AK Waffle Mag Comparison
Today we are going to look at one of the more popular mags on the market, the Bulgarian ((10)) Waffle mag, and see how it compares to its two closest competitors. The Toth Tool and Engineering (TTE) and the Palmetto State Armory (PSA) Waffle. Both the TTE and PSA waffles are clearly inspired by the Bulgarian ((10)), but lets find out which how close they are, and which one comes out on top.
Overview
| Bulgarian Circle 10 | TTE | PSA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 8.82oz (250grams) | 9.81oz (278grams) | 8oz (226.8grams) |
| Weight Disassembled | 6.15oz (174grams) | 7.22oz (205grams) | 5.56oz (157grams) |
| Spring Length | 20.75in (527mm) | 20.625in (524mm) | 20.125in (512mm) |
| Spring Loop Gap | .8125in (20.64mm) | .8455in (21.47mm) | .968in (24.59mm) |
| Reinforcements | --- | --- | --- |
| Front Spine | Steel | Steel * | |
| Rear Spine | |||
| Feed Lips | Steel | Stainless Steel | Steel |
| Base | Steel | Steel | |
| Front Lug | Steel | Stainless Steel | Steel |
| Rear Lug | Steel | Stainless Steel | Steel |
| Fiber Fill % | 50% |
* The PSA mag only had reinforcements on the top half of the front spine. When using a magnet it was not a strong attraction, whereas the Bulgarian ((10)) had a magnetic attraction all the way up the front spine and the attraction was much stronger.
| Comparison between the three floorplates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Left to Right: Bulgarian ((10)) | Toth Tool | PSA | |||
If you look at the far right picture of the PSA, you can see a revision of A, so I will be curious how that changes over time.
The floorplates are not interchangeable between the three mags.
Interestingly enough the ((10)) has a floorplate very similar to that of the bakelite AKM, the Toth Tool, similar to that of A steel AKM, while the PSA was 'inspired' by the bakelite AK-74 mags.
| Comparison between the three followers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Left to Right: Bulgarian ((10)) | Toth Tool | PSA | |||
The Bulgarian and Toth Tool are close to being the same, while the PSA is very different. I am unsure as to why they made they change, maybe to use less plastic and lower cost?
Speaking of the followers and springs, I don't have a good way of testing the strength of the springs and how much force it requires to push down each follower, but just going by feel the PSA and ((10)) were a close match, with the ((10)) being maybe a touch easier to push down than the PSA. The Toth Tool was easily the hardest of the three to push down.
Looking at the back of the followers it is more clear as to the changes to the design.
The followers are not interchangeable between the three mags.
| Comparison between the three logos | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Left to Right: Bulgarian ((10)) | Toth Tool | PSA | |||
You can see a close up of the logos from each company that made the mags. While the Bulgarian and Toth Tool are both on the left, PSA decided to put theirs on the right and made it huge. Why? Who knows.
| Comparison between the front and rear of the bodies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Left to Right: Bulgarian ((10)) | Toth Tool | PSA | |||
The differences between the three is significant. The ((10)) has smaller ribs, a hole in the back of the magazine to show if it is fully loaded, and 3 sets of tabs on the front that shows how for the front spine reinforcements goes. The Toth Tool, does not have a front spine reinforcement, but the fiber infill and weight of polymer is significantly different resulting in a stronger polymer which does not require the reinforcements. If you remember at the top that shows the weights of each mag, the Toth Tool weights almost a full ounce more than the Bulgarian and almost 2 more ounces than the PSA. I would venture to guess because of this the mag is plenty strong without them. Since the PSA only has reinforcements on the top half of the front spine, there are only two sets of tabs.
Moving to the rear of the mags, you can see the ((10)) has a witness hole to show if the mag is fully loaded, while the Toth Tool and PSA do not. This just goes to show the differences between what the military requirements and civilian requirements are. The ((10)) has smaller ribs and a rounded spine, much like the PSA, and the Toth Tool has a more squared off spine.
Here you can see an exploded view of the ((10)) mag. The picture was sourced from Arsenals website It shows where the reinforcements are and what they look like.
| Comparison between the top of the mags. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Left to Right: Bulgarian ((10)) | Toth Tool | PSA | |||
As you can see the tops of the mags are ever so slightly different. Nothing major, but enough for each mag to stand out in a line up.
Conclusion
There was a time when someone would say "Buy surplus", when asked the question "What mags should I buy?". I still mostly agree to that statement, but comparing the two commercial mags to the surplus ((10)) the line is blurred more now than ever before. I think all three of the mags are of excellent quality and if I had to pick one of the three I would probably go with the Bulgarian, but that is because I'm a nerd who cares about things that don't matter to the average shooter. If I had to choose between the two commercial mags it should be tough between the PSA and Toth Tool. The advantages to the PSA is that it's more readily available, being from a high volume manufacturer. As of this writing they are sold out on their website, but I was told by Toth Tool they plan to manufacture more mags as long as they are legally allowed to do so. (Go buy some, they are awesome mags.) As of this writing they are out of stock on their website, but I managed to get two new ones directly from Toth Tool from AKFiles. He is a member there and if he has anymore I'm sure he will he happy to sell you some.
I think if I absolutely had to choose between the two I would have to go with the Toth Tool, and that purely comes down to the way the mag feels. The PSA is an excellent mag in its own right and will outlive most shooters that own them, but the Toth Tool, just 'feels' better in the hand. Its heaver, it seems to lock into the rifle with more umph, and I like the way it feels in my hands. The downside of that one is the weight, but its only 1 oz.
Having bought these two new Toth Tool mags for this article, I realize that it's a shame these mags were not more widely sold when they were. If I had known how the mags were before I wrote this article, I would have gotten more years ago.
The bad news: The ((10)) mags, like all surplus mags, have shot up in price over the past 5 years. The influx of new AK owners thanks to companies like Century Arms and PSA have really driven up the price of a lot of items, mags included. The Toth Tools have been out of stock for quite some time (though you can get a hold of him on AK Files and when speaking with him I was told he would be manufacturing more) on their website.
Notes
- I spoke directly to Toth Tool about the specs of his mags and the fiber infill and the type of metal reinforcements.
- PSA did not respond to my inquiries.
- All the magazines were purchased with the help from my Patrons. They really do allow things like this article to happen.
If you like this please check out the other magazine comparison articles
