Reviews

Trident Gear Airsoft Armour/Training Plates

Nicholas Skamballis

When I go to my skirmish field or to battle/milsims I want my kit to be as realistic as possible, being a serving member of the Armed Forces and a seasoned airsoft player I like to think this time has given me knowledge and experience to recognise high quality kit. There’s always room for improvement but what can I do to take my kit to the next level?

Team Trident have answered my calling!

Team Trident is a UK based airsoft team with experience in both the Fitness Industry and the Military. Their company promises to provide us with the best training plates they can.

From a practical standpoint the plate carriers we buy, are designed to hold plates in excess of 4.5lbs both front and back, plus any extra ancillaries we may or may not attach.

So why use training plates for airsoft?

Training plates offer the best of both worlds in terms of durability, comfort and affordability, which, let’s face it, we need when we’re going to our favourite airsoft retailers each pay day.

Training plates also offer a level of immersion to provide you with a more realistic experience when at your local skirmish, or at your favourite milsim events. Simulating the real loads SF Operators and Soldiers face, when on real time operations, can give a good experience to airsoft players and make them appreciate the loads that soldiers carry.

I was very eager to open my package from Trident Gear Co. On unwrapping I received 2 plates, measuring 300mmx250mm and 20mm thick, weighing approximately 1kg (2.2lbs) each. The plates are cut flat, and to size depending on your plate carrier.

The material of the plates is rubber, possibly cut from play mats similar to what you’d find in a children’s playground so as you can imagine, they are ready to withstand a lot of abuse. The edges have a very tidy material trim taped all the way around so there are no exposed rubber edges of your plates. This I believe is if you remove your plates at the end of your event, the edges will not getting worn away.

With my personal experience of using real world Kevlar plates they have a natural curve to fit around the torso, do not be put off by the flat cuts of Trident’s plates, as the material they have selected has enough flex which I have found, to contour around your own torso.

My plates had the Trident Gear Co logo on the front, with the relevant disclaimer on the back. If you buy a set on the website there is an option to add a custom logo.

On fitting the plates to my Warrior Assault Systems DCS plate carrier, I noticed a substantial weight increase, the plate carrier feels more solid, more rigid, more real… The weight is distributed evenly on my shoulders; my plate carrier is snug to my body. I feel like I’m ready to breach an enemy compound and prepared to be the first man in, not knowing what will be behind door number one, trusting my body armour will be up to the task.

I know I will have to work harder to keep up with the extra weight, my muscles will ache more, but even though I will feel the effects of a hard days training/fighting more so than usual, I will be fitter and stronger, ready for the following event.

On a Sunday, I attended my local airsoft site, Airsoft Plantation. I bombed my magazines, tested my weapons and I kitted up as usual, but this time I had the Trident Gear Co plates in my Warrior Assault Systems DCS plate carrier. The first impressions I got when putting on the rig with the extra weight, was the weight distribution. The kit felt extremely well balanced now and the load was spread across my shoulders evenly.

With the flex of the plates I felt the rig hug my body; it was surprisingly much more comfortable than using the foam inserts I had.

As the day progressed, I didn’t feel that my ability to move across the field was hindered at all, I was still able to move at pace and keep up with my team mates without suffering from much fatigue. In fact I completely forgot I had the plates inserted, until the end of the day.

As the day came to an end and I stripped off my rig, I didn’t suffer with the same lethargy or back pain I am used to at the end of a hard days fighting.

That being said my traps were slightly sorer than usual, but a good sore, after what felt like a good workout on the field.

Overall in my honest opinion, I would recommend these plates to anyone, for numerous reasons.

The fitness benefit: pushing yourself physically out of your comfort zone.

The health benefit: For me personally I felt the weight distribution of my kit was improved and there was better support for my back.

And finally the Immersion: I felt as if I were back on a military training exercise, with realistic weight from my load bearing kit. It can give you an insight on the weights Soldiers and Special Forces deal with when ‘on ops’.

To conclude, I believe these plates are an investment that every airsoft player should make for their kit, the guys at Team Trident have thought hard to deliver a product, which offers so many benefits for the players.

You can find these plates at www.tridentgear.co.uk.

Nicholas Skamballis can be found on Instagram @nickskam_bw02.

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