A semi-auto is only as good as its magazine. If it doesn’t feed, it’s useless, and the mag is often a critical failure point. Factory Magazines are usually the gold standard for most guns. They’re the ones the company provides, and hopefully tests, and generally what works well. Gun owners are always looking for options, though.
Sometimes factory mags are hard to come by, or expensive, or both. It’s nice to have options, especially cheaper ones, although you often get what you pay for, so buyers beware. Sometimes, though, you find a mag that doesn’t outperform a factory mag but is still competitive in price. I don’t think that happens too often, but that’s exactly the case with XTech Tactical’s MAG series magazines for the Glock pistol.
What Makes XTech So Special?
There are a lot of folks making Glock magazines these days. The quality runs from pretty darn good to not so much. With all of the Glocks in the world, and all of the other guns that use Glock mags it’s a big market. XTech isn’t trying to be the cheapest mag out there in that market, but they are trying to be the best. So what makes them different?
Let me start by saying Glock makes some good magazines. There’s a reason that so many platforms use them. They’re also pretty affordable as far as factory mags go. Glock mags are hard to compete with honestly. Most other folks do it by price, coming in even cheaper than Glock. XTech does it by being better.
XTech’s mags are all made in the USA. They appear very similar in looks and build to a factory magazine, and the quality is at least comparable. No mold flashing left on the mags, and tolerances are tight.
They use an upgraded 17-7 stainless steel spring combined with a “no stick” follower made from Delrin with an additive for improved reliability.
Like Glock, the mag bodies are steel reinforced and they use a tougher baseplate made from a proprietary material for what they call unmatched durability. Their mags are compatible with anything that fits a Gen4 Glock factory magazine. They’re backed by a lifetime warranty.
Despite the updates, they’re competitively priced. Glock OEM mags have an MSRP of $29.99, but the current street price is about $22.
XTech’s base mags list for $24.95, but if you buy two for $42.95, that puts them at just under $21.50 each. Right on par with Glock, but US-made, with upgraded features, and a lifetime warranty.
But Do They Run?
That’s all well and good, as long as they work at least as well as factory mags. I’ve been testing a variety of XTech mags since just after GunCon back in June. I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical until I talked with Jeremy Deadman, CEO and founder of XTech Tactical, at the show. Like I said, it’s a crowded market, what makes them stand out?
Not only did he explain to me what he was doing, making a better product from better materials, but he also sent me a variety of the mags to try out. No conditions, no qualifications, no promises of positive coverage etc. He was confident in his product and adamant that he didn’t want me to just do a new-product fluff piece. He wanted me to see for myself that his products worked. I’m going to give you the short answer now: they do.
Months of Range Work
I’ve had a pair of the MAG17 mags, along with mag adapter sleeves to fit them to Glock 26 and 19 sized platforms, since the end of June. I got a Glock 19 magazine, complete with +5 extension, and a spare extension, about 2 months ago. Over that time I’ve taken the mags out on every range trip I’ve gone on, and used them in my departments Fall qualification.
I used a factory Glock 17, my Glock 45 duty gun, a home build 19 clone with an SCT frame and AIM slide, a few different AR PCC’s, including a Foxtrot Mike VFM-9, for testing. I don’t currently own a factory Glock 26 or 19 but I did check the adapter sleeves fit using my Model 23 and 17. The slip on adapters will fit .40 magazines as well.
I ran very bullet profile under the sun. Round nose and flat point FMJ, polymer tip, a variety of hollow points from different manufacturers, and even all lead rounds when I was shooting on steel. I didn’t keep track of exact round count, but it was creeping up on 2,000 rounds, if it didn’t pass it.
I had zero malfunctions in any of the guns over that time. I know that’s a testament to the guns, and the ammo as well, but good guns and good ammo don’t matter if you don’t have good mags to go with them. Trust me, I have other guns I’ve used over that time where I didn’t have as much success with so it’s not like all of my shooting always goes that smooth.
But Wait, There’s More!
In addition to magazines XTech also offers adapter sleeves so that you can use full sized mags in compact and subcompact Glocks. Having the extra rounds of a full sized mag in your smaller Glock is nice, but having the mag stick out can be a little awkward.
The XTech adapters just slip over the magazine body and and fill in the space between the extended portion of the magazine. They match the contour of the Glock grip frame, essentially giving your Glock 19 or 26 a Glock 17 sized grip when the mags are inserted.
There is also an adapter to use Glock 19 mags in the Glock 26. That one would give you a 19 sized grip on a 26 when using a 15 round mag. XTech even makes one for the 10mm and .45 Glock 29 and 30 so that you can use full sized mags in those as well.
The sleeves fit tight, so you need to work then into place on the mag. That’s intentional though so that they don’t shift when they’re installed. You can remove them though if you want to go back top using those mags in the guns they’re originally intended for. Prices on these run from $16.95 to $19.95.
Speaking of More is Better
Another way to up the capacity of your magazine is XTech’s +5 extension for Glock 17 mags. This is a solidly built adapter that replaces the base plate and magazine spring of you existing mag. It’ll work with XTech’s MAG19 or OEM Glock 19 mags. The adapter itself is $26.95. An XTech mag with the extender already installed is $37.95, and they get cheaper with higher quantities.
I ran one XTech mag with the adapter installed and a Glock OEM mag with an adapter for the past two months. I tried them in a couple of my 19 sized builds, and again in a couple 9mm PCC’s. Like the 17 round mags, these ran without a hitch regardless of ammo type.
You Need More Mags
Let’s be honest, it never hurts to have more magazines. At least that’s my theory. I never understood folks who only have two or three mags for their guns.
I’ve run enough rounds through the XTech Tactical mags by now that I trust them for carry, and have even cycled them in to rotation with my duty gun. I have a lot of mags that I use for range use but until now I always stick with OEM mags for carry and duty use.
The XTech mags rate though and I have no qualms about using them for either.
Where To Buy
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