Today’s soldier (and sometimes, the airsofter too), is one of the most connected people in the field. With radios, GPS, aiming devices, night vision, thermal cameras, sensors, drones, smartphones/tablets, battle computers, and whatever electronic device that war planners put into soldiers, a solution is needed to come up with a system to unify all these devices and be plugged into a hub that they can draw power and connect devices in a small network.

Even in airsoft, players will need such a solution given that they also have action cameras, smartphones, radios, night vision, and even drones. Thus, the Wearin’s Connected Vest is something that gear makers for the airsoft market can look into to generate inspiration from in developing solutions for airsofters.

The Wearin’ Connected Vest builds on what militaries are looking for, an ergonomic solution that eliminates external wires or cables that can hinder movement of soldiers, and a hodgepodge of power solutions such as different types of batteries to power different devices that can weigh the soldier down.

The tactical vest/plate carrier that Wearin’ created has connectors in the vest itself which can hen be connected to a central hub which is a distributed power and data hub. This eliminates the need for different types of batteries that soldiers tend to put in various pouches and pockets in their gear. Thus, cable management is easier as well as savings in terms of weight and costs of carrying different types of batteries.

All the soldier has to do is plug in the device to the connector in the vest.

With the Wearin’ Starter Kit, which is ready to be used (and can be upgraded according to requirements), the wearer gets the following already included in the package:

• Tactical plate & load carrier
• Tactical wearable hub USB 2+
• 6 Fischer LP360 cabled receptacles integrated into the vest using the new Fischer LP360 Quick Detach System that comes with an adapter, a sewing junction, and a retaining ring
• A cable with a Fischer LP360 plug and Fischer UltiMate 80 plug that is compatible with the 6-pin NATO STANAG 4695
• A cable with a Fischer LP360 plug and a USB type A
• Other optional accessories are an LED light, USB2 adapter, rugged flash drive, and a HD tactical body cam

Whilst such a design maybe overkill for the airsofter who is also laden with electronics, it is an idea for any gear designer in airsoft to come up with a solution and that can utilise a COTS product which in this case, design a compartment for a powerbank that has enough ports to power an action camera and charge smartphones and radios and integrated cable system for USB-C, Mini-USB, and USB A Connectors (or even Lightning connectors).