Having developed a requirement for three single mag pouches for use up front with my Crye Convertible Chest Rig (reviewed here), I had a look around for something close to C2R’s triple (reviewed here), circa 2014.
Apparently so few of these were made that they don’t really show up on the second hand market.
Chatting to Mike from AM Tactical, the solution presented itself with C2R’s 2018 model single mag pouch. Luckily, Mike had three of them left in stock, which I ordered.
The 2018 is a clever pouch. It’s convertible for flapless use and comes complete with a removable bungee retainer – something along the lines of Crye’s Smart Pouch line. This means it can hold small radios and other items, as well as M4 mags.
The removable flap is composed of laminate and I was intrigued to find that C2R was way ahead of Crye with this, because it’s very similar to the AirLite Structural Laminate that Crye now uses.
It’s still super slim and while a lot of manufacturers now use laminate, it’s not all created equal. My experience so far with this black plastic-backed laminate is that it’s very strong, and it is yet to show signs of sagging or delamination.
The flap’s tip contains a palpable index bump – probably a section of bungee – to deliver an identifiable feel through gloves.
The flap secures to the pouch body via Hypalon-style PALS straps.
These end in velcro – much like Blue Force Gear’s Helium Whisper system – which tucks up at the base of the pouch, after being threaded though the PALS columns (2 required) of a suitable platform.
As well as the flap – or bungee as below – the pouch features secondary retention in the form of elastic compression.
The pouch body is conventional 500D and its base is composed of webbing (with a a softer hand than C2R’s legacy pouches – so presumably lower denier) for wear and tear.
Interestingly, inside the pouch there’s loop velcro with which to secure a tucked flap, if the user doesn’t wish to remove it but go open top and bungee-free. I’m using a mix of these modes in the chest rig pics.
One thing I noted is that the external velcro loop which secures the flap (when in use) doesn’t extend too far upwards. This means that drawing a mag is positive, because there’s ample surface to grab – unobscured by loop.
Another thing I noted is that while snug, the pouches aren’t overly restrictive on Pmags and don’t need to be stretched/broken in.
Again, this is another great C2R product that’s been thoughtfully developed. The only downside? The pouches are sterile and I do miss the little rubber C2R logos – but that’s not really important.
What I’m a bit surprised at is that the laminate flaps are relatively short. That said, I’ll transfer across my existing 500D C2R double mag pouch flaps (which are super long and will adhere to the 2018 pouch’s internal loop) and test out which I prefer.
I’m pretty sure C2R will have a good reason for making the 2018 flaps shorter…possibly so they don’t end up in your face when opened. It’s certainly easier to open the flaps when prone, without a fight.
As usual, these C2R pouches are made in small production runs in the U.K.
Kit List
- C2R Single M4 Mag Pouch 2018 Model x3 (link to product)
- Crye AirLite Convertible Chest Rig (reviewed here)
- Crye SPS GP Pouch 6x6x3 (reviewed here)
- Crye SPS Frag Pouch (reviewed here)
- Crye Horizontal Mag Pouch (reviewed here)
- WAS Slimline Foldable Dump Pouch (link to product)
- Arc’teryx LEAF Atom LT
Read more C2R FAST reviews here
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