New Product Test: MagHolder Horizontal Mag Pouch


Part of what make concealed carry work is a social norm that prevents people from looking here… sorry.

MagHolder.com‘s new… um, mag holders… are an injection molded, glass filled nylon, horizontal pouches that are currently available for the 1911. (9/40 cal Glock, Springfield and M&P versions should be available by SHOT Show.

Sunday morning I stopped by the post office to check the box and I was greeted by package from Mark at MagHolder.com containing one left and one right-handed, um… mag holder, for a 1911.

Reader: But Ron? You don’t carry a 1911?

Nope.  However I have been wanting to experiment with a horizontal mag pouch and Mark offered to send me 1911 pouches to test and then give away to a reader, in advance of the availability of Glock, um… mag holders. I promise to announce how.

At 1st glance the pouches are somewhat unremarkable, injection molded pieces.  I am completely OK with that because I like “Gear that Just Works,” but on closer examination there are a couple of features that really show that there is some real thought in the design.

  1. The pouches have retention built-in to the magazine catch notches to increase retention, since gravity doesn’t help as much
  2. The back of the belt clip has “checkering” to help keep it from shifting on the belt.
  3. The belt clip is angled to allow for different width belts (but as you can see from the photo it isn’t a fan of my Milt Sparks)
  4. The belt clip is a “C” design allowing it to be worn upside down for bullet up carry.
  5. There are 2 ridges on either side of the magazine inside the pouch to increase friction, without adding too much.

I have only worn it for a day. I still need to try it with a couple of other belts that should fit nicely into the clip, and allow my belt buckle to be centered. I still need to try it with other pants that have a slightly different belt loop placement. I need to try it on my hip. I need to practice with both bullet up and down orientations. And I need to give it a few 1000 more draws, but so far I like it.

How do you feel about the idea of a horizontal mag pouch? And do you have any suggestions for how we should give this away at the end of the test? Let me know by posting a comment below, Tweeting @BalloonGoesUp on Twitter or sending a message to us on Facebook!

About

Ron is the Founder and President of When the Balloon Goes Up! He competes regularly in IDPA as an ESP/Expert, his focus is on concealed carry, home defense and analyzing equipment to find “Gear that Just Works!”

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  • Phil Wong

    I’ve been wearing a custom horizontal Glock mag pouch from http://www.dalefrickeholsters.com since late ’08, and I like it very much.

    I find that it prints on really skinny folks, but with my 38″ waistline and spare tire, it conceals pretty well. A closed-front shirt is needed for concealment, but I wear untucked polos and Hawaiian shirts anyway, so no big deal.

    I carry bullets-up, and index my left index finger on the right side of the mag instead of the front when drawing the mag- as I reload, the index finger indexes on the right side of the mag well instead of the front. Theoretically, it’s a faster/more efficient movement with less distance for my left hand to travel, and negotiating the cover garment is somewhat easier, but so far under stress, I seem to default back to my 9:00-worn vertical mag pouch due to far more practice with it. Still, I’ve worn and drawn from it in several training classes and matches, and it has served me quite well…

    • http://balloongoesup.com Ron Larimer

      Obviously you can see how I am wearing it and I would have no trouble concealing it if I cared. The end of the magazine stops about where the point of my hip is so it is well inside my frame.

      So far I have also decided that I like bullets up (which requires a left handed version worn upside down) because it allows be to sweep my hand down, just like I would for a standard mag pouch, and index off the front of the mag.

      I like Dale’s stuff and I am trying to work with him on a couple of projects.

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