Quoted: Don't remember who, but an arfcom member said it best, "Perceived need, like Magpuls entire line."

In some ways the statement is true. All our products are based not on what we think we can sell (safe choices / minor enhancements) or on what is dictated to us via large government contracts (things build to fill a line item of requirements).

In 1996, while in the Marines, I "perceived" a need for a better magazine loop system that would provide consistent placement of the loop and could be installed in seconds on the magazine. Knowing nothing about injection molding or product design I borrowed money and built my solution. 6 years later my perceived solution is selling better than ever with only word of mouth advertising.

Having spent my time on the Marine KD course firing line I saw most malfunctions were magazine related. When HK spent a few million of the Brits money for the SA80 revamp, they redesigned the magazine and the resulting follower looked like the Styer Aug or AK47 mags which all have a much higher mean rate to failure than the green follower mags.

Again our perception of the problem is also shared by the Army itself which has funded a study last year on replacing the green follower as standard issue due to feeding issues.

EDITED TO ADD-Follower White Paper

Because we perceive problems we sometimes can find answers that others miss. We also put our money where our ideas are, developing products we perceive a need for and letting the market decide if we are right.

All this with little or no marketing. We don't have glossy full page ads in Guns and Ammo or browbeat our competitors. We simply offer our products with a 60 day money back guarantee- If you think they suck our do not fill a need just send them back no questions asked.

We have no plans on changing our way of innovation or our “perception”.  

Quoted: Quoted: Having spent my time on the Marine KD course firing line I saw most malfunctions were magazine related. When HK spent a few million of the Brits money for the SA80 revamp, they redesigned the magazine and the resulting follower looked like the Styer Aug or AK47 mags which all have a much higher mean rate to failure than the green follower mags. Does the magpul follower look like the HK or Aug follower?  Is it more innovative than that? The magpul follower seems to be a pretty snug fit in an AR mag compared to the green follower.  I've had them get stuck at the bend in the AR mag.  Maybe the mags are out of spec.  Maybe the springs are weak.  Maybe green follower is better in certain regards.  However, the magpuls don't tilt, which seems to be the selling point.   I haven't seen HK or Aug mags.  Do they have the same pronounced bend in the body that AR mags have?  If not, maybe that's why the followers can be designed that way and work good in those mags.

prototype follower next to Gen 1 follower


Gen 1 follower next to a Gen2

Rich,
Outstanding post!
To all of those who have never had a problem with the green follower, I think that's great, that's what it was designed to do. To those who put their life on the line each and every day....one problem with feeding and it could be the last. Why take the chance? 99% of the magazines we sell to LE and Military personnel are with the generationII magpul follower. I feel much better shipping my product with the magpul follower.
One thing that I do not think has been covered and was revealed to us has been how the magpul follower functions on a drop test. 2 aluminum magazines fully loaded, one with the green follower and one with the magpul were inserted into the mag well and then released to free fall to the ground. The magazine with the magpul lost the first round and was inserted and fired flawlessly. The other lost more rounds and because the follower tilted and jammed  would not function. This test was performed by a state police department and we were awarded the contract because of how the magpul follower performed. And Rich before you ask...no commission, and no price increase!


Larry
C Products

Ok try this, saved as a PDF instead.

PDF of Magpul Follower White Paper

Quoted: Quoted: Ok try this, saved as a PDF instead. PDF of Magpul Follower White Paper Thanks for posting that.  The paper talks about a design goal of acheiving 80% better reliability and how the follower should be more reliable than other designs.  Has field testing proven this?  Is the failure rate of green vs. magpul followers known?

The paper was written before the sencond gen design was even put together and before any relibility data had been compiled. If we get time I will have them update the information this year sometime.