Uncle Malice
New member
Okay! So... got the Apex 10-8 base pads. They come in a 4-pack for under $40 from Amazon if you want them quick.
I was going to post this as a reply to TunnelRat's thread here, but figured this could kind of serve as it's own mini-review and can stand alone as well.
First impressions - they're very solid. They are plastic, but have a very rigid feel that almost feels like aluminum. Hard to quantify that, I guess. They have double security notches. There's one notch on the spring retention that drops into a hole on the inside of the base plate that doesn't come through the bottom, and then the split post which pops through the base plate to really lock it into place.
Installation is fine, other than once you get it on and basically into position, in order to get the split post to pop through, you have to load the mag with 14rds - can't fit the 15th until the post seats - and then hit it on a table/floor/hard surface so the pressure will pop it through. Seems weird, but that's literally how their instruction video says to do it... and it works. So whatever.
When I was looking at the available replacement base pads, I was going to order these and at elast one of the Vicker's style, as I wasn't sure what would work better on the compact mags. That was, until I found this photo of the Vicker's base pad in use on a compact and decided immediately against it. WAY too much lip.
The Apex base pads feel pretty good. Their semi-squared front provides a little bit of a lip around the front corners that vaguely remind me of the feeling of the Magpul magwell on the Glock 19. Just enough of a lip to feel like you're getting more leverage to hold your hand high up. I consider it a good thing. It doesn't stick out obnoxiously, and the 3 sides are scalloped for a nice, positive grip in the event that you need to rip a magazine out. There is a little bit of a gap between the bottom of the grip and the base plate, but it seems more uniform than with the stock base pad.
I'm going to run these for a little bit and see how they do. I suspect I will be keeping them on the 2 compact mags I have. If not, I'll definitely be putting them on my full size mags, as the stock bad on those are obnoxiously long and stick way out when used in the compact pistol.
I would say that upon initial impressions, I am recommending these. Give them a shot. I think there's no doubt that they are more secure than the stock ones. The question will be how you feel about the change in dimensions and feel. It seems like a positive for me.
Here are some pics.
I was going to post this as a reply to TunnelRat's thread here, but figured this could kind of serve as it's own mini-review and can stand alone as well.
First impressions - they're very solid. They are plastic, but have a very rigid feel that almost feels like aluminum. Hard to quantify that, I guess. They have double security notches. There's one notch on the spring retention that drops into a hole on the inside of the base plate that doesn't come through the bottom, and then the split post which pops through the base plate to really lock it into place.
Installation is fine, other than once you get it on and basically into position, in order to get the split post to pop through, you have to load the mag with 14rds - can't fit the 15th until the post seats - and then hit it on a table/floor/hard surface so the pressure will pop it through. Seems weird, but that's literally how their instruction video says to do it... and it works. So whatever.
When I was looking at the available replacement base pads, I was going to order these and at elast one of the Vicker's style, as I wasn't sure what would work better on the compact mags. That was, until I found this photo of the Vicker's base pad in use on a compact and decided immediately against it. WAY too much lip.
The Apex base pads feel pretty good. Their semi-squared front provides a little bit of a lip around the front corners that vaguely remind me of the feeling of the Magpul magwell on the Glock 19. Just enough of a lip to feel like you're getting more leverage to hold your hand high up. I consider it a good thing. It doesn't stick out obnoxiously, and the 3 sides are scalloped for a nice, positive grip in the event that you need to rip a magazine out. There is a little bit of a gap between the bottom of the grip and the base plate, but it seems more uniform than with the stock base pad.
I'm going to run these for a little bit and see how they do. I suspect I will be keeping them on the 2 compact mags I have. If not, I'll definitely be putting them on my full size mags, as the stock bad on those are obnoxiously long and stick way out when used in the compact pistol.
I would say that upon initial impressions, I am recommending these. Give them a shot. I think there's no doubt that they are more secure than the stock ones. The question will be how you feel about the change in dimensions and feel. It seems like a positive for me.
Here are some pics.
