The ‘tacticool’ space is awash with companies producing the latest and greatest revisions of what are in theory the most basic of pouches – the magazine pouch. British Tactical/Flimmuur Tactical are no different, but unlike your Warrior, Templar or Kombat offerings, the newest revision of the Horizon Laminate line is not just a slight colour change and a random increase in price to justify another release.

So, what is different then?

Well, if we look closely at the simple aesthetics of the pouch, next to the Kydex version we can see that some significant changes have been made. Whilst the material is still laser cut and heat sealed, with precision automated sewing, there are some very obvious changes. The colourway is much more consistent with the Multicam we’re used to, and the lack of stitching on the outside of the pouch has really smoothed out the overall appearance. There is now an offset row of MOLLE attachment slots central to the pouch, meaning that you have a greater variety of options when it comes to stacking pouches on top of each other. No more wasted rows, or twitchy OCD. The back of the pouch shows additional thought, with the mounting system still being a laminate material, but now with a thermoplastic tab at the bottom to make threading it much easier (more on this later). On paper, so far so good, we’ve got a much better looking (in my opinion), newer and slightly lighter pouch for... Less money? That can’t be right. Yes, somehow, Horizon have managed to knock £1 off the price of a Single Mid 5.56mm pouch going from the Kydex Range to the MagPI range.

The biggest difference between the MagPI and Kydex range is the retention system. As with the Kydex offering there is an optional elastic bungee retention system (additional cost, at time of writing 75p), however that’s where similarities end. The insert is now a proprietary Thermoplastic insert, and unlike Kydex it is no longer wedged. This means it is even easier to reinsert the magazine into the pouch and ensure that it is seated correctly from a variety of weird and wonderful angles and positions. As well as this there has been a complete redesign of how the insert is actually retained within the pouch. The new revision comes with a MagPI insert horn, that easily allows you to remove and replace the Insert with minimal wear on the internal velcro, and making sure that it is sitting perfectly in the pouch again. Now, again these cost (at time of writing) 75p each, but you will only need one for all of your 5.56 pouches and to increase longevity they’re an absolute must.

Aesthetics aren’t the be all and end all (heresy, I know), because if the pouch doesn’t do its main task, it's pretty irrelevant how good it looks. In the interests of getting as much testing done in the shortest time possible, I farmed the complete range out to 5 different individuals to test across a 3-day Complex Terrian/OBUA exercise. They mounted them directly to the VIRTUS STV, the issued belt, a private purchase shooters belt and a variety of MOLLE panels.

Let's talk variety here too. In the 5.56 range alone, you have a selection of Singles, Doubles, Triples. Now add in Short, Medium and Tall, you will absolutely find what you’re looking for in terms of rifle magazine options. There are also a significant number of 7.62 pouches, pistol pouches and various combinations of rifle/pistol. There really is something here for everyone.

How easy were they to fit? The general consensus was that no matter what they were being attached to they were extremely easy to fit, with the thermoplastic tabs making it much easier to thread through the MOLLE, even if the pouches and host items were wet and muddy. The only person that had any issues was attempting to stack them on top of a slightly less reputable companies' pouch, and found that securing the final loop was slightly challenging due to inconsistencies in that pouches MOLLE spacing. As a work around, it was necessary to remove the insert whilst mounting, which gave a bit more ‘give’ and made the process much easier. This feedback has been addressed by Horizon and will be added to the pouch FAQs.

How easy were they to maintain? All found the insert horn extremely easy to use, with no issues what-so-ever removing or replacing the Insert. A very good observation was that a magazine can be put into the pouch before removing the horn, this ensures it is correctly seated and won't need forcing in the first time you use the pouch after an insert change. The elastic was a bit fiddly to attach initially, but was secure when fitted and easy to remove and reattach once you’ve got it sorted the first time.

(Removal. 1. Insert horn behind insert. 2. Push down until it bottoms out. 3. Pull out insert.)

How well did they function? Again, the general consensus was that the pouches did exactly what they needed to a high standard. Despite every tester being given a full complement of the additional bungee retentions, no one chose to fit these, stating that the magazines felt extremely secure throughout, with no issues with inserting, removing or retaining the magazines at any time. One tester even removed the insert and ran the pouches like this for a few serials, and whilst there were no retention issues, they did say that were the inserts to fail they would add the bungee for the additional piece of mind.

Would you buy them? A resounding yes from all soldiers that tested the range. They were impressed with the quality of the materials, the quality of the build and the overall look and function of the pouches. They all agreed that the MagPI range would be worth either an initial purchase or would be top of the list for a piecemeal upgrade to any magazine pouches they currently have.

In conclusion, would I buy these? Absolutely I would. I’m guilty of still running a mixed bag of brands and materials on my kit. The value and quality that is offered by the Horizon Tactical range would make a complete overhaul or upgrade to some components an absolute no brainer.

Ratings

Value for Money: 5/5

Ease of Use: 4/5 (the only negative here comes from the fact many of us may have mixed brand compatibility issues)

Construction: 5/5

Allyness: 5/5

See the entire MagPi range here:

British Tactical

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I have many pockets for my British Tactical belt kit, but have been running this combo for awhile now.

I got the 20 PALS channels version and running two 2 channel pockets, two 3 channel pockets, and two 4 channel pockets.

My setup in the photos below is for fall/winter conditions on the California central coast, where the temps can be chilly, and rain is always a possibility.

This is for an all day trip back in the National Forest, and I will caption each photo in detail!

Please keep in mind, this is not for military use, and I don’t run mag pouches because my trail guns are either my lever action or bolt action rigs.

Also, this is my personal loadout for what I do and where I go, so it works great and is tailored just for me.

The cool thing about belt kits is that gear you want to get to easily is right there, without having to dig into a pack! When you need extra capacity for more gear, you can scale up with different size packs to meet your needs.

Here are the photos laying it out.

The awesome British Tactical belt kit:

The pocket layout:

The lids open showing the gear:

Running a 32oz Nalgene bottle in each of the 2 channel pockets:

Bottle out:

The items in one of the 3 channel pockets:

My possibles kit in a small SeeAll Pocket, 2 Small Handy Pockets with my maintenance kit for glasses in one and a fire starting kit in the other, a couple protein bars, and a flashlight:

Gear in a 4 channel Pocket:

A beanie, gloves, and a Snugpak Patrol Poncho for wet weather:

The other 4 channel pocket:

My Mont-Bell lightweight puffy jacket for a mid layer if I need more warmth:

The other 3 channel pocket with gear:

A boo boo kit in the Handy Pocket, toilet paper, handkerchief, mini binos, and armored gloves for bushwhacking:

Here is the belt kit on me with a Mini Pod for a little extra capacity

My Park Pack with the belt kit where I can carry a field chair, small tarp, my food, and an extra layer of clothing if needed:

Rear view

A Morph Pocket attached to the belt kit Yoke for added capacity if needed:

My PALS 360° Pack with the belt kit to carry even more gear if needed, and depending what I have planned for the day

Rear view

My Terrier Patrol Pack with belt kit for an over night or two:

Rear view

Mel Terkla is an iconic pack designer and for 12 1/2 years was responsible for designing and marketing Kifari line of military packs. Mel still designs and along with his wife, they produce pouches and packs for military and hunting use at PocketUp.

https://soldiersystems.net/2018/12/18/qa-mel-terkla/

I became aware of British Tactical through a Facebook page I am a member of which caters to kit pests like myself. I have been looking for a while for some pouches for the outside of a daysack I use as my go-bag when I’m working overseas. My Go-bag is the bag I carry everywhere with me when I am on a task. Its contents will vary a little depending on the task or environmental conditions but there will be some key components that never change. I like to keep the main compartment of my bag as free as possible for mission specific kit, hence why I was after some exterior pouches.

I use an ATS RAID pack as my base bag. I like the RAID pack because it is quite low profile. It has a zip which runs around 3 sides which makes it easier to get at kit than in a top opener as you don’t have to pull everything out and muddle it all up inside when you’re after a specific bit of kit. It also has a number of ports in the top so you can run stuff like antennas and hydration hoses. The best addition to the RAID pack is a rigid frame sheet. This is great because it stabilises the load and prevents any print –through to your back from any gear that is awkwardly shaped. Finally, it has a good amount of MOLLE on it so I can customise my load carriage.

I already had two Tactical Tailor long utility pouches on the sides of the daysack, but wanted some others to go on the front. I had experimented with some Blackhawk canteen pouches, but I found them too small and I didn’t like the mesh bottoms. I was browsing British Tactical’s website when I saw some pouches in coyote being offered up for clearance. Three vertical lidded pouches and one horizontal lidded pouch. They were perfect for what I wanted.

When I received them I was particularly impressed with the construction. Very robustly stitched with all seams neatly bound, even the inside ones. I also like the way the lids were finished off with the extra material stitched down rather than cut away leaving a point of weakness. The fabric they are made from is very robust with what appears to be a PU lining which will increase the life of the pouch. There is an option to have hook and loop closure or silent closure on the pouches and the tightening straps for the buckles is a generous length which makes them easy to use with gloves on. I am a big fan of the MOLLE attachment method. The attachment strips are more flexible that any others I’ve come across and are particularly easy to weave into place. This also makes it easier to swap out pouches should you want to re-configure your load. Finally, keeping with the theme of ease of use the hook and loop method of fixing the MOLLE in place is also great. My pouches are plain outside, but there is the option of having MOLLE on pretty much any external surface which significantly adds to their versatility. All British Tactical pouches are UK made so you can have a warm glow about supporting a UK small business and they have a lifetime defect warranty so you don’t have to worry should anything go wrong with them. However, looking at their construction I would be very surprised if you would ever need it.

In terms of the vertical lidded pouches they have great capacity without using up too much real-estate. They are only two columns wide but will happily swallow a Jetboil. I also like the small internal pocket inside the pouches so that you can separate smaller items. They are very nicely dimensioned and fit very neatly side by side.

Looking at the horizontal lidded pouch it is a beast in terms of capacity without being overly bulky. It is the same depth as the smaller pouches so sits over them very nicely on the back of the daysack. It has the same bomb-proof construction as the smaller pouches as well as the other added feature of two hook and loop panels inside to allow for load customisation or some form of internal divider.

To sum up, I am very happy with my purchase. They might not be as cheap as other options out there, but they are UK made, precision engineered bits of kit which will last and last. Remember buy cheap, buy twice!

About the Author:

Ben served for 15 years in the Infantry and RAMC. After the Army, he worked in an intelligence role as a contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan. After that he went into the city to work as a consultant for a Crisis Response Company dealing with kidnaps and evacuating people from all the shitty places in the world when it all goes wrong. He now has his own Resilience Consultancy. Ben is a keen outdoorsman, has also had his own martial arts school and is an Explorer Scout Leader, as well as being a total KitPest!