RCS "Copia" mag carriers

[TCinVA]

One of the guys at Raven Concealment hit me up a couple of weeks ago and asked me to take a look at a new product they're bringing to market. They sent a box loaded with a new magazine carrier that might be of interest:

10721

It is called the "Copia" after a goddess of plenty. I guess because you can have plenty of bullets. I thought it was named after a voluptuous Brazilian stripper, but I've been assured that no Brazilian strippers were involved in the naming of this device whatsoever.

The screw works a tensioner that allows you to adjust the tension in the mag pouch to fit magazines you want to put into it. Pictured is a double carrier holding a Glock 17 magazine and a Beretta 92 magazine. The Glock mag is, of course, wider and typically a mag holder that will hold a Glock magazine snugly won't hold a Beretta 92 magazine with any level of retention. With these you can adjust the tensioner to the point where it will actually provide enough drag to hold even a 1911 magazine when you turn the holder upside down and give it a shake.

They apparently come in singles and doubles. Singles can be joined together with screws if you wish, but the doubles are joined together with longer rivets as you see in the photo.

I've used the Glock 17 mag, Beretta 92 mag, S&W 5906 mag, H&K P30 mag, M&P 9 mag, a S&W 4506 mag, and a Wilson 9mm 1911 mag in the pouch pictured so far, and all seem to be held securely. It works remarkably well with single stack magazines, but you have to be careful how you insert the mag to ensure it doesn't situate at an angle.

The only magazine I have at the moment that flat won't work with it is the double stack magazine from the M&P .45.

[GJM]

Very interesting. I frequently use a Rogers designed (non kydex) mag pouch as it accommodates a number of different size magazines. I tried a Blade Tech universal fit kydex pouch, but it did not work to my satisfaction.

How is speed, retention, and your ability to get a good grip on the magazine? Will they be doing single mag pouches, too?

[TCinVA]

Based on what I see in the box, they will be making singles and doubles. (There are both in my box of love)

Retention, at least with every magazine I've tried so far, depends entirely on what you want it to be. You can adjust the tensioner to be barely there, or to be so tight you have to really work to get the magazine out. I have adjusted the ones I'm playing with at the moment to just enough so you can turn the carrier up-side down and give it a good shake without the mags falling out...then tightening maybe 1/2 a turn more.

Speed is going to depend on technique and how much tension you dial in. It covers about the same amount of the magazine as some other holders on the market, but it does not allow wrapping one's hand around the whole of the mag carrier like I'm used to doing with units like the SKD mag carrier. The bit of extra material on the carrier itself prevents that. You have to let your index finger rest on the forward corner of the form for the magazine void and position it properly on the magazine once you have cleared the carrier.

With some practice it should become pretty automatic. Just takes a little getting used to at first.

[TCinVA]

And I should note that the tensioners work even better when you actually put the magazine in the pouch the right way.

Fuckin' noob.

[Casual Friday]

Any idea on release date?

[TCinVA]

Any idea on release date?

Nope. Didn't think to ask, either...was too busy trying to figure out what the name of the product was supposed to be.

"Dude...are you sure it's not a Brazilian stripper?"

"Yeah. Definitely not."

"...because it sounds like a Brazilian stripper. Like one with implants up top and on bottom."

"No, definitely not."

"...because I wouldn't judge you if it was a Brazilian stripper, dude. I'm progressive like that."

"..."

Generally speaking the time between when the advance people get the boxes and when they appear on the website for order isn't terribly long, though.

[Jac]

How does it look concealment-wise?

[Casual Friday]

Copia is one of the more classy, tasteful stripper names, and what I hope turns out to be an extremely functional long term use magazine carrier.

[TCinVA]

How does it look concealment-wise?

It does not seem to offer any more protuberance than the SKD mag carrier I've been using for some time. If anything, the slight curve tucks against the body a tad more than the SKD mag carrier does.

[Dave Williams]

And I should note that the tensioners work even better when you actually put the magazine in the pouch the right way.

Fuckin' noob.

Isn't it supposed to be able to be used bullets oriented front or back?

[EVP]

So I am assuming that the main benefit or feature is that you can use a mag pouch across multiple platforms? Seems like a good idea.

[TCinVA]

So I am assuming that the main benefit or feature is that you can use a mag pouch across multiple platforms? Seems like a good idea.

Correct. You can have a single mag pouch that will work for all your double-stack 9mm/.40/.357 sig magazines. From what the RCS guys have told me it wasn't designed to deal with single stack magazines, but at least based on what I was playing around with last night they can handle single stack magazines pretty well, too.

To paraphrase Stony, double-stack .45 magazines were not anticipated. :D In other words, I don't think they expected some doofus to try and cram a double-stack .45 mag into them. Which confirms that I think outside the box.



Isn't it supposed to be able to be used bullets oriented front or back?

Yes. You can use it with the mags oriented in either direction...that way it works for righties and lefties, or for those weird people who insist on carrying their pistol magazines backwards.

[babypanther]

I'm assuming that these are sized for a typical EDC size belt, like 1.5" loops? If so, are there any plans for something fatter, like a duty belt? Looks awesome, typical RCS.

[DI1]

Those look really big and would take up a lot of real estate on your belt.
The mag pouches that Rich at CCC is making or the Ready Tactical from SKD have a much slimmer profile for OWB carry.
If you really need a "one size fits all pouch" the BFG 10 speed is hard to beat.

I'm a big fan of Raven Concealment, but not their pouch designs...

[JSGlock34]

Weird question but what the hell...anyone try these with MP5 magazines?

[Cecil Burch]

Those look really big and would take up a lot of real estate on your belt.
The mag pouches that Rich at CCC is making or the Ready Tactical from SKD have a much slimmer profile for OWB carry.
If you really need a "one size fits all pouch" the BFG 10 speed is hard to beat.

I'm a big fan of Raven Concealment, but not their pouch designs...


They don't actually seem to take up that much room. Maybe it is a pure perceptual thing, but for me it does not seem to be any bulkier/wider/bigger than most other pouches I have (which are most of them).

[orionz06]

Those look really big and would take up a lot of real estate on your belt.
The mag pouches that Rich at CCC is making or the Ready Tactical from SKD have a much slimmer profile for OWB carry.
If you really need a "one size fits all pouch" the BFG 10 speed is hard to beat.

I'm a big fan of Raven Concealment, but not their pouch designs...

Pancake pouches suck sometimes and can be too large but in the case of slim pouches vs the Copia one does need to consider that they're not gonna stack up two Glock mags right against each other. The spacing might be a little wider than preferred but the ideal use of this pouch isn't likely for someone trying to carry 4 pouches at once but rather just a single.

[TGS]

We were issued a bunch of Raven gear (holsters and mag pouches) which use a screw to adjust tension.

The screws falling out is pretty commonplace.

As a dedicated platform mag pouch, I strongly prefer the BMC from CCC/Rich Shafer compared to anything I've used.

HSGI tacos and the elastic Blue Force pouches seem to work pretty well if you have a need to switch platforms without being able to switch pouches, which describes an incredibly small segment of people.

[SLG]

We were issued a bunch of Raven gear (holsters and mag pouches) which use a screw to adjust tension.

The screws falling out is pretty commonplace.

As a dedicated platform mag pouch, I strongly prefer the BMC from CCC/Rich Shafer compared to anything I've used.

HSGI tacos and the elastic Blue Force pouches seem to work pretty well if you have a need to switch platforms without being able to switch pouches, which describes an incredibly small segment of people.

I have not tried this pouch, and am very unlikely to, but I agree completely with this.^^.

I used to have to be able to switch platforms very readily, and found that for tac gear, nothing beat the Rogers/Safariland pouches. For concealment, nothing beats a dedicated mag pouch, and I have a hard time thinking that there is a better way to go.

I could see something like this being very useful for the guy who tests a lot of guns, or who has to conceal different guns that he might not have a choice in once he gets overseas. Either way, I'm too small to use pancake pouches, so the Rogers is the way to go for me. They will take MP-5 mags.

[Magsz]

Are you talking about the accordion style universal plastic carriers that safariland makes?

If so, i find those to be horrible. They're WAY overly retentive and the belt loop is made for a 1.75 inch belt. They're not very stable on a 1.5 inch belt width.

Please clarify.

[backtrail540]

Has anybody put much time in with these since their initial release? I'm probably going to grab one to keep around as a universal pouch/loaner when shooting with other people without much gear, but it will be a few weeks or more until i get around to it. Do they ride closer to the body than say a CCC bmc, JMCK spm, or kytex single carrier? I prefer bmc's but they tend to ride a bit high and print for me. The JMCK options and kytex are fine as well but figure maybe these will pull the mag closer to the body. I don't have any experience with pancake designs.

[orionz06]

Has anybody put much time in with these since their initial release? I'm probably going to grab one to keep around as a universal pouch/loaner when shooting with other people without much gear, but it will be a few weeks or more until i get around to it. Do they ride closer to the body than say a CCC bmc, JMCK spm, or kytex single carrier? I prefer bmc's but they tend to ride a bit high and print for me. The JMCK options and kytex are fine as well but figure maybe these will pull the mag closer to the body. I don't have any experience with pancake designs.

Yes, pancake pouches will ride closer but may potentially be a smidge slower.

[PD Sgt.]

I have been using these for a while now and have made a few observations.

First, they are pretty useful if you have to switch pistol types on a regular or semi frequent basis. Depending on what I am doing I go from a CZ to HK with an occasional Beretta 92 thrown in (all DA/SA to minimize the odds of getting kilt in da streetz). They allow for quick and easy adjustment. Bonus is you can also set the retention level as well, depending on preference.

For me, they do not work as well with Glock mags. I find myself having to back the screw out so much I worry about it falling out. I use the legacy pouches for Glocks.

Second, the double carriers are too widely spaced, and the curve is not always conducive to where I prefer them on my waistline. I realize the spacing is part of the price you pay for modularity, I can live with that, just realize they will take up a lot of space on the belt. The curve is such that outside of a sweet spot at about my 9 o’clock, they leave a gap between the back of the carriers and my waist, increasing printing. If I want to run them a little forward of 9, I have to deal with this. For me they are best in single mag applications.

I like the fact they can be used on either side. If I need to carry southpaw due to injury, I don’t need to pay for new pouches.

I originally ordered mine in the short configuration, thinking minimalist is better. That is fine, but if you want to use the wings (which for me give the greatest flexibility in placement) you will need the regular profile, which works with everything.

I think overall they are useful, but like everything else that is designed to work across a wide variety of applications, they do not work as well as dedicated carriers for any particular magazine.