Hexmag 120 - Initial Review & Thoughts

AnthonyG · April 22nd, 2016, 16:01

I've been looking for a decent 120-150 round polymer mag that was different than a stanag mag. I'm not really happy with current PMag offerings since as far as I know none of them are officially licensed, and finding them readily available isn't the easiest. I tried an EPM mag with bad results, and then a friend purchased a Hexmag, after trying them I thought I'd order some of my own.

I thought I'd write some initial thoughts, since no one else has reviewed them on the forum yet.

From Left to Right: PTS EPM, Hexmag, King Arms 120, Mag 190

At first glance, they're built pretty well. They don't flex like some cheaper plastic mags, but are not quite as good as EPM mags. I dropped one by accident on a concrete floor and it left a dent in the baseplate. I find the EPM plastic is much more dense, as dropping it in the same way does not leave a dent in the plastic; this may also be because the EPM plate is partly rubberized. I opened one up, and was not as pleased with the interior build quality compared to an EPM mag. It's not horrible by any means, the problem I had was with the screws. One of the screws on the mag I opened was partly stripped from the factory, so be careful if you decided to open one up, as I feel the screws are made of a slightly softer metal. On a side note, you could probably find direct replacements for these screws at a hardware store. Overall the interior shell is on par with the MAG 190 which are considered good mags.

One thing I really liked was the spring guide. It's actually possible to remove the spring guide without opening the entire body of the mag up. I've not been able to do this on any other of the mags I owned, as they've all required me to fully open the shell to get the spring out.

I'm not sure if this is a positive or a negative, but the interior shell came pre-oiled. No other mag I've opened up has come oiled from the factory. I also managed to jam the mag the second time I loaded it up by pushing a BB past the follower. Thankfully the design of the spring guide meant I didn't have to open up the entire shell of the mag to remove the jam.

In terms of fit and feed. I had no problems feeding in my VR16 or VFC scar. The mags wouldn't fit in my King Arms M4A1 magwell. They were super-tight front-to-back, beyond the point of usability. Upon further inspection the King Arms has a slight ridge at the back of the magwell that could likely be shaved off to make the mags fit. I also tested them in a friend's G&P VLTOR which had no problem feeding or fitting these mags.

I found the mags were slightly wobbly side-to-side in my VR16; however I also have this problem with PTS EPMs, they tend to rattle around when I move. A quick measure with the calipers reveals that the Hexmag is about 0.6mm thinner than the EPM. I solved the issue with a thin strip of velcro in my magwell on the opposite side of the catch. Now both types of mags sit secure with no wobble.

In regards to size, the mags are longer than a traditional Stanag, but about the same as an EPM. I feel like the Hex identifier is a bit of a gimmick, since I usually mark my mags with a paint pen anyway. I tested the EPM plate on the Hexmag, and it fits, but obviously will not lock in place. I'm thinking about doing some custom 3D-printed baseplates similar to ranger plates to make indexing easier. On my kitchen scale the mags weight 175g vs 190g for an EPM. The Dark Earth is also spot on with all my DE PTS accessories.

I'll probably follow up this review after a few months to see how the mags are still performing. Right now I'm pretty happy with them for the price.

120 Rounds
Licensed by Hexmag
OEM'd by Dytac.
OD, Black or DE

Red Dot · April 22nd, 2016, 20:52

Excellent review! I picked one up a while back to play with, I find they are decent but like yourself the plastic doesn't feel as solid as an EPM.

pewbiubiu · June 30th, 2016, 02:48

How are they holding up now? I see OD ones being sold on Ebay, quite tempted getting a box of 5 though it's not cheap. Ordered some EXP 140 rds PMG 3 magazines for a really good price, trying to talk myself out buying all them mid caps lately lol.

AnthonyG · June 30th, 2016, 08:08

So far so good. I had one instance where I may have over-filled on of them and a BB got past the follower. Fixing a jam is fairly straight forward and does not require dismantling the entire mag. All you need is a punch or small object to push the retaining pin out and remove the shell. Then you can remove the spring guide by hand, unlike pts mags which require the removal of 2 screws.

I feel like the spring is slightly better on the hexmags than the PTS mags. I've kept BBs in both mags for more than 24 hours; The PTS mags tend to feed the first dozen rounds slow, while the hexmags retains its tension evenly across all BBs.

Other than that, no performance issues. I don't have any high-speed setups to test these mags in, but I feel like they'd have no problem in a 30+ RPS build.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

pewbiubiu · June 30th, 2016, 15:11

Thank you for the follow up. Might as well get a box of mine too.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

jomor · June 30th, 2016, 20:52

Has anyone out there tried one in a VFC 416 to see if it fits?

skalnok · June 30th, 2016, 23:14

Anyone try them in a krytac by any chance?

pewbiubiu · July 1st, 2016, 03:12

I've seen two or three videos showing running them on lvoa. From what I remember they fit well and fed well. Not 100 percent sure tho.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

skalnok · July 1st, 2016, 17:53

You're awesome, thanks

pewbiubiu · July 2nd, 2016, 23:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by skalnok

You're awesome, thanks

To be even more awesome, I just ordered a box. I'll give you my thoughts when I get my Krytac and mags.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

skalnok · July 3rd, 2016, 20:06

Dope, looking forward to this review

Fritz · July 3rd, 2016, 20:46

Have you tried them in a VFC Hk416. I'm looking for an equivalent to EMAGS.

pewbiubiu · July 4th, 2016, 01:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fritz

Have you tried them in a VFC Hk416. I'm looking for an equivalent to EMAGS.

There's post somewhere here saying normal g&p polymer mid caps fits and feeds well on that gun. I remember the guy who said it owned that gun.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MartinAirsoft · July 6th, 2016, 20:40

The Hexmags work just fine in my Krytac CRB - no issues. Only annoying thing is a slight wobble

Kaosdawg · July 7th, 2016, 11:13

I have been using them for over 6 months now, they feed flawlesly only two issues i had and have with them is once i over fed a mag and bb got stuck under the follower and they wobble in my VFC vr16 Saber CQB.

other then that they feel great and work great.

Home	Forums	Register	Gallery	FAQ	Calendar
Retailers	Community	News/Info	International Retailers	IRC	Today's Posts

British Columbia	Alberta
BCAC	EAR
Op-For	JOC
Northern Arms Airsoft	Skunkworx Airsoft
Airsoft Kelowna	RAAT
Prince George Airsoft	Manitoba
Saskatchewan	MAA
SK Airsoft	Ontario
PDW	Airsoft Ottawa
South Sask Mercs	Snow Dragons
Quebec	1st Ranger Platoon
PQAC	Wolfpack Tactical
1st Pathfinders Regiment	TTAC3
Quebec Airsoft
MTX Airsoft	Atlantic
FAQc	Atlantic Airsoft

April 22nd, 2016, 16:01	#1
AnthonyG LUser Title Trader rating Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Pickering/Toronto	Hexmag 120 - Initial Review & Thoughts I've been looking for a decent 120-150 round polymer mag that was different than a stanag mag. I'm not really happy with current PMag offerings since as far as I know none of them are officially licensed, and finding them readily available isn't the easiest. I tried an EPM mag with bad results, and then a friend purchased a Hexmag, after trying them I thought I'd order some of my own. I thought I'd write some initial thoughts, since no one else has reviewed them on the forum yet. From Left to Right: PTS EPM, Hexmag, King Arms 120, Mag 190 At first glance, they're built pretty well. They don't flex like some cheaper plastic mags, but are not quite as good as EPM mags. I dropped one by accident on a concrete floor and it left a dent in the baseplate. I find the EPM plastic is much more dense, as dropping it in the same way does not leave a dent in the plastic; this may also be because the EPM plate is partly rubberized. I opened one up, and was not as pleased with the interior build quality compared to an EPM mag. It's not horrible by any means, the problem I had was with the screws. One of the screws on the mag I opened was partly stripped from the factory, so be careful if you decided to open one up, as I feel the screws are made of a slightly softer metal. On a side note, you could probably find direct replacements for these screws at a hardware store. Overall the interior shell is on par with the MAG 190 which are considered good mags. One thing I really liked was the spring guide. It's actually possible to remove the spring guide without opening the entire body of the mag up. I've not been able to do this on any other of the mags I owned, as they've all required me to fully open the shell to get the spring out. I'm not sure if this is a positive or a negative, but the interior shell came pre-oiled. No other mag I've opened up has come oiled from the factory. I also managed to jam the mag the second time I loaded it up by pushing a BB past the follower. Thankfully the design of the spring guide meant I didn't have to open up the entire shell of the mag to remove the jam. In terms of fit and feed. I had no problems feeding in my VR16 or VFC scar. The mags wouldn't fit in my King Arms M4A1 magwell. They were super-tight front-to-back, beyond the point of usability. Upon further inspection the King Arms has a slight ridge at the back of the magwell that could likely be shaved off to make the mags fit. I also tested them in a friend's G&P VLTOR which had no problem feeding or fitting these mags. I found the mags were slightly wobbly side-to-side in my VR16; however I also have this problem with PTS EPMs, they tend to rattle around when I move. A quick measure with the calipers reveals that the Hexmag is about 0.6mm thinner than the EPM. I solved the issue with a thin strip of velcro in my magwell on the opposite side of the catch. Now both types of mags sit secure with no wobble. In regards to size, the mags are longer than a traditional Stanag, but about the same as an EPM. I feel like the Hex identifier is a bit of a gimmick, since I usually mark my mags with a paint pen anyway. I tested the EPM plate on the Hexmag, and it fits, but obviously will not lock in place. I'm thinking about doing some custom 3D-printed baseplates similar to ranger plates to make indexing easier. On my kitchen scale the mags weight 175g vs 190g for an EPM. The Dark Earth is also spot on with all my DE PTS accessories. I'll probably follow up this review after a few months to see how the mags are still performing. Right now I'm pretty happy with them for the price. 120 Rounds Licensed by Hexmag OEM'd by Dytac. OD, Black or DE __________________ *Busy signing for his packages* Last edited by AnthonyG; December 29th, 2017 at 13:22.. Reason: updated info

June 30th, 2016, 08:08	#4
AnthonyG LUser Title Trader rating Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Pickering/Toronto	So far so good. I had one instance where I may have over-filled on of them and a BB got past the follower. Fixing a jam is fairly straight forward and does not require dismantling the entire mag. All you need is a punch or small object to push the retaining pin out and remove the shell. Then you can remove the spring guide by hand, unlike pts mags which require the removal of 2 screws. I feel like the spring is slightly better on the hexmags than the PTS mags. I've kept BBs in both mags for more than 24 hours; The PTS mags tend to feed the first dozen rounds slow, while the hexmags retains its tension evenly across all BBs. Other than that, no performance issues. I don't have any high-speed setups to test these mags in, but I feel like they'd have no problem in a 30+ RPS build. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk __________________ *Busy signing for his packages*

June 30th, 2016, 20:52	#6
jomor Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ottawa	Hex Has anyone out there tried one in a VFC 416 to see if it fits?

April 22nd, 2016, 20:52	#2
Red Dot Google level: BOSS Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Stouffville, Ontario	Excellent review! I picked one up a while back to play with, I find they are decent but like yourself the plastic doesn't feel as solid as an EPM.

June 30th, 2016, 02:48	#3
pewbiubiu Trader rating Join Date: May 2016	How are they holding up now? I see OD ones being sold on Ebay, quite tempted getting a box of 5 though it's not cheap. Ordered some EXP 140 rds PMG 3 magazines for a really good price, trying to talk myself out buying all them mid caps lately lol.

June 30th, 2016, 15:11	#5
pewbiubiu Trader rating Join Date: May 2016	Thank you for the follow up. Might as well get a box of mine too. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

July 1st, 2016, 03:12	#8
pewbiubiu Trader rating Join Date: May 2016	I've seen two or three videos showing running them on lvoa. From what I remember they fit well and fed well. Not 100 percent sure tho. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

July 3rd, 2016, 20:46	#12
Fritz Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Montreal	Have you tried them in a VFC Hk416. I'm looking for an equivalent to EMAGS.

July 6th, 2016, 20:40	#14
MartinAirsoft Trader rating Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Markham	The Hexmags work just fine in my Krytac CRB - no issues. Only annoying thing is a slight wobble

July 7th, 2016, 11:13	#15
Kaosdawg Trader rating Join Date: May 2015	I have been using them for over 6 months now, they feed flawlesly only two issues i had and have with them is once i over fed a mag and bb got stuck under the follower and they wobble in my VFC vr16 Saber CQB. other then that they feel great and work great.

Hexmag 120 - Initial Review & Thoughts

Reviews