I own quite a few wanna be subguns. I was into pistol caliber carbines before they became all the rage and plan to be until long after it dies down. Until pistol caliber carbines became the rage it could be tricky to try and find mag pouches. Nowadays everyone makes them, Blue Force Gear, Condor, Blackhawk, Barska, and most small custom gear shops. Before these companies jumped on the subgun train the only quality subgun pouches I could find was the 5.11 MP5 Mag pouch.
The 5.11 MP5 Mag Pouch Review
I don’t own an MP5, and never have, but when I was looking for Colt SMG pouches I figured these would fit. Luckily I wasn’t wrong. The 5.11 MP5 Mag pouch I purchased is MOLLE compatible. It also utilizes bungee or a standard mag cover to secure your magazines. It’s a double mag pouch, but single magazines work as well. It’s nothing revolutionary, or fancy, but it works.
Do Work
It actually works pretty damn well. It’s taken its bumps and hits and keeps kicking. It has been my go to subgun mag pouch for nearly 3 years and hasn’t frayed, split, or torn in any way. The hook and loop is still good to go, and it goes on and off kit without an issue. 5.11 bartacks stress points to reinforce the nylon construction.
The 5.11 MP5 mag pouch is made from 500D nylon and is treated to resistance moisture and dirty. The treatment seems to work since my 5.11 MP5 Mag pouches have been run hard, in water, in dirt and especially sand.
It’s generous in size to fit most pistol caliber carbine mags. As a side note, it will also fit extended pistol magazines pretty well. The mag pouches do not completely cover the magazines, so they are shorter and can accommodate 20 or 30 round pistol magazines in most cases.
5.11 MP5 Mag Pouch compatibility.
If you are like me and don’t have an MP5 it doesn’t seem to make much sense to buy MP5 mag pouches right? I only did it because it was my only modern, high quality and affordable option at the time. Along the way, I’ve come to find out that quite a few magazines will fit in my 5.11 MP5 mag pouch. It could fit more, but these are the only ones I’ve personally tested.
This includes the following –
Colt 32 Round SMG magazines
UZI magazines
Beretta 92 extended magazines
CZ 75 extended magazines
Glock 9mm extended magazines
Walther P99 extended magazines
Reportedly they will fit MP7 magazines pouches. If HK wants to send me an MP7 to test it out I will happily oblige. Sadly the 5.11 MP5 mag pouch will not fit my CZ Scorpion magazines, which sucks, but is a fact of life. Overall, for the price, it’s hard to beat the 5.11 MP5 mag pouches. Their multi fit nature has already made them some of the most useful mag pouches I’ve ever purchased. Want your own? Got 20 bucks? Check them out here.