Are the U.S. 30 rd. Thermold Mags better than the Canadian Master Mold mags and if so why?  Also, what are the Canadian mags worth?

Thanks.

US made thermolds are made of a better material.  Cost cuttig caused Canadian manufaturers to use infereior materials.  Where US thermolds sell for around 20-25, Candians sell for 15-20 (If you can get a buyer).

Neither can hold a candle to USGI mags.

Yabbut the CANADIAN Thermelts have the sooper-dooper tactical Navy SEAL drain holes!

[BD]

Well, I won't get into a pissing match about Thermolds vs. GI; just that I don't (and won't) own any 30 round GI mags.  Have a dozen or so US Thermolds, and bought two of the Canadian jobs awhile back, for $8 apiece.

The US Thermolds are definitely better. Stiffer material, and if you drop them they usually don't spill out any rounds. The Canadian jobs always lose one or two.  If you want to go to Thermolds. by all means use the US versions. The Canadian pieces are OK for range shooting,but I wouldn't trust my life to them.

At the risk of starting something that will end up in the Bear Pit, may I ask everyone's opinion of Thermold vs. USGI? Why is one better than the other or vice-versa?

I'd very much like to know. Thanks.

Edited to add: And another thing.....What's up with green followers? They worth it?

I find that I usually gleam the most useful information from the bear-pit conversations.  People tend to do their best to explain why they like/dislike something.  That is, unless it breaks down into childish personal attacks, but that doesn't really happen here that I've seen.

OK, I'll bite[:D]  Now you'll read that the US GI are the best, because they're made by the best people, and they always work.  Generally speaking, that's true.  What you won't read is that 1)if you drop one on it's feed lips, on any hard surface, the lips will bend and the thing won't feed right any more, or that 2)the feed lips crack after awhile (yes, a long while).

What you also won't read is that the base plate retaining lips at the bottom will start breaking off after a few disassemblys. That is, unless you catch the posts from the guys who bought used GI mags from an unscrupulous vendor, and found the base plates wired on.

Now the Thermold detractors will tell you that they crack and break, and you can't leave them loaded because they swell up and get hard to insert.  Well the six Thermolds that I've had loaded and unfired for over a year now must not have heard that piece of wisdom, because they're neither swollen nor cracked. The two Canadian jobs mentioned in my first post do swell slightly after awhile, but they haven't cracked either. If you have a Rock River or (some) Bushie lowers, you may have to thin out the overinsertion rib on the Thermold, to get it to lock in, and that's about the only downside of the things. Thermold dimensioned the things to go into Colt lowers, and Colt chamfers the bottom of their mag wells more than most of the aftermarket folks.

Certainly, milspec aluminum mags are good products.  I've got a couple of the 20 rounders myself, for bench shooting. It's just that my personal experience with American Thermolds has been nothing but positive, so I'll stick with 'em until that changes.

 I have actually frozen a US thermold for three days with 28 rounds of ammo in it and then dropped it on my Saltillo tile kitchen floor without losing rounds or the feed lips cracking at all.  However an M1A Thermold shattered at the feed lips and dumped the mag.  Them ol' 7.62 rounds gits heavy.
 I save my USGI mags for important uses and use US Thermolds for everything else.  Love em.  The key is to lightly trim the mold flashing off of the follower and use a bit of plastic friendly oil in the mag.  Just a couple drops running down each corner of the mag will do.

 If you can get thermies ( the US D and D made ones ) 18 to 20 bucks a pop should be fair considering the market...long as they're pretty....but I wouldn't pay over six bucks for Canadian ones.

now my .02 in the bear pit...

In addition to what was mentioned thermolds have a unique advantage over USGIs. If you have an interest in the AR pistols (particularly the Carbon 15), Thermolds are a good suggestion. Many complain of feeding issues with such weapons when using USGIs, wheras the Thermolds work just fine. Granted this is not so much a Thermold superiority issue as it is a design flaw in the weapon, but it's reason enough to get some Thermolds if you're into the pistols. Bottom line: A minimum of 10 Thermolds and 10-20+ USGIs are the way to go IMHO.

Edited to add the obvious: US Thermolds only