The Velocity Systems Jungle Mag Pouch .223 is a fully enclosed magazine carrier that is optimized for harsh environmental influences.
It is part of Velocity Systems Jungle Kit, which was developed by Mayflower RC for a specific unit requirement.
If you didn’t read the full review of the Mayflower Jungle Kit you can do so in our comprehensive review.
After using this pouch as part of the whole jungle system and also on other platforms for about three years now it was about time to write a long-term review which would primarily focus on how well the construction keeps up, but also to expose eventual design flaws. You can also consider this review as a long term test of the two unique materials used on this pouch made by Blue Force Gear – the Helium Whisper attachment system and Ultra Comp laminate.
Overall Observations
The pouch features a long body that only exposes the very top of the magazines inside. You will fit up to three magazines inside the pouch. This works bests with the tips of the bullets either showing towards, or away from your body. If you want to carry all three mags in a different, more traditional, left to tight facing orientation, the flap will close, but the Velcro -which is one of the closing mechanisms, will not completely mate with its counterpart. The 20mm Fastex buckle will work in every mag orientation. The cut of the mag pouch is a traditional, box shaped cut, that gets closed by an, also box shaped, flap.
This may look outdated at first, especially when you consider all the open top magazine pouches on the market. However, you learn to appreciate this old-school approach as soon as you enter muddy, dense vegetated or dusty environments, as the pouch is not only retaining, but also protecting you valuable fighting load.
Velocity Systems lets you chose yourself if you like to compress the magpouch by a bungee to reduce rattling or not. This I achieved by two loops, made out of UltraComp fabric sewn to the left and right side of the pouch.
You will also see two rows and two columns of PALS webbing on each side to attach a frag grenade or radio pouch. This PALS webbing is also made out of UltraComp and is scaled down to a half inch webbing to save some weight.
The last observation on the overall construction is a D-Ring which has the purpose of connecting the webbing suspenders directly to the pouch, instead of direct attachment to the belt itself.
Last but not least, the Jungle mag Pouch .223 features a very large drainage grommet on the bottom, this will not only ensure a fast drainage, but will also not only drain water, but also small particles of vegetation or little rocks and stones.
Use of fabrics and materials
Velocity Systems is known for their intelligent construction of pouches, using different fabrics and materials on a single pouch. The body of the pouch is made out of 500DEN Cordura fabric, which is easy to source and also lightweight and robust enough for most applications. To protect the pouch further while minimizing additional weight, Velocity Systems decided to use Blue Force Gears proprietary UltraComp laminate, which is one of the most proven laminates on the market. The UltraComp laminate is most obvious on the front of the pouch, as the entire face is covered in this sturdy and hydrophobic material.
You will also find UltraComp on the bottom of the pouch body, as well as the left and right upper corners. On the flap velocity Systems decided to reinforce the left and right corners with UltraComp. This is a logical decision, as the aforementioned areas are mostly forced to endure the very most abrasion a pouch can experience. As you may see on the photos, the 500DEN Cordura took little to no beating, which again proves that Velocity Systems reinforced the right spots.
The more affected areas are in fact made out of UltraComp and you can see that the only effects three years of use under mostly arctic or hot-humid conditions on the laminate manifest in a little fraying in the corners of the flap, I wont go so far to call this delamination, as you don’t see any of the laminate peeling apart.
The webbing used is a printed, 20mm MultiCam webbing that shows some signs of fading but otherwise hold up well. The particular pouch shown here also shows some loose threads that also start to fray.
Helium Whisper Attachment System
The Helium Whisper Attachment System is licensed to Velocity Systems by Blue Force Gear and I’m really fond of this decision as the HW attachment is my favorite PALS option on the market. The whole back of the pouch is made out of it and it still keeps the pouch firmly in place while adding almost no bulk. Without looking closer at it, it even seems as if the pouch is sewn to the platform.
Surprisingly enough, the HW attachment shows the most signs of usage of all the components and materials used on Velocity Systems Jungle Mag Pouch .223 despite still working as intended to do. The laminate lost its color and some black spots appear all over it. At a closer look you’ll also notice some light, almost white spots on the side of the fabric. There is still no serious delamination, but some fraying, so we will keep an eye on this.
Conclusion – Quality
Little to no maintenance has gone into my jungle kit components in over three years of use. As some may remember from basic training, nylon equipment shall be cleaned with warm water, soap and a soft brush and also be air dried. My jungle kit hasn’t seen any of this kind of attention to be honest. Given this fact and the harsh use it has seen It holds up pretty well.
There are also no malfunctions or damages to the overall construction, which again proves Velocity Systems great construction quality. Helium Whisper as well as UltraComp have again proven to be reliable industry standards that hold up well even a decade after their introduction to the market.
Conclusion – Utility
The Jungle Mag Pouch .223 is an oldschool magazine pouch and not a quick acess mag holder. It also makes a great general-purpose pouch for smaller water bottles, GPS or even spare socks as it is an almost fully enclosed solution. Despite its really fancy construction it is pretty lightweight and excels in humid and arctic condition while “eating” almost every magazine on the market, be it G36, AUG or AR. However, Ranger Plates, Magpuls or other attachments like MagPods can be a little difficult to handle. You get what you pay for and in this case it is a traditional magpouch that keeps your mags reliable even in swampy areas.
Even after three years of use our sample of the Velocity Systems Jungle Magazine Pouch .223 holds up well. It shows some signs of aging but there are no problems with the overall product performance.
Where to buy?
You can source the Jungle Mag Pouch as part of Mayflowers Jungle Kit directly from Velocity Systems online store.
