CQC.45
10-25-11, 09:07
Personal Security Systems: Parallel Magazine Attachment (PMA) 3x Carrier
I’ve been running this mag carrier on my own and in various courses, and wanted to give my impressions thus far.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/320854_234182376638406_132801706776474_678984_1569242002_n.jpg
The PMA is essentially a double mag pouch with a taco-style attachment along the bottom running parallel to the carrier (hence the name). It comes standard (as pictured above) with PSS standard OWB attachments. Initial inspection of the overall quality resembled other PSS gear I use, which is to say very good (edges smoothed out, coloring even, attachments fitting flush, etc.). I have owned kydex products from a variety of manufacturers in the past; it is one of those materials which shows the workmanship of the maker, as I have seen everything from very rough edges, uneven lines, and poor fit, to looking like it was perfectly molded from a machine.
My sample originally came in standard thickness black. Initially I was a little worried as I generally prefer most of my gear to be of the extra thick kydex variety for durability reasons. I realized my worries were unwarranted however once I received it. The PMA is incredibly stiff for its kydex thickness. In fact, I have another mag pouch from a major brand which seems to use thicker kydex that seems to have a little more flex than the PMA.
Initially, I ran the carrier using the simple, but effective, OWB attachment on my Wilderness belt along with a holster. Being a double mag pouch, the PMA does not conform to ones waist as 2 separate single pouches would. Having said that, I fount it to be pretty comfortable around the 10:30 – 11:00 position. I found a G19 magazine in the parallel attachment to be roughly the same length as the 2x carrier with a G17 mag being only slightly longer. This is nice as it is less likely to get snagged or jam into you…in fact, I had no issues with either (unlike I expected). Shooting from a variety of positions I found the extra mag to not get in the way at all (even kneeling). It stayed secure even after getting banged around quite a bit. Drawing the parallel mag was surprisingly intuitive. In fact, I may even be faster drawing it horizontally than the vertical ones. Instead of simply yanking it out of the pouch as in the vertical mags, grip the mag with my fingers while resting my wrist on the forward side of the double mag carrier and leverage my hand outward to draw the magazine. This has proven to be very fast with some practice and prevents the pouch from rocking back (not really an issue with OWB loops on the Wilderness belt, but with the zip ties on the war belt as referenced later)
Which brings me to my next point: mag retention. The mags have a distinct click in and out of the carrier. This is very nice as compared to some of the other friction-only carriers I have used.
Though the PMA works well on the Wilderness, I found its best application (for me) to be on my HSGI padded 1st line belt. For reference I am a 31” waist so I wear a size medium. This leaves me with very little room on my belt to mount stuff.
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/CQC45/DSC00377.jpg
At this point the PMA got a tan krylon job so ignore the poor coloring. To mount it on the MOLLE attachments I used the zip tie method which worked surprisingly well for what it was. My only issue is with the 2 AR mag carriers, I was left with very little room to mount the PMA, so I threaded the zip ties through rear and middle sets of rivets instead of the rear and front. This resulted in a little less stability than I would like, though this is not really the fault of the PMA itself. I would imagine someone wearing a L or XL belt would not have this issue. I may try to change some things around to make room for the PMA as well.
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/CQC45/DSC00378.jpg
Even with this mounting method, however mags were still easy to draw and remained secure. At this point the PMA was mounted at my 11:00 or so. I ran this setup at a recent VSM carbine class and it worked perfectly. It essentially gave me 3 pistol mags for the belt space of 2. During prone shooting drills I was hitting the ground HARD and the PMA was the first thing to make contact. I am not easy on my gear by any means, but it held up perfectly. Mags stayed in place and were still easy to draw. Working transitions, I actually found the parallel mag easier to draw (considering the placement of the rifle), than the vertical ones.
Final thoughts
In summary, I think the PMA offers a few distinct advantages. Being able to mount 3 mags for the belt space of 2 is a big one. Drawing the horizontal mag is easier from several positions, and especially when running more than one gun. Even if you like to draw only from the vertical mags you can simply feed the vertical mags from the horizontal one…more ammo never hurt.
I am certainly happy with my sample, as it has earned a permanent spot on my HSGI belt (may just have to move a few things around).
Regarding PSS in general: I have dealt with Steve on several occasions, and I have found him to be a standup guy who takes the quality and utility of his products seriously. He has gone out of his way on several occasions to work with me on various things. As such, I generally stick with PSS for my kydex gear and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone else as well.
I will try to answer any questions anyone may have regarding the PMA, hopefully Steve S. might chime in as well.
I’ve been running this mag carrier on my own and in various courses, and wanted to give my impressions thus far.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/320854_234182376638406_132801706776474_678984_1569242002_n.jpg
The PMA is essentially a double mag pouch with a taco-style attachment along the bottom running parallel to the carrier (hence the name). It comes standard (as pictured above) with PSS standard OWB attachments. Initial inspection of the overall quality resembled other PSS gear I use, which is to say very good (edges smoothed out, coloring even, attachments fitting flush, etc.). I have owned kydex products from a variety of manufacturers in the past; it is one of those materials which shows the workmanship of the maker, as I have seen everything from very rough edges, uneven lines, and poor fit, to looking like it was perfectly molded from a machine.
My sample originally came in standard thickness black. Initially I was a little worried as I generally prefer most of my gear to be of the extra thick kydex variety for durability reasons. I realized my worries were unwarranted however once I received it. The PMA is incredibly stiff for its kydex thickness. In fact, I have another mag pouch from a major brand which seems to use thicker kydex that seems to have a little more flex than the PMA.
Initially, I ran the carrier using the simple, but effective, OWB attachment on my Wilderness belt along with a holster. Being a double mag pouch, the PMA does not conform to ones waist as 2 separate single pouches would. Having said that, I fount it to be pretty comfortable around the 10:30 – 11:00 position. I found a G19 magazine in the parallel attachment to be roughly the same length as the 2x carrier with a G17 mag being only slightly longer. This is nice as it is less likely to get snagged or jam into you…in fact, I had no issues with either (unlike I expected). Shooting from a variety of positions I found the extra mag to not get in the way at all (even kneeling). It stayed secure even after getting banged around quite a bit. Drawing the parallel mag was surprisingly intuitive. In fact, I may even be faster drawing it horizontally than the vertical ones. Instead of simply yanking it out of the pouch as in the vertical mags, grip the mag with my fingers while resting my wrist on the forward side of the double mag carrier and leverage my hand outward to draw the magazine. This has proven to be very fast with some practice and prevents the pouch from rocking back (not really an issue with OWB loops on the Wilderness belt, but with the zip ties on the war belt as referenced later)
Which brings me to my next point: mag retention. The mags have a distinct click in and out of the carrier. This is very nice as compared to some of the other friction-only carriers I have used.
Though the PMA works well on the Wilderness, I found its best application (for me) to be on my HSGI padded 1st line belt. For reference I am a 31” waist so I wear a size medium. This leaves me with very little room on my belt to mount stuff.
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/CQC45/DSC00377.jpg
At this point the PMA got a tan krylon job so ignore the poor coloring. To mount it on the MOLLE attachments I used the zip tie method which worked surprisingly well for what it was. My only issue is with the 2 AR mag carriers, I was left with very little room to mount the PMA, so I threaded the zip ties through rear and middle sets of rivets instead of the rear and front. This resulted in a little less stability than I would like, though this is not really the fault of the PMA itself. I would imagine someone wearing a L or XL belt would not have this issue. I may try to change some things around to make room for the PMA as well.
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h326/CQC45/DSC00378.jpg
Even with this mounting method, however mags were still easy to draw and remained secure. At this point the PMA was mounted at my 11:00 or so. I ran this setup at a recent VSM carbine class and it worked perfectly. It essentially gave me 3 pistol mags for the belt space of 2. During prone shooting drills I was hitting the ground HARD and the PMA was the first thing to make contact. I am not easy on my gear by any means, but it held up perfectly. Mags stayed in place and were still easy to draw. Working transitions, I actually found the parallel mag easier to draw (considering the placement of the rifle), than the vertical ones.
Final thoughts
In summary, I think the PMA offers a few distinct advantages. Being able to mount 3 mags for the belt space of 2 is a big one. Drawing the horizontal mag is easier from several positions, and especially when running more than one gun. Even if you like to draw only from the vertical mags you can simply feed the vertical mags from the horizontal one…more ammo never hurt.
I am certainly happy with my sample, as it has earned a permanent spot on my HSGI belt (may just have to move a few things around).
Regarding PSS in general: I have dealt with Steve on several occasions, and I have found him to be a standup guy who takes the quality and utility of his products seriously. He has gone out of his way on several occasions to work with me on various things. As such, I generally stick with PSS for my kydex gear and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone else as well.
I will try to answer any questions anyone may have regarding the PMA, hopefully Steve S. might chime in as well.