LBX is a relatively new company who I have been eager to try out ever since a military colleague of mine bought a pair of their Assaulter trousers for use in harbour area/field exercises. I was wary at first of a specifically airsoft orientated company, even though it is marketed as a division of LBT, one of the most prominent and successful names in the tactical nylon world. Naturally I got plenty of feedback from the friend in question and the only complaint he had was that they were a lot warmer than the issued trousers, which I think is true for just about every other brand as the issued MTP trousers are thin enough to rip in a strong wind. His views on the LBX trousers were good enough to lead me onto trying one of their products myself.
I was in the market for a versatile pouch that would be at home on a vest or belt line, at work or on the weekends. It was important for me that the pouch be lightweight and low profile to reduce my overall signature and prevent the dreaded moment that you get stuck going through a mousehole.
Upon first impressions i felt that the LBX Speed Draw pouch didn’t really have much about it. Whilst this does make for a very low profile option, it also means that the pouch lacks rigidity for re-inserting magazines which for myself is a big no-no for live fire as I don’t advocate the use of dump pouches anywhere except in FIBUA environments. One thing that I was very impressed to see is the inclusion of S&S Precision pull tabs as standard. As this pouch is too small for conventional kydex inserts it’s very nice to receive a product that has included any upgrades as part of the very reasonable retail price of £20.
The overall design is very simple, with a small pocket deep enough to hold roughly half of the magazine and still have plenty exposed to make indexing the magazine quick and easy. The bungee supplied with the pouch isn’t too rigid, and can be pulled from the top of the magazine easily, especially with the help of the S&S pull tab. The pouch is mounted via two MOLLE straps on the back of the pouch, with stiff plastic tabs sewn onto the ends to secure the strap when folded back on itself. For me these MOLLE straps seem a little longer than they should be, and so I’m worried they will allow the pouch to come loose potentially leading to at best an ill fitting pouch bouncing around whilst you run, and at worst, a lost magazine.
It is for these reasons that I think the LBX Speed Draw pouch should be left in the realms of airsoft, where it has performed very well for me and has earned itself a place on my good guy kit. For use in a more serious scenario though, I don’t feel like I would be able to trust it to last longer than a week in Brecon without having serious problems.
In conclusion this pouch does exactly what it says on the tin: LBX – Airsoft division. I would definitely recommend it as a cheap addition to a rig as a fast/first reload pouch, and I will continue to use it for the time being. But for real life, buy nice or buy twice. Just spend the extra money and get the First Spear mag pockets that are largely similar and a lot more sturdy, and save the money you would otherwise spend paying for 30 lost rounds and a magazine.
Thanks for reading this review, please feel free to leave questions or comments either here or on my instagram page @thegeardocrow.
The Geardo Crow 