I read the threads concerning these. Seems they were sought after during the post-Sandy Hook craziness, but many folks reported difficulty in seating them and occasional feeding issues. I see they’re still sold on various Internet sites.
Seems the consensus was to pass on these and go for P-Mag/Lancer/USGI instead. Did they have any redeeming qualities?
I’ve got a few of these, never shot them or even tried them in the gun. I guess I’ll have to do that now. Thanks for the info.:thank_you2:
I was “sold” one of those things at the lgs a couple of months ago. The owner was telling me about how great they were and that the IDF uses them and all that. I didn’t have good signal on my phone so I couldn’t get on the site here and see what the word was on them. Long story short everything you read in the reviews is true. Very hard to seat, doesn’t feed that well and so on and so forth. The only “redeeming” quality is what others have said, use it for malf drills.
Search keyword “E-lander.”
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?120043-E-Lander-magazines
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?122903-Mako-E-Lander-steel-mag-range-report
Their primary redeeming quality were that they were available at a time when not much else was, except for date-rape pricing.
Other than the points JSantoro made, there really is no overall redeeming qualities at this point especially at the price. I see them listed at anywhere from $10 (Cheaper than Dirt) to $18.70 (Mako)
They are heavy, the third iteration works reasonably well since they made the mag catch slightly higher, the follower works pretty well. Reasonably tough. It’s a decent magazine overall that works. As long as the date code is after 3/13 you should be okay.
But when Gen 2 Pmags are running anywhere from $9 to $13 depending on the sale, there really isn’t a need to buy Elanders at this point unless you get them at a good price. I ordered another 10 when Midway was getting rid of their stock for $9 a piece I think, but that’s my rainy day mags for when supplies get short again.
just a heads up. If you’re into Lancer mags, Botach tactical is selling the opaque versions for $9.95 and the translucent ones for $11.95. Free shipping!
I just ordered 8 today.
I have 5 of them. I had to replace their followers with modified Magpul followers to get them to feed. The indentation for the mag release protrudes into the body, so I had to cut a notch out of the Magpuls. Works fine now, though.
so basically no reason at all to use something different than P mags you can find at gun shows for $12? If it isn’t broke…
For the most part. I mean, variety is the spice of life and all and if you’re looking for something different the current iterations got the bugs in the system worked out okay.
They work for what they are, but I won’t purchase them over Pmags at this point unless I find them at a good price.
The only reason they saw the light of day on this forum is that they were the only mags available during the craziness last spring. Now there is a glut of mags and people aren’t paying attention to them anymore. I suppose the steel construction is a benefit to someone who prefers that to plastic, but otherwise I’ll stick to my Pmags and USGI aluminums.
They’re heavy so you can use them as a club. Supposedly their gen 3 fixed the seating problem, after about 3-4 months into the last panic when people raised hell (probably on TOS).
The rep claims they are made to Colt’s original specs and that other manufacturers have too loose of tolerances in the mag catch area. Lots of people just took a file to them and took out a bit of metal.
I have 6 still … NIW. If you want one I’ll charge you the $10 for shipping and you can try it yourself. PM me.
I picked up a couple of the Gen 3 Elanders and they really remind me of good quality steel AK mags. You could brain somebody with the empty mag and it would ruin their day 
Function has been perfect and you could probably leave them fully loaded for several hundred years without worrying about the feed lips.
I doubt I’ll buy more but I don’t regret the 2 I snagged.
I’ve got 5. They are heavy and durable. I’ve had a couple of weird feed issues with them, and had to file some metal off the mag catch dimple. I got them mid panic and figured the steel would last forever so if there was a ban i could use follower/spring rebuild kits and keep them alive for many years. Stupid. I wouldn’t buy them now unless they were under 5 dollars. Pmags and usgi aluminum mags with magpul followers are under 10 dollars all the time, its just not worth it.
Maybe they work in the Tavor…
Just looking for one redeeming feature.
“One cannot awaken a man who pretends to be asleep.”
Skip these altogether… I have 5 and the only quality they exhibit is they’re a sure thing for performing malfunction drills.
D&H is much better, Pmags are even better.
PSA just had a sale on D&H. 6.99 each with the magpul followers. I picked up quite a few just in case. I use the GI style for my 300 and PMAG for my 5.56 to keep them separate.
I have one E-Lander, and like someone else already pointed out, they are useful for practicing malfunction drills.