AR15 loaders are currently all the rage, like gun oil a few years back. Picking the right one is a difficult task without buying a bunch. We have tried several now and Podavach has really caught our eye with their recent offering.
The Podavach Multi-Platform AR15 & AK Magazine loader might have a long name without any of the catch slogans its competition has, but what it lacks in glamor it makes up for in function. Podavach’s loader is designed to load 70% of the world’s rifle caliber small arms. The loader boasts compatibility with 5.56×45, 223, 5.45×39, 300AAC and 7.62×39 ammunition as well as common AR and AK mag styles. It will load 40 round PMAGs but it will likely have issue with drum or surefire 60 rounders.
The biggest issue I see with any magazine loader is getting the bullets into the loader. Every manufacturer likes to have their own special way of packing the ammo boxes making it haphazard in how you fill your loader. The easy dump tray of the Podavach makes putting rounds into the loader a breeze. Simply upend the box of ammo, reloads etc and you’re done. Once the dump tray is loaded you slide the ammunition into line and pull the handle. It’s so simple even a member of the DNC could do it.
Features:
The little things that Podavach paid attention to are what please me the most about this product. The “handle”, which is a wooden nub, is magnetized and stays in place very nicely even when the frame is tossed around.
The rubber feet hold the tray in place as you load the magazines if the surface is relatively flat like a desk or range bench. If, like me, you shoot outdoors most of the time and load at a makeshift wood bench or picnic table you might need to apply some downward force to keep it from shifting while loading. Frankly, I do not see any way to mitigate this with an alternate design outside some sort of hook which would raise other issues.
The wide assortment of ammo compatibility makes this a one-stop shot for most rifle calibers used in competition or classes. With the amount of guns I have to test, this is a godsend. The compatibility with all GI, PMAG, ETS, AK, etc mags means short of 308 or larger calibers Podavach has you covered.
It lays FLAT!!! Ok that should not need to have so many exclamations and capitals but it does for a huge reason. I talked about putting ammo in the loader as my biggest issues with most of these products. Besides this, we have found that most loaders are vertical, so there’s a chance for a bullet to fall over and screw up how you fill the loader. I had given up on ammo loaders for this reason. If a bullet fell over, it took me longer to load a mag than just doing it by hand. Sure, it saved my fingers, but time savings is an important selling point on most ammo loaders. By laying the bullets flat, they can’t fall over and mess it up. The tradeoff of being flat means this is the biggest of the various loaders I have tried. However, it’s lightweight and thin so it can easily fit in a rifle bag, backpack or large range bag easily.
Is it the perfect solution? No, nothing is. But it is the best solution I have found to save time and fingers when loading multiple mags. If I need to load a mag or 2 I don’t bring it out, but for 3 or more it’s worth it. The other downside to this system vs its competition is it has no unload feature. I still keep a LuLa around for that job but the Lula has been demoted to that job only.
If you want to save time, save your fingers, and load multiple calibers into various magazines, this is for you. The Podavach Multi-Platform AR15 & AK Magazine loader retails for $79.00 and can be bought online at https://podavach.com/ or at your local retailer.
