Pistol Magazine Loaders: ETS, Maglula, and Speed Beez

Loading pistol magazines is a pain in the thumb. A reader recently asked if we have ever tested Speed Beez magazine loaders. He was wondering if there are other loaders that work the same or better. We are all familiar with the plastic magazine loaders shipped with Glock, Springfield Armory, HK, Canik, and other handguns. These loaders are basically a sleeve that fits over the magazine body. Press down on the loader with the magazine on a firm surface and slip in cartridges one at a time. Simple to use and effective. The problems with these loaders are they typically only work with that brand’s magazine. You might think that a pistol magazine loader is a gadget and is not really needed, but we all know that pushing the last few rounds in the magazine can be hard on your thumbs and difficult. You can bust your thumbs loading magazines, and a loader should make the process easier and faster, with no sore thumbs.

The criteria in what make a useful magazine loader are ease of use, compatibility with multiple calibers, as well as ability to load single- and double-stack magazines. The loaders also need to be compact and light weight so they fit in a range bag. The pistol magazine loaders we sourced included a Speed Beez Lever Loader as well as an ETS Speed Loader and Maglula UpLULA. 

We tested the loaders with magazines from popular pistols: Glock, S&W M&P, HK VP9, 1911 single stack, Springfield Armory Echelon, and others. We also tried to load 32-round Uzi stick-style magazines and 33-round capacity Glock and ETS magazines, both used in 9mm ARs. Spoiler alert: None of the loaders could handle the Uzi magazine because this magazine does not taper to a single round like most current polymer- and steel-body pistol magazines.

We also tried 40 S&W double-stack magazines and 45 ACP single-stack magazines. Because there are slight differences in pistol-cartridge case dimensions — some have slightly thicker or thinner rims than others — we used a variety of common ammo in 9mm Luger, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. 

We found that these loaders do not work with every type of magazine, and some worked better depending on the magazine being loaded. They do save time and thumbs. Which magazine loaders did we give the thumbs up or the thumbs down? In about the time it takes to load a 33-round magazine by hand, you’ll find out.

ETS Speed Loader Gen II C.A.M.,

$30

The all-polymer ETS (Elite Tactical Systems) Speed Loader Gen II C.A.M. offers a way to load pistol magazines without even touching the cartridges. It works with most 9mm and 40 S&W double-stack magazines. The ETS has two parts, the loader and the plunger. The first step is to insert the magazine into the loader. A bullet icon on the sides of the loader lets you know how to orient the magazine. Remove the ammo tray from the box and slide the rail on the loader over the cartridge bases in the tray. The loader grip interfered with the surface the cartridge tray was on. We had to slightly lift the tray or elevate the tray on the ammo-box sleeve. Flip the loader so the rounds are facing up and slide the plunger on the rail. Then brace the bottom of the magazine against your body and compress the plunger into the loader, which shoves the cartridges into the magazine. Make sure you brace the bottom of the magazine or else the plunger action will push the magazine out of the holder. We braced the bottom of the magazine on our hip.

We used polymer and steel double-stack pistol magazines and found the ETS worked great with Glock magazines, including high-capacity Glock-style magazines. It also worked with steel-body S&W and HK magazines. Cartridges easily slid into the magazine. When we swapped ammo, we noticed the rounds would jam up and could not be pressed into the magazine. ETS suggests a drop of gun lube in the rail to help reduce friction. That helped. Sometimes it took more effort to load a magazine, and other times, the cartridges became stuck in the loader. We had the same success and issues with 40 S&W rounds. The ETS works fastest when cartridges are in a tray. You can load single cartridges onto the rail, but it is tedious. The loader is only compatible with double-stack magazines, and the company lists the magazine brands that are compatible with the loader.

Our Team Said: The ETS worked well with Glock magazines. It was fast to load a magazine, and at times you needed more strength to ensure the cartridges were pushed into the magazine. We encountered a few jams with other magazines and found that lube is required to keep the ETS running smoothly.

GUN TESTS GRADE: B 

Maglula UpLULA,

$39

Maglula is a benchmark in magazine loaders. The UpLULA is versatile because it can load 9mm, 357 SIG, 10mm, 40 Auto and 45 Auto. It is not compatible with all magazines, but it can be used with most double-stack magazines. An adapter, the 1911AI — Aligner Insert ($17, Brownells.com) is needed to load single-stack magazines. It attached via a ring and snaps in place, so it is easy to switch from a double-stack magazine to a single stack. In single stack, it loads 9mm, 357 SIG, 40 S&W and 45 ACP.

To use, place the UpLULA over the magazine, squeeze it so the steel beak is over the follower, and press down on the magazine on a firm surface. Then load a round. One round is loaded at a time, but you can get into a rhythm and loading becomes fast. It doesn’t take a lot of hand strength to use the UpLULA. If unloading a magazine is needed, the UpLULA can do that, too. A bullet diagram shows the orientation of the magazine to load and unload. The UpLULA worked on most double-stack magazines that taper to one round. The single-stack adapter works with 1911 single-stack magazines. Unsnap the adapter, and it stays attached to the unit via a ring so you can easily go between single- and double-stack magazines. 

Our Team Said: The UpLULA is small, compact, lightweight, and versatile since it works with a range of double- and single-stack magazines. This is Our Pick for a pistol magazine loader. 

GUN TESTS GRADE: A 

[OUR PICK]

Speed Beez Lever Loader S15,

$30

Speed Beez loaders are specific to a certain gun magazine and only work with that magazine. This is because the loader is designed like a pistol grip to accept a specific magazine. There are levers with loops, similar to scissors, that are used to load the magazine one cartridge at a time. We tried the S15 loader specific to the Glock 43x, Glock 48 magazines, and Shield aftermarket steel magazines. To load, insert the magazine into the loader until the magazine catch clicks. Then squeeze the levers together to compress the follower, drop a cartridge into the port, and open the lever to push the cartridge into the magazine. When the magazine is full, press the magazine catch to remove the magazine from the loader. The process is very quick and smooth and doesn’t take a lot of hand strength.

The yellow lever offered good leverage, but some of our testers would have liked larger loops because their fingers are large. We had no issues with any 9mm Luger ammo we stuffed into the Speed Beez loader.

Our Team Said: The Speed Beez was easy to use. The scissor-like lever loops could be a bit larger. The yellow lever was sturdy. It doesn’t have the versatility to load a variety of magazines, which limits its use to one gun. If you have a handgun that you shoot often, then the Speed Beez specific to that gun could be the answer to your sore thumbs. 

GUN TESTS GRADE: A-

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests 

Team members. GT