I hate loading magazines. I like to shoot, but hate loading. Although I appreciate full capacity magazines, I often would only load 10 rounds at a time just for convenience. That’s all changed since I picked up a Podavach U-Loader a few months back.
The Podavach U-Loader
The Podavach U-Loader came about back in 2015 as a tool to help Ukrainian troops fighting the first Russian invasion in 2014. The company founders, Alexey, Ivan, and Andriy went through a bunch of versions of the loader before settling on the one you see now. By 2016 the loaders were available in the US, and in 2017 they opened up a US warehouse.
The U-Loader is a pretty ingenious system. It looks simple, and it is, but it obviously took some tinkering to get it right. It consists of a tray like platform with a slot that takes either AR or AK mags. In front of that slot you can see the long arched feed chute for rounds, and a dump tray area. A separate pusher is provided which is used to load the rounds into the magazine.
The U-Loader is very nicely made from wood, with a variety of finishes available, including some fancier grades of wood. It’s fitted with cork bedding, and has 6 non slip rubber feet on the bottom to keep it place during use. The feed chute has quantity markers engraved in it so you know exactly how many rounds you have.
The U-Loader works with a pretty wide variety of rounds. It’ll feed 5.56×45, 7.62×39, 6.5 Grendel, .300 BLK, 5.45×39, .223, 204 Ruger, .224 Valkyrie, 25-45 Sharps, and 6.8 SPC. Basically, if the rounds fit in the channel, it will load them. Generally this means bottlenecked, spitzer type bullets. Straight wall rounds like the .350 Legend or similar do not work.
Loading Made Easy
Using the Podavach U-Loader is simple. First, insert whatever magazine you want to load into the slot on the left side of the loader. It will accept just about any AR/STANAG pattern magazine or AK magazine. Then dump the rounds you want to load into the the U-Loader top tray.
From there you slide the rounds into the feed chute bullet end up. The shape of the chute guides the rounds and orients them correctly. The quantity markers indicate when you’ve hit 10, 20 and 30 rounds, for the various calibers.
Once everything is lined up, you use the pusher block to simply push the rounds into the magazine. It takes longer to sort the rounds than it does to load the magazines. It’s literally a matter of seconds to fully load a 30 round magazine. It’s also way easier on the thumbs since you have the big loading block to grab hold of to insert the rounds rather than thumbing them in one round at a time.
Podavich has a good video that shows how easy it is to do.
Picking up My Own U-Loader
I picked up my U-Loader after a buddy suggested it to me. The loader has an MSRP starting at $89.95 and goes up from there depending on wood type and finish. I grabbed mine on sale earlier this year, though, and saved a bit off of that. Shipping is from Podavach’s US warehouse in Pennsylvania, so it got me in just a couple of days.
They do run occasional sales, so if you’re looking, it’s worth signing up for their e-mails. Even at full price, though, this is a tool that I wish I would have discovered years ago.
I used it through the end of summer and fall and have been amazed at how effortless it makes loading a mag. Mine has loaded 5.56 and .300 Blackout with Magpul 10 and 30 round mags, Amend2 20 and 30 round mags, as well as GI 20 and 30 round mags. I also used it with my 6.5 Grendel and 15 round Duramags.
I don’t shoot my AK a lot but I did try that as well and loading polymer and steel AK mags was just as easy as loading the AR mags.
A Must Have Tool?
After using the U-Loader the past few months I can’t believe I lived without out it all these years. Thumbing rounds in by hand is for chumps after using this thing. While I guess I can’t say it’s a “must” have, since you can obviously load mags other ways, it is the easiest and fastest loader that I’ve tried.
The full retail of $89.95 doesn’t sound cheap compared to some other AR or AK mag loaders on the market, but once you’ve used one you’ll realize that the time and effort you save makes it well worth it. It’s even better if you manage to grab one on sale.
About the only downside to it is the size. It isn’t something you’re really going to throw in your pack and take with you. It works best laying flat on the shooting bench or your work table at home, although you can use it in your lap as well. However, it works on the hood of my Jeep too, and the rubber feet protect the paint.
Podavach has a CZ Scorpion loader as well that I’ll probably grab when they come back in stock. I’d love to see one that worked on Colt SMG mags as well if anyone from Podavach is listening. If you’re like me and like to shoot, but hate spending the time loading mags, then it’s well worth checking out the U-Loader.
U-Loader Specs:
Supported Calibers: 5.56×45, 7.62×39, 6.5 Grendel, .300 BLK, 5.45×39, .223, 204 Ruger, .224 Valkyrie, 25-45 Sharps, and 6.8 SPC.
Capacity: Loads up to 30 rounds per session
Weight: 1.6 lbs
Dimensions: 19.3×7.9×1.6
Material: Hardwood, cork, rubber
MSRP: Starting at $89.95
For more information check out the Podavach website.
