Anyone carrying for over a decade has likely gone through quite a few magazine pouches.  If one has carried a multitool daily, one has probably experienced the carrier wearing out or falling apart over time.  I have had all kinds of pouches over the years: nylon, leather, polymer, kydex, closed-top, open.  I’ve even been mandated to have “basket weave” magazine pouches on my old Sam Browne for work.  Most of the magazine pouches I’ve had over the years were model specific, or at least differentiated between working with single or double-stack mags. I’ve even had some double stack magazines, like those for the FNP-45 or USP-45 for example, not fit in pouches that supposedly take all double stack magazines.

An annoying thing about some magazine pouches is that quite a few of them have tensioning screws or other such hardware holding them together.  These components tend to depart the platform or fail at the worst possible moment.  I swear my gear waits for matches to take a dive.  If one has a larger collection of firearms, or just changes up one’s carry piece once in a while, one will accrue a large a mount of magazine pouches that will just sit around cluttering up one’s space.  What if there was one mag pouch that worked great  for the vast majority of pistols, was extremely well made, and deployed each magazine silently and smoothly at optimal tension each and every time?  There is.

Getting Mean

Soldier Systems Daily gets the hat tip for making this author aware of Mean Gene Leather and their aspirations to bring such an awesome mag pouch to market.  After both a 1911 magazine pouch and a leatherman pouch of mine failed on the same day, I ordered some of Mean Gene’s Burritos.  I purchased two “utility” width pouches (for multitools) and two pistol magazine size pouches.  Prices range around $32-$34 for a pouch, depending on what configuration, color, and stitching one selects.  I got mostly black, but opted for one utility pouch in “Crazy Horse”, to see the matte brown color in person.

Top: “Crazy Horse” color holding Leatherman OHT
Bottom: Black color holding MUT

Order fulfillment was extremely quick.  Time from payment to shipping was one business day.  My products arrived exactly in the configuration I ordered them.  This was already off to a good start.  I have had some purveyors of holsters or mag pouches, especially leather ones, take a very long time to produce product, only to end up shipping the wrong thing!  This was definitely not the case with MGL.

First Impressions

The pouches themselves immediately give off an air of extremely sturdy construction with an attention to detail.  The belt loops themselves are made from a single piece of leather and stitched on at three points to the pouch.  A small, clearly embossed MGL logo is on the backside of the loop.  The pouches themselves have excellent stitching through that holds them together and the sides encompass two M-shaped, heat treated, 17-4 stainless steel springs.  These springs are extremely corrosion-resistant, a boon to a product that will be used a lot for concealed carry.  The leather itself is extremely smooth inside and out.  The pouches did not come with any gouges or blemishes at all.

Nice stitching and embossment on loop. Two different sized loops are shown.

Steel spring on a double stack .45 magazine…

and on a single stack .380

Top view

At the Range

I’ve used the MGL Burrito pouches at the range numerous times now, without least hundreds of reloads performed.  I have not had one hitch reloading via these pouches.  Every magazine deployed smoothly and quickly.  I have not had a chance to compete with these pouches, but they are as quick as my kydex competition “quarter” size magazine carriers when using a shot timer.  It is extremely convenient not to have to change mag pouches each time I change firearms.  This is especially true when I have brought several different pistols to the range on the same day.  The pouch retained and deployed magazines of all sizes, from Ruger LCP magazines up to MAC-10 and even M1 Carbine magazines.  There was not one pistol-caliber double or single stack magazine so far that I have tried that the Burrito does not work with.  (Then again, I don’t own a Desert Eagle)

Utility width works awesome as an M1 Carbine magazine holder

Carries subgun magazines without issue as well. Pictured: MP5 and Uzi mags

At Work/In the Field

I have used the MGL pouches every single day, whether I’m only caring a multitool (Leatherman OHT and MUT) or with my EDC setup, usually a 1911 or XDS.  I’ve used them during running, hiking, kayaking, ranch work, desk work, automotive work, range time, and lots of time on the road.  Not once has a magazine or multitool come out of the pouch on its own accord.  Not once has any magazine or tool failed to deploy smoothly either.  The pouches are so comfortable on the belt as to be unnoticeable.  They do not shift around on the coated, nylon or leather belts that I have used.

I have not noticed any scratching of the Burrito pouches.  Despite my crawling over and through Buck fencing and sharp rocks, they’ve held up fine.  There has been no evident corrosion or degradation of the spring.  This is after extensive saltwater exposure to one of them.  The leather and springs have held their shape well, and have not bulged out or lost their ability to reform after carrying particularly wide magazines or tools.

Very little wear after months of hard use everyday

My Thoughts

The MGL Burrito magazine pouch is a hell of a deal for the money.  I would highly recommend these to anyone who carries a firearm for personal protection, or who participates in competitive shooting.  I would especially recommend them to people starting out in personal firearms ownership, as they will save one a lot of money down the road by being compatible with so many magazines.  I would also highly recommend them to anyone who carries a multitool, as I have gone through and destroyed many lesser multitool pouches over the years.  Such a fate doesn’t seem to be in the cards for my MGL pouches for a LONG time.  This is one of the products I wish existed a long time ago, but I am grateful that they are made now.  Oh, and if you want one for your AR magazine?  They are now available.  A bonus for lawmen:  There are versions with wide enough loops to fit on one’s Sam Browne.  If pouches with snaps aren’t mandated by your department, you may want to check the Mean Gene Leather Burrito out.  

Pros:

• Extremely well made in the USA
• Available in a wide variety of attachment styles, sizes, and colors
• Extremely durable
• Comfortable
• Fast to deploy, with positive enough retention to hold mags securely
• Compatible with the vast majority of single or double stack pistol magazines, Most Subgun mags as well
• Work great for multitools

Cons:

• Your mags may be open to the elements if pouches are used in an open carry capacity
• Not as delicious or nutritious as an actual burrito.

(Author’s note:  I purchased these MGL Burrito pouches on my own initiative, with my own money, and found them to be so awesome I had to tell our readers)