LOL...to each their own, but An AK is an AK mag to most people. The steel ones built like tanks and last a lifetime. The plastics like Magpul, well, its obvious when one's failed, and it takes a lot of abuse to get there. I wouldn't use ANY mag, russian or otherwise, without function testing it in the particjlar rifle I planned on using it in. Other than that, I would feel as comfortable defending my home with WASR with a functioning Magpul as I would an Arsenal running Russian mags. You might be a bit more picky, but in the end, bot are going to do the job just fine as long as the man behind the rifle does his part. As for magazone forgiveness....other than some WASRS with roughly cut magwells, most AK mags wor iiin darn near any AK...the ones that don't are certainly the anomaly. Do you really think a rifle used efficiently by 3rd world armies worldwide for decades would use a platform that was picky about what mag you stuck in it? Your opinion simply doesnt match my experience, and think spending a premium for russian mags is a mom=numental waste of money that could be better spent on something like ammo. I see no need to spend 40 plus dollars on something an 8 dollar item does just fine and has for ages. AS for the AR mags being "reliable"....I call BS. Modern mags like Magpul, yes, but the aluminum mags are very prone to feed lip issues, and thgey aren't are immediately recognizable as when a Pmag suffers the same problem. Magpul mags are an example of an improvement over the original design. When comparing orignal standard issue mags, I sincerely doubt many expeirenced shooters would rate the AR-15's as being "more durable or forgiving" LOL...you can drive a tank over an AK mag, pound a houses' worth of nails with it, toss it in a stream overnight, and its more than likley stiull going to work....bulgarian, russian, romanian, chinese, east german, yugo....it matters not. Steel ak mags are a dime a dozen and are more or less interchangable as far as reliablilty and practical use. Russian mags do nothing better, except for saying "made in russia"