I understand that plastic magazines are cheaper and faster to manufacture while bringing in a lot of profit, but a good steel magazine, or aluminum magazine, or even steel reinforced plastic magazines are always going to be better in the long run, and should also probably outlast a plastic mag 3 to 1.
If someone were to make an affordable metal stick mag for the scorpion, or even perhaps a small drum, CZ would sell very few plastic mags because no one in their right mind would continue buying them. They only have the market cornered on them right now because there isn't an alternative.
But the more popular the scorpion becomes and the more people that complain about junk factory mags, the sooner that a good aftermarket company will realize there is a lot of money to be made and will do it.
Unfortunately, with the upcoming election, and the uncertainty of the future of 2A, manufacturers are leary to undertake such a project right now for fiscal concerns seeing a return on their investment in R&D and molds, and getting tooled up to make them. That's just reality. If it happens at all, it won't be before the election. That much is a given.
The shame of it is that the mag issue is a big reason why I haven't made the jump into the EVO world. If we get Hillary, and if the gun banners are successful, the best case scenario for any sort of ban is another like the Bill Clinton AWB where pre-ban mags were legal but new production were outlawed... I suppose CZ-USA would be able to swap mags for awhile from pre-ban inventory (if they didn't sell them all in the panic before the ban), but that inventory wouldn't last long. Especially when considering that State and/or Customs could shut down future mag imports at any time, at least temporarily if not permanently, regardless of any ban...
Regarding your post -- steel mag cracks can be repaired through welding and dents can be repaired through mag repair blocks, etc. If looking at thin metal IMO stainless mags are the way to go... If allowing for thicker material (EVO polymer is pretty thick), aluminum like the VZ58 mags becomes more appealing...
Metal-polymer hybrid mags are much more robust than straight polymer, but when broken they are are effectively unrepairable... If you can replace eventually, hybrid steel-polymer mags are pretty ideal balance of strength and (light)weight. Polymer also has the added advantage of being more resilient to dents and dings, but that's on account of it being somewhat a more brittle material in that it either bounces or breaks whereas metals dent first, sometimes substantially, before breaking...
I completely agree that the market is primed for some serious innovation in the CZ EVO mag arena. But I think the concern from manufacturers is less about risk and more about the fact that they can run their existing lines around the clock to fulfill the current demand for mag product, without taking any innovations...
