By now, most individuals should be well familiar with a dump pouch, or at the very least the concept of the dump pouch. It’s become a nearly ubiquitous piece of kit, and I’d almost say it could probably be found on 9 out of 10 of an Airsofters setup.
For the uninitiated, a dump pouch is a expanding, or non-expanding hollow pouch traditionally used to stow your empty magazines during reloads. In a bit of marketing fluff, these are sometimes also called “Sensitive Site Exploitation Bags” which are basically the same thing as a evidence bag or a gussied up dump pouch, but typically sold at a higher cost (you are paying for the name, after all…).
There are a few myths being regurgitated around the Internet about dump pouches. One of those myths is that “Airsofters invented the dump pouch” – often stated in a derogatory fashion in an attempt to invalidate its use. Perhaps most ironically this is usually stated by Airsofters themselves. Go figure.
This myth is false, however. It is hard to trace the exact origins of the dump pouch (AKA a ‘drop pouch’) but like many things in the world of military and field use, it appears to have rose out of necessity by soldiers who needed a means to retain their empty magazines better. In this regard, much evidence abounds of its use long before Airsoft was even a passing thought.
As this thread attests, the dump pouch has been everything from ALICE buttpacks, Claymore bags, canteen pouches, BDU pockets, and more. Special Forces were using the the abortive Point Blank CQB Assault Vest (mid-90’s), sometimes modifying the pouches for this purpose. And as far back as the Vietnam war, soldiers were using Claymore bags or gas mask pouches for this purpose. With some effort and digging, I’m sure you could find evidence of its use prior to this.
Some might remember the days of using the Eagle Duty Evidence Pouch: a compact folding pouch that stowed away on your belt. While not designed with the intention of holding empty magazines, it was pressed into the role by many, myself included. The use of this very same pouch also inspired the owner of Military Morons to create a better dump pouch, which now exists as the very popular Maxpedition Rollypolly; a design that has been copied ad infinitum, and is itself an adaption of the Eagle Industries pouch.
During the Costa / Haley school (circa Magpul Dynamics: Art of the Tactical Carbine) of thought that taught users to dramatically dump their magazines in the dirt (in slow-mo while violently flipping the weapon), it was when dump pouches began to be seen with disfavor. It looked sexy to have magazines that flew across the field with the same force as a HK-91 ejects brass, and it placed extreme emphasis on speed – something the firearm industry had been pressuring for since, well, forever. Dump pouches created aerodynamic drag! They were the anti-poon even. A lot of the tactical training industry has moved and adapted past these techniques these days, but you will very much encounter this methodology and thought process in the Airsoft world still.
For as long as I have been shooting (BB’s, paintballs, and bullets), I have in some form or another used a dump pouch for the collection of empty things – magazines, pods, brass, and more. It’s become an essential piece of gear, and I use it for far more than just holding empty magazines. Dump pouches are handy for stowing your gloves, expended Thunder-B cores, pins, and any random items (lost-and-found!) you may collect off the field – indeed, for events that use props or retrievable items, a dump pouch is very handy. Oh, and they are good for hauling puppies too.
As an Airsoft player, I have very rarely been in a situation where I needed to dump that magazine la Costa style and reload – and if I was, it was always faster to transition to my sidearm in any case. There has always been lulls and time and cover in the midst of battle to place empties in the dump pouch. As soon as the battle is done, or as time allows, I pull those empties out and refill them with my speedloader where they go back up front again.
Some proponents of not using the dump pouch will instead state that you should return your empty magazines to their pouches. I personally don’t believe it’s wise to mix empty magazines with full magazines on your front end. If you must, at least arrange them so you can differentiate between the two. I would also argue that it’s still faster to use a dump pouch than to mess around trying reinsert a magazine into its pouch – especially pouches that use Velcro or Fastex flaps (or both), and especially with pouches that hold multiple magazines without dividers. As a user of the HSGI TACO’s, one of the fastest magazine withdrawal systems out there, I can tell you that it sometimes takes two hands to reinsert a magazine. It’s more of an issues with the pistol / rifle mag combination pouches, than the standalone ones. As a former user of Velcro / Fastex flapped pouches with no dividers – it more often than not required two hands to manipulate a magazine into place.
There is also the case for the “tactical reload” which is the removal of a partially empty magazine that is replaced with a full one. If one is anticipating a larger fight ahead, I see nothing wrong with this practice. After all, more rounds on tap = better chances of surviving the battle. In this situation are you really going to dump that partially full magazine on the ground? It just doesn’t make sense. I can see the case for returning it to its pouch for use later on though.
As an Airsoft tech, I will also tell you that one of the leading causes of inner barrel damage and magazine jams is from contaminated magazines that were dropped in the dirt. Especially in GBB platforms which are far more picky about the cleanliness of their environment.
I’ve often found that the most vocal haters of the dump pouch are the ones most consumed with image or aesthetics over practicality and functionality. Unfortunately is is a fact of life that in Airsoft you have entire cadres and contingents who exist solely to have a camera follow them around. C’est la vie…
It’s unwise to become inflexible in your thinking, and only espouse that which makes you comfortable. Just as it is unwise to focus on gear or image over skill. Similarly, one should not confine themselves to only learning one method of magazine reload. Practice all methods. The situation will almost always dictate your actions.
