Recommended serious use AR mags?

[GyroF-16]

For the best reliable, long-term use mags, here are the names that I think I know meet the standard:
Magpul
Lancer
Okay (?)

Any other polymer mags?
I know there are other Aluminum mag brands that are recommended... could someone fill in some names for me?

[Default.mp3]

It's my understanding that nothing comes close to the Magpul PMAG GEN M3 when it was tested by the military, in terms of long-term reliability and function. That being said, for civilian use, those differences were kinda a moot point.

For polymer mags, I know that the TangoDown ARC MK2 mags were popular for a spell, probably there with the Lancer L5AWM or Magpul GEN M2s in terms of function, if I had to guess. Still, with as cheap and plentiful as the Magpul mags can be, I don't see the point of picking up any other polymer magazine, especially the less popular ones like HexMag, Amend2, MFT, Daniel Defense, etc.

D&H is usually second fiddle to Okay when it comes to aluminum mags, but they seem to be a "good enough" option, as is with current production Brownell's. I'm uncertain about Duramags at this point, they seemed to have recently been picking up visibility, but I haven't seen anyone come out and say that they're no longer shit.

[Nephrology]

I am an AR-15 noob, but so far through the ~4k rounds through my rifles to date I have yet to have any kind of malfunction, so it's sort of hard for me to feel strongly about mags in that context. I bet other people with a lot more experience with the platform have better informed opinions than me.

I have mostly magpuls/lancers/Okay industries GI mags in both 30 and 20rd flavors. I am not sure I'd bother purchasing anything else. I have a small number from other OEMs (hexmags, MFT, Elander, and I think even a Thermold....) and probably would not get more unless I had a compelling reason to do so.

It's really hard to beat the Pmag.

[OlongJohnson]

I buy M3s here.

https://lanbosarmory.com/index.php?m..._4191340829622

It's a local business. Have ordered several times, always good service. Hard to beat the price, even with TX sales tax included. Given that M3s come with the clips to prevent the feed lips being stressed if the mags are kept loaded, I see no point in buying M2s. Plenty of stock at this time.

[Default.mp3]

It's a local business. Have ordered several times, always good service. Hard to beat the price, even with TX sales tax included. Given that M3s come with the clips to prevent the feed lips being stressed if the mags are kept loaded, I see no point in buying M2s. Plenty of stock at this time.

The dust cover is not for feed lip stress reduction when loaded. It is to protect the feed lips from damage and against intrusion of environmental factors.

There is a common misconception that the dust/impact cover supplied with most PMAG products is in some way required to prevent feed lip creep or spread over time. This is not the case. When initially loaded, the PMAG GEN M3, and all PMAGs in the current lineup, exhibit a tiny normalization of feed lip geometry within a very small window of time measured in days, and then this geometry then remains stable over many years, heat cycles, cooling cycles, and outdoor UV and weather exposure. We routinely load magazines and place them into stable indoor, hot, cold, and outdoor exposure storage to monitor various batches of material. These magazines are occasionally function tested and reloaded with no issues.

As implied by the name, the dust and impact cover is indeed designed to keep debris out of magazines during storage, and to provide an extra measure of feed lip protection for magazines in storage, such as stuffed in an ammo can in a tactical vehicle used in off road operations, or for aerial delivery, kicking containers of loaded mags off of moving vehicles, and the like. This ensures that magazines that may normally be out of sight, not maintained, or subjected to delivery handling that is many, many times the normal testing and usage criteria will perform flawlessly after a quick flick to remove the cover.

Source: https://www.bigtexoutdoors.com/diffe...-magpul-pmags/ (can also be found at P&S, and is a great read overall)

[theJanitor]

I've got lots of pmags of various generations, some that still work fine from the '08 timeframe. That being said, over the past couple years, I've moved to Surefeed mags. They feed good, seem really tough, slim, don't get hung up in elastic pouches, and work better in lowers with tight magwells. I do spend quite a bit on the magpul L plate upgrade, though.

eta: I bought 40 Surefeed E2's last week

[RancidSumo]

I buy M3s here.

https://lanbosarmory.com/index.php?m..._4191340829622

It's a local business. Have ordered several times, always good service. Hard to beat the price, even with TX sales tax included. Given that M3s come with the clips to prevent the feed lips being stressed if the mags are kept loaded, I see no point in buying M2s. Plenty of stock at this time.

Thanks - great price and also great prices on Magpul Glock mags. Watching Biden call for an AWB a few minutes ago changed my mind about whether or not I have enough mags . . .

[Clusterfrack]

I preferred Lancer AWM to PMags. But the latest rev of the G3 PMag is very good.

[19852+]

Magpul has an excellent reputation and in my experience they do work quite well. I bought some Lancers which also do well and I like them for match use since they are translucent for stages were specific loadouts are mandated. But for serious use I go back to Magpull.

[GyroF-16]

Excellent point, Neph.
As long as PMAGs are readily available, probably not much reason to add much variety.
I guess in the back of my mind, PMAGs are a little more fragile than aluminum GI mags, but there may be little basis for that in reality.

I am an AR-15 noob, but so far through the ~4k rounds through my rifles to date I have yet to have any kind of malfunction, so it's sort of hard for me to feel strongly about mags in that context. I bet other people with a lot more experience with the platform have better informed opinions than me.

I have mostly magpuls/lancers/Okay industries GI mags in both 30 and 20rd flavors. I am not sure I'd bother purchasing anything else. I have a small number from other OEMs (hexmags, MFT, Elander, and I think even a Thermold....) and probably would not get more unless I had a compelling reason to do so.

It's really hard to beat the Pmag.