If you have built a battle belt or a plate carrier in the last fifteen years, you have almost certainly run a TACO. The open-top, shock-cord magazine pouch that grips a mag by friction instead of a flap is a High Speed Gear invention, and it changed how shooters carry reloads. From a custom sewing shop serving Marines at Camp Lejeune, High Speed Gear grew into one of the most trusted American makers of load-bearing nylon — the Original TACO, the Double Decker TACO, the SureGrip battle belt, and a deep line of duty and medical gear. Here is who they are, what they make, and what is worth buying.
Who High Speed Gear is
High Speed Gear is the North Carolina maker that invented the TACO, the open-top shock-cord magazine pouch that grips a mag by friction instead of a flap. It grew from a custom sewing shop serving Marines at Camp Lejeune.
High Speed Gear, known to most people as HSGI, started in 1999 as a small custom shop in coastal North Carolina, sewing gear for Marines stationed at nearby Camp Lejeune. That military-customer DNA still runs through everything the company makes. When your first buyers are infantry Marines who will tell you exactly what broke and why, you learn fast.
The company is based in Swansboro, North Carolina, and it is now the largest full-time employer in that small town. Everything is made in the USA, in North Carolina facilities, and the company builds to Berry Amendment compliance — the federal standard that governs domestically sourced gear for the U.S. military. HSGI marked 25 years in business in 2024 and now ships to customers in more than 130 countries.
On the quality ladder, HSGI sits in the upper-mid to premium tier of tactical nylon. You are not paying boutique-custom prices, but you are paying more than the import bargain pouches — and the reason is the materials, the bar-tacking, and the fact that the stuff genuinely holds up to hard duty use. This is gear bought by people whose lives depend on a reload staying put.
What High Speed Gear makes
TACO magazine pouches
The TACO is the product that built the company. Instead of a fixed-size pocket with a flap, a TACO uses a molded polymer (Kydex) shell wrapped in nylon, tensioned by an external shock cord. The cord pulls the pouch tight around whatever you drop in it, so a single pouch can hold an AR-15 mag, an AK mag, a pistol mag, a flashlight, a multitool, or a radio. The retention is friction, adjustable by tightening or loosening the cord. The lineup runs from the Original Rifle TACO and Pistol TACO to the stacked Double Decker TACO (a rifle mag up top, a pistol mag below) and the streamlined X2R and X2RP two-mag designs.
Covered TACOs and duty pouches
Open-top friction retention is fast, but some users — police and military especially — want a positive flap so a magazine cannot be stripped out in a fight or lost in a fall. HSGI answered that with the Covered TACO line, which adds a secure flap over the same shock-cord body. There is also a full range of dedicated pouches: dump pouches, utility pouches, and pistol-specific carriers.
Belts and load-bearing platforms
HSGI builds some of the most respected battle belts on the market. The SureGrip padded belt and the slimmer Slim-Grip use a rigid inner belt and a hook-and-loop outer belt so your pouches stay exactly where you put them and the whole rig stays put on your hips. These are the foundation most people build a TACO setup on.
Chest rigs, plate-carrier gear, and medical
Beyond belts, the catalog covers chest rigs, plate-carrier panels and placards, and a strong line of medical pouches — the kind that carry a tourniquet and a blowout kit where you can reach it one-handed. There are also slings, like the two-point Apex, and a wide range of MOLLE attachment hardware.
Build quality and where it’s made
HSGI gear is cut and sewn in North Carolina from genuine mil-spec materials — 1000D and 500D Cordura nylon, military-grade webbing, and heavy bar-tack stitching at every stress point. The TACO’s Kydex insert is the part that gives it shape and durability; cheaper “TACO-style” clones tend to skip it and rely on nylon alone, which collapses over time. Because the company has built for the military since day one and holds Berry Amendment compliance, the manufacturing standard is genuinely high. You feel it in the stiffness of the polymer and the density of the stitching.
How High Speed Gear compares
The obvious rival is Esstac, whose KYWI (Kydex Wedge Insert) pouches are the other darling of the open-top crowd; Esstac fans argue the KYWI gives cleaner retention with less bulk, while HSGI’s shock-cord system is more universally adjustable across magazine types. Blue Force Gear competes on the lightweight end with its Ten-Speed elastic pouches, which pack flatter but offer less rigid retention. Tenicor, Spiritus Systems, and Ferro Concepts compete on chest rigs and plate-carrier placards. HSGI’s edge is the universality of the TACO, the strength of its belts, and a 25-year reputation for surviving hard use. The honest knock is that a loaded TACO is bulkier than a slim elastic pouch, and the premium pricing stings next to import nylon.
Who should buy what
- The battle-belt builder: a SureGrip belt plus a row of Rifle TACOs and a Pistol TACO.
- The minimalist who wants one pouch for everything: the Original TACO, because it will hold whatever you feed it.
- Duty and patrol officers: the Covered TACO line, for positive flap retention.
- The plate-carrier shooter: a Double Decker TACO to stack a rifle and pistol mag in one footprint.
- Anyone running a med kit: an HSGI blowout or bleeder med pouch on the belt or carrier.
If your priority is the absolute lightest, flattest pouch and you only ever carry one type of magazine, an elastic design like Blue Force Gear’s Ten-Speed may suit you better. For nearly everyone else who wants one pouch that adapts and lasts, HSGI is the safe call.
The High Speed Gear philosophy
The whole company is built around one idea: gear should adapt to the mission instead of forcing the mission to adapt to the gear. The TACO exists because a Marine should not need a different pouch for every magazine, light, or tool. Everything HSGI builds favors adjustability, durability, and the kind of simplicity that still works when it is dark, wet, and you are not thinking clearly.
How to choose your High Speed Gear setup
Start with the platform. If you carry on your waist, buy a belt first — a SureGrip or Slim-Grip — because a good belt makes every pouch on it work better. Then add reload capacity: most people want two to three rifle TACOs and one pistol TACO. Decide between open-top (faster) and Covered (more secure) based on how you will actually move. Add a med pouch — it is the one item you hope never to use and cannot afford to skip. If you run a plate carrier instead of a belt, look at the Double Decker TACOs and the placard system to keep your front real estate efficient.
The pouch that became a category
It is rare for a single product to define an entire segment of an industry, but the TACO did exactly that. Before it, magazine pouches were sized to a specific magazine and closed with a flap. HSGI’s insight — wrap a rigid shell in nylon and let a shock cord do the gripping — was so good that “TACO-style” became the generic name for the whole open-top, shock-cord category, much the way people say “Velcro” for hook-and-loop. Walk any modern range and the belts and carriers around you are covered in TACOs and the designs they inspired. That is the mark of a genuinely original idea, sewn in a small North Carolina town for Marines who needed it to work.
Shop High Speed Gear Parts & Prices
Live products and current prices for High Speed Gear, organized by department and updated automatically.
Pouches
Tactical Belts
Plate Carriers
Where High Speed Gear Fits in Our Buying Guides
High Speed Gear FAQ
Where is High Speed Gear based?
Swansboro, North Carolina, where the company is the largest full-time employer. All gear is made in the USA to Berry Amendment compliance.
What does TACO stand for?
It is commonly cited as “Totally Adjustable Carrying Option.” The design uses a Kydex shell wrapped in nylon and tensioned by an external shock cord, so one pouch grips many different magazines and tools.
What is the difference between an Original TACO and a Covered TACO?
The Original is open-top and holds the magazine by friction for the fastest possible reload. The Covered TACO adds a secure flap over the same body for positive retention in duty or hard-movement use.
Will a TACO hold any magazine?
The Rifle and Pistol TACOs cover the vast majority of common AR, AK, and pistol magazines, and the shock cord adjusts to fit. The Double Decker stacks a rifle mag over a pistol mag in one footprint.
How does High Speed Gear compare to Esstac?
Both make excellent open-top pouches. Esstac’s KYWI is praised for slim, clean retention on one magazine type; HSGI’s shock cord is more universally adjustable across many magazines and tools. It comes down to whether you value slimness or adaptability.
Is High Speed Gear worth the price?
For hard duty or serious training use, yes — the Cordura, bar-tacking, and Kydex inserts outlast cheaper clones that skip the rigid shell. For occasional range use only, a budget pouch may be enough.
Are High Speed Gear pouches MOLLE compatible?
Yes. HSGI pouches mount to MOLLE and PALS webbing on plate carriers and battle belts, and the company offers belt-mount and clip options to attach a TACO almost anywhere on a rig.
What tier is High Speed Gear?
Upper-mid to premium American-made tactical nylon — military-grade gear at a price below boutique custom, above import bargain pouches.
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