TACO UPGRADES FTW!

THE AA CREW ARE TAKING A SMALL BREAK FROM THE CAGE THIS MONTH AS WE PREPARE SOMETHING EXTRA-SPECIAL FOR NEXT MONTH, BUT THE WE’RE ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR NEW, INNOVATIVE, AND USEFUL UPGRADES TO OUR PERSONAL KIT, AND SOMETIMES IT CAN BE THE SMALLEST OF THINGS THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO YOUR PERFORMANCE IN-GAME! DAN TAKES A LOOK AT SOME INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS FROM AN OUTFIT CALLED HUGO INDUSTRIES AND LIKES WHAT HE SEES!

High Speed Gear’s original TACO pouch undisputedly set the standard for open-topped quick-access style magazine pouches, with their versatility and durability making them extremely popular among the military, law enforcement and civilians. As good as the TACO was, there were a few inherent flaws with the design, however.

Aside from everyone’s least favorite aspect, installing the pouch, reinserting magazines back into the TACO was sometimes a little tougher than one might like. Being that the exterior of the pouch is laced throughout with elastic shock cord, this causes the lips of the pouch to want to naturally close when a magazine is removed. On the rifle pouches specifically, there are also some Cordura tabs designed to allow for the end user to modify the pouch with some elastic keepers if they wish to add some additional retention. Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that these tabs often fold over into the interior of the pouch and can catch on the magazine.

HSGI uses two polymer glides to create part of the structure of the pouch and also to facilitate smoother insertion and re-insertion for magazines that have lugs or other protrusions. The main point of contention is actually the front and rear of the pouch, which do not have any guides and are simply stitched 1000D Cordura fabric with a seam-taped edge. Particularly with airsoft magazines, which typically do not have curved magazine lips and just terminate in an abrupt 90 degree angle on top, these can be even more problematic when trying to reinsert a magazine into a TACO. Long time users will undoubtedly have developed some techniques to circumvent this issue; mine being what I like to call “auguring”, which is where you insert one edge of the magazine against the polymer glide, then rotate the magazine in a circular manner until it slides in… sort of like working a drill augur bit back and forth a bit so it can bite the soil. With practice, this can be done fairly fast, but one suffers when exhaustion sets in or you’re attempting

GOOD AS THE TACO WAS, THERE WERE A FEW INHERENT FLAWS WITH THE DESIGN, HOWEVER. ASIDE FROM EVERYONE’S LEAST FAVORITE ASPECT, INSTALLING THE POUCH, REINSERTING MAGAZINES BACK INTO THE TACO WAS SOMETIMES A LITTLE TOUGHER THAN ONE MIGHT LIKE” to run things in a hurry.

During my many travels on the Internet, I happened to come across Hugo Industries, who had created a rather interesting device for HSGI’s TACO’s. Like other boutique 3D printing shops aimed squarely at the tactical market, Hugo Industries is concerned with developing products that address existing design deficiencies or simple problems. As their company profile section states: “We make products that fix a problem. Plain and simple.” I am pretty keen on investigating some of these smaller shops offerings as they often have some neat concepts and good out-ofthe-box thinking; tackling niche products that some of the bigger companies would not.

Lip Service

Whether it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek or for lack of a better name, Hugo has created what they call “Feed Lips for HSGI TACO’s.” Rather ingeniously made, these are basically a set of guides that clip into the top of the pouch and serve to create a smooth entrance for the magazine. Having now used them for a while, I can confidently say they do an excellent job at helping you “feed” the magazine back into the TACO.

The Feed Lips are made from 3D printed PETG, which is rated to withstand temperatures as high as 88C / 190F and has good impact resistance and flexibility. This flexibility allayed my initial worries of these being overly brittle (as has been my experience with some 3D printed products in the past). In fact, you can bend the Feed Lips quite substantially; I halfway suspect if they were flexed greatly beyond their normal shape, they would deform as opposed to actually cracking.

Installation is quite simple, though the long lip is a little bit easier to install than the shorter lip. The longer of the two Feed Lips is the one that inserts into the back of the pouch. Hugo Industries instructional video indicated that you need to remove the MALICE or HSGI attachment clip from the pouch first, but I actually found this was not necessary. You just need to press it into place over the top of the pouch and the small hook on the Feed Lip catches on the taped seam edge, preventing the clip from pulling free.

The front clip is a little trickier, and I found the best technique to get it to situate on top of the shock cord was to slightly squeeze the sides of the pouch so the MOLLE formed a slight loop and then insert the Feed Lip. The bottom edge is supposed to hook under the top row of MOLLE, while up top there is a flange that hooks over the top taped seam. When installed correctly, this pretty much stays put. Additional tension is applied to the Feed Lips by the MALICE clip the magazine itself. I gave them a lot of yanking and wiggling and wasn’t able to get them to break loose from the pouch. Suffice it to say, you would have to deliberately work to uninstall these.

USER-FRIENDLY

Now as to the actual intention of these clips – do they actually solve the problem they set out to resolve? Without question, this is a resounding “YES!”

The Hugo Industries Feed Lips make inserting magazines a legitimate breeze now. I no longer need to “auger” the magazine into the pouch, nor divert my attention away from whatever I was doing

“DURING MY MANY TRAVELS ON THE INTERNET, I HAPPENED TO COME ACROSS HUGO INDUSTRIES, WHO HAD CREATED A RATHER INTERESTING DEVICE FOR HSGI’S TACO’S. LIKE OTHER BOUTIQUE 3D PRINTING SHOPS AIMED SQUARELY AT THE TACTICAL MARKET, HUGO INDUSTRIES IS CONCERNED WITH DEVELOPING PRODUCTS THAT ADDRESS EXISTING DESIGN DEFICIENCIES OR SIMPLE PROBLEMS” towards steering the magazine into the pouch. Now, I simply push it straight in without any hanging up or catching on the material as before. I genuinely wish I had discovered these earlier; they are really that sublime.

My initial order was for a set of 6 of these, which I have fitted into my Extended Pistol TACO’s. I use these pouches primarily as a dedicated SMG magazine pouch because they tend to fit most every platform out there. I tested the Feed Lips with KWA QRF MOD 1 magazines, as well as the TK.45’s longer 120 rounder, then the Arcturus and LCT PP-19-01 Vityaz magazines, and of course, the MP5, VFC MP7 and others. There was not a single SMG magazine that gave me issues with the Feed Lips.

Currently Hugo Industries offers the Feed Lips for Gen 1 HSGI pouches with MOLLE attachments and the newer X2R and X2RP only. They have feed lips for the pistol, rifle, extended pouches and double-deckers. At US$4.99 per set of Feed Lips, I feel these are well worth the investment and do a lot to make the TACO feel fresh again.

In early April 2024, HSGI announced the long-anticipated Gen 2 update to the venerable TACO, which aimed to improve a few design features, one of which seemed to be the top edges of the pouch inhibiting reinsertion. I have not personally handled the Gen 2 pouch yet, but I do know there is an absolute ton of Gen 1 HSGI TACO’s in circulation still. As bombproof as these pouches are, for the person considering bumping up to the Gen 2’s and who still own a perfectly serviceable Gen 1 pouch, they may want to consider the minimal investment into the Hugo Industries Feed Lips instead of the more expensive Gen 2 pouches. Given how well they work, I plan on upgrading the rest of the various TACO’s in my possession too!

Just to be perfectly clear, Hugo Industries did not provide their products for review, nor provided any compensation or endorsements… this is all on me. You can check out Hugo Industries and their products at www.hugoindustries.com AA

“THE HUGO INDUSTRIES FEED LIPS MAKE INSERTING MAGAZINES A LEGITIMATE BREEZE NOW. I NO LONGER NEED TO “AUGER” THE MAGAZINE INTO THE POUCH, NOR DIVERT MY ATTENTION AWAY FROM WHATEVER I WAS DOING TOWARDS STEERING THE MAGAZINE INTO THE POUCH. NOW, I SIMPLY PUSH IT STRAIGHT IN…”