Carrying a spare magazine seems to be a topic that gets the concealed carry culture riled up. Some say it’s an absolute must-have. Others claim you’ll never need it. I fall in the middle. I often carry a spare magazine, but I don’t see it as a must-have. However, I like having options when it comes to packing a spare magazine. I’ve tried vertical and horizontal carriers, IWB carriers, pocket options, and now the NeoMag. The NeoMag solution is a pocket carry option, but it’s not your typical pocket mag pouch.
What’s a NeoMag?
It’s a pocket clip combined with a magnetic mount that wraps around half the magazine. The pocket clip sinks deep into your pocket and looks like the clip you’d see on a knife or flashlight. The magnetic mount clings to the magazine and holds it in place. It’s a true concealed carry design.
You can choose between a few different pocket clip options. You have a standard and an extended clip that allows the magazine to sit deeper in the pocket. For short and sweet magazines, the standard works, and for magazines a little longer than average, go with the extended.
For example, if I want to carry a 10 round P365 magazine, I’ll use the standard model. If I want to carry the 15 round SIG P365 magazine, I’d go with the extended. If you are putting a magazine extension or pinky rest on, then go with the extended option. The NeoMag body comes in three sizes. One for 380 and smaller, one for 9mm, 40 S&W, 357 SIG, and the like, and one for 45 ACP and 10mm.
It’s quite simple overall and rather ingenious. They offer a standard model and model specifically for Glocks. The Glock model has two magnets. That being said, I’ve been using the standard one magnet model with Glock 43X magazines, and it works fine.
The NeoMag and Concealed Carry
I’ve been popping my SIG P365 15 round magazine in the NeoMag and packing it daily. It sinks the magazine nice and low in my pocket. I can’t exactly conceal a magazine while wearing a tucked-in shirt with a belt mounted pouch. The NeoMag fixed that while remaining accessible. Tuckable IWB Mag pouches exist, but they don’t offer a super-fast or intuitive reload.
It’s super convenient in my business casual day job clothing and presents me with an accessible mag without being evident. It’s not uncomfortable by any means, and I found myself forgetting it was there. In fact, as I unloaded my pockets on my first day carrying it, I was briefly surprised by it. It was an “Oh yeah,” moment.
One downside with the NeoMag is that you surrender that pocket exclusively for the NeoMag. Tossing in your phone or keys interrupts your ability to draw the magazine. You might get away with packing a pocket knife, but you’ll need generously sized pockets.
I tried to see if I could get the magazine to detach from my NeoMag while it was in my pocket. I did some kicks, lunges, jumped up and down, and I couldn’t get it to detach. Even the G43X magazine stayed put.
Reloading
Drawing a mag from a NeoMag isn’t difficult. You’ll need to use a pincer grip with your thumb and pointer finger to grip the magazine around the front and rear of the magazine. The carrier seemingly stays out of the way as you grab it and pull. The NeoMag carrier stays in the pocket, and the clip clings to your pants without moving.
Drawing is relatively smooth but takes some practice. My first few tries resulted in a rather clumsy mess. It took time for me to really master the movement and the grip. I advise gripping nice and tight because it’s easy to send the magazine flying when a loose grip meets some momentum.
A huge benefit to the NeoMag is that you don’t have to get past a concealment garment. I don’t have to pull my shirt up or out of the way to access the magazine. I can reach in, grab it, and reload quickly and rather intuitively.
NeoMag Vs. a Belt Carrier
How does the NeoMag stack up against a normal magazine carrier? I grabbed my Wilder Tactical Belt Pouch and a shot timer to see what was what. Admittedly I have a lot more training on a belt pouch. Although, I’ve been working with the NeoMag for the last week.
I figured it should even out the skill gap. I worked mostly with a Glock 43X because I’ve been reviewing it. I reloaded, doing five reps at a time with each carrier. After 20 reps with each carrier, I was pretty sick of reloads. However, I figured out a few things.
I can reload just as fast with the NeoMag as I can with a concealed belt-mounted carrier. However, I was more consistent with faster times with the belt pouch. I could accomplish a reload in about 2.3 seconds from concealment with either pouch. With the belt pouch, I got that time with the majority of my reloads. It was tough breaking the 2.4-second mark with the NeoMag.
With more practice, I might close that gap. That being said, the belt-mounted carrier offers a more intuitive reload. With a belt-mounted pouch, I can get a great grip on the magazine and rip it out. With the NeoMag, I just got that little pincer grip to get it right.
Packing a Spare
While I’m a little faster with a belt-mounted pouch, I find the convenience of the NeoMag and concealability to make it the superior option for daily carry. I’ll keep practicing to try and close that gap as much as possible. With the NeoMag, I’m more likely to carry a spare magazine than a belt-mounted option, and it’s easier to conceal in formal or business attire. The NeoMag is a handy little device and worth checking out.
