The great debate of carrying a spare magazine has gone on for years, but the idea of carrying a spare magazine is not a new one. Depending on the handgun, it’s extremely reasonable to carry a spare magazine as an insurance policy. The concept of carrying a spare magazine is fairly common among the younger generations of concealed carriers, but having a spare magazine is fairly common among carriers in general. One of the questions I get fairly often is the best route to go when carrying a spare magazine. There are a number of products on the market that assist in this exact topic which we will take a deeper dive into. Let’s take a closer look at different ways to carry a spare magazine.

Belt-Mounted Magazine Holders

One of the original ways of carrying a spare magazine is inside a Kydex or leather belt holder. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an older guy with a 1911 on his right side with a magazine carrier or two. With the surge in popularity of Kydex in the last decade, there have been a number of options coming onto the market for inside the waistband carry when it comes to magazines. Having the ability to carry an IWB holster with your gun and a mag carrier on the other side makes carrying both easier with a sense of balance.

The biggest downside with carrying a belt-mounted magazine holder is the overall comfort of the mag holders. In my experience, the magazine holders do sometimes dig into your side if you’re carrying them for longer periods of time but it’s manageable to get used to over time. Having your spare magazine on your belt is one of the best choices for stability but it suffers when trying to carry comfortably. Out of all the options, this is probably the easiest to learn drawing from when practicing reloads as well. Overall, I don’t mind carrying my magazines on the belt but for longer days of carrying concealed, I would definitely look at other options.

NeoMag Magazine Carriers

For the last two years, I have carried the NeoMag magnetic magazine carrier. This little unit acts essentially like a pocket knife clip on a magnet with a metal housing to help support your magazine. It sounds simple but the NeoMag magazine carrier is one of the most effective ways to carry a spare magazine without inconveniencing your comfort. In the past two years, I have never felt uncomfortable carrying this clip attachment even after a long day or during a hot summer day. I am someone who carries a pocket knife every day so it really doesn’t feel any different than carrying a regular pocket knife all day long.

One thing I have problems with when it comes to the NeoMag is when you have a flashlight as well. I don’t typically carry a handheld flashlight as well as a NeoMag magazine carrier just because it gets extremely cluttered in your pocket. If I’m going out at night and have a single stack firearm, I will either carry the handheld in my jacket pocket, or I will leave the spare magazine for the handheld light instead. I’m not the type who wears 5.11 tactical pants or anything so usually, my pants will have limited pocket space and it’s just a matter of choosing what seems more important at the time for you. With all things considered, this may not be the fastest method of reloading magazines. With a bit of training and practice though, it becomes fairly easy to do a quick reload with the NeoMag magazine carrier.

Wild Man Pocket Carry

The wild man pocket carry is probably the easiest way to carry a spare magazine. It’s also probably the slowest and hardest method to consistently draw from as well. This method takes the challenging process of dropping the spare magazine into your pocket and going on with your day. Typically, I will position the magazine with the rounds facing down and the front of the bullet facing towards the center of my body. This will keep it in the general position you’ll need it in to reload the gun so it saves a bit of time. There are plenty of other better options but I know it’s a real option for a number of people. Most individuals who carry a spare magazine don’t use anything special but rather just throw it in their pocket.

I fully understand this is by far the easiest method of carrying a spare magazine but it’s honestly the slowest as well as the most inconsistent method. If you decide to carry a spare magazine loose in your pocket, it will move around throughout the day as well as strip rounds out of it over time. This causes you to lose rounds out of the magazine and have random rounds bouncing around your pocket. So even though this is an easy way of carrying a spare magazine, I would recommend looking at other options.

Overall Thoughts

There are more than just these three options when carrying a spare magazine. Over the years, these are the main ways I’ve seen individuals carry as well as the way I have carried them in the past. If I had to pick just one method, I would go with the NeoMag system because it really creates a comfortable yet effective way to carry a spare magazine. It lets you have that extra protection without feeling the extra bulk. Is there a favorite way for you to carry a spare magazine? Let me know down in the comments below! I’d love to hear if there’s another way you prefer or if you think it’s a waste of time entirely. If you have any questions on carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stays safe out there.

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