  I didn't. OP didn't. So why are some of you?  I'm guessing because YOU like them an have an inferiority complex about it.

For the last time don't put words in my mouth!  I have not said or implied anything bad about GI mags. It's not the topic of the thread. I didn't bring it up. But since some if you fucking insist on it I don't have a single problem with GI mags.

How about staying on topic?  Is there any reason to pick Lancers over Pmahs?  IMO no for the reasons I stated.

Make no mistake, Lancer wants us to buy their mags. And if dudes want to that's great. But if they are doing it because they think Lancers are going to serve them better in time of need I don't see why they'd think that. Pmag is battle proven and cheaper.

And if I had to pick another mag it would be ETS, not Lancer. Just preference.

Soak your clothes in permethrin, not deet.

On the subject of DEET and what it does to plastic magazines. I believe that Magpul has addressed this many times in the past here that the PMAG will handle exposure just fine. The only negative result with DEET is the windowed PMAGS. The mags still worked fine, but the clear plastic got hazy.

If I am incorrect in this, I apologize. I for one have had no issues ever with a PMAG and use several often.

Come back after you know what empirical means.

Well then, it's a good thing that if you managed to soak your liver in DEET that your liver isn't made from plastic now isn't it?

DEET failure? I guess I have to go with GI mags until Zika goes away.  Thanks Obama.  I hope my Axe bodyspray doesn't melt my six-position stock.

I've recently purchased some Hexmags, PMags, and one Lancer mag.  I really want to like the Lancer, but it feels flimsy compared to the others.  It hasn't failed, though.  Time will tell.

"Everyone switching to Lancer mags?"  ------- No.

"Any better than Magpul?"----- Depends on who you ask.

Lancer wants people to buy their stuff yet you don't see them here on the technical forum forcing their products down everyone's throat.  They rarely (actually never)get involved in the pissing matches that go on here.  As I pointed out people probably think Lancer is better because it has proven to be unbreakable.  A while back that was the only criteria anyone here cared about or talked about. I don't know if Lancer is "battle proven" or what that even means. I suspect they would perform in a "battle" the exact same as they do everywhere else.  Lancer (now along with ETS) wins all the "toughness" challenges and comparisons hands down. These two brands are in their own league in this regard nothing else comes close.

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm just saying, in passing, that pmags have actually been used by members of the us military in war and performed. I don't believe Lancer or ETS have. So if the main criteria was actual performance in time of need, Pmag should be the choice.

I don't have anything against any of these mags. I have all of them. I'm just giving the argument that if we remove feelings out if the equation GI mags have performed the longest in "real war use" and pmags have performed well too with the added benefits that polymer brings.

Lancer and ETS might perform too. Probably in fact. But we don't really know. So if my life depends on it I want a definite, not a probably. To me this is all philosophical anyway. I'm sure any of these mags will serve civilians just fine in any situation.  

During my multiple deployments I believe I've seen a few lancer magazines.  They have been out for quite some time now so I would find it impossible that none have made it to a war zone.  I've even seen a tapco polymer magazine in Afghanistan.  What does that mean about them??

I recall a guy posting here about 6 months or so ago that his unit had purchased and issued Lancer mags fwiw.