Trident Aegis Nexus 6 Case review

I’m a klutz. That’s no good especially when carrying a $650 phone. I must have dropped my previous phone a dozen times on concrete, but thanks to its slim military standard drop tested Candyshell Speck case, it didn’t suffer any damage. When I upgraded to my present phone, a Nexus 6, I was going to purchase another Speck case, but they don’t make one for this particular phone. When trying to find a replacement for a Speck, I found that many impact resistant cases add too much bulk. I currently have a Spigen Neo Hybrid case which is slim and described as impact resistant, but I’m not sure just how impact resistant it is (no military standard drop tests). The Gadgeteer was offered the Trident Aegis Case which is labeled as passing military standard drop tests. Will it be a suitable substitute for a Speck case?

Package Contents:

• Trident Aegis Case for Nexus 6
• Screen protector with microfiber cloth and application card
• Installation card (for screen protector and case)

My first impression of the Trident Aegis case was that it would significantly add to the size of my Nexus 6 phone. However, the case meets Military Standard MIL-STD-810F for vibration and drops having been independently tested by dropping it 26 times from a height of four feet onto concrete.

The case is made up of two parts: a soft pliable “inner layer of shock-absorbing Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) with an outer layer of hardened [black] polycarbonate”. The outer layer is a “hardened bio-enhanced plastic that is recyclable, degradable and compostable, making it truly eco-friendly.”

The above photo also shows the cutouts for the camera and microphone.

Inside of the soft rubber inner liner, is a textured area to aid in shock absorption and perhaps to allow heat to dissipate. You’ll also notice that the outer shell has a dust filter covering the opening for the microphone (the small hole located at the bottom center of the hard outer shell).

Before putting the case on my phone, I tried applying the flexible plastic screen protector. I first cleaned my phone’s screen using the microfiber cloth.

I removed a small portion of the backing on the screen protector, then aligned it to the top of my phone, and finished peeling the backing off. While using the application card to smooth out air bubbles, I found that I did not adequately remove all the lint from the screen and thus a couple of bubbles persisted. I tried removing the screen protector to clean the lint stuck to the adhesive with water. After it was dry, I then tried to reapply it but had even more difficulty. Each time I tried, I ended up with poor results. In the end, I decided to forego the screen protector.

Next, I placed the Aegis case on my Nexus 6 phone. To do this, I needed to slip my phone into the inner rubber liner first without the outer shell. I was able to insert my phone effortlessly, maybe a little too effortlessly.

I then attached the hard outer shell to the inner lining which required a little more effort. The inner rubber liner needed to be tucked into the hard plastic tabs shown above.

Once the phone was in the case, I found that it added quite a bit of heft and size. This was disappointing because the Speck case on my previous phone was slim and lightweight and still provided the military standard drop test specifications that I desired.

I also found that the soft rubber liner of the Trident had a grippy feel (part of the anti-skid feature) and thus attracted lint that was difficult to brush off. The exposed portions of the anti-skid inner liner were also the reason that the phone did not slip very easily into my pocket or a side compartment of my cloth lined purse even with the smooth outer shell.

The right side of the case contains soft rubber buttons for the Power and Volume buttons.

Notice how the bottom of the case has a rubber cover over the micro-USB port. This is to protect it against dust. There are also two small oval cutouts located to the left of the micro-USB cover, but I cannot determine their purpose as there is nothing on the phone that requires these.

The cover for the micro-USB port is not hinged and, therefore, needs to be held out of the way when inserting the micro-USB charging cable. I felt as though I needed three hands: one to hold the phone, another to hold the rubber cover open, and yet another to plug in my micro-USB charging cable. After some practice using one hand, I found that I could hold the cover open while also holding the phone, leaving the other hand free to plug in the micro-USB cable.

The top of the case also has a rubber cover over the 3.5 mm audio jack to protect it against dust.

Dust protection is an admirable feature, however, the cover poses the same challenge – it too needs to be held out of the way when plugging in your wired headphones.

I also found that the case does not fit very tightly around the phone. It’s very easy to lift the edge of the soft rubber lining along the right side of the case which allows dust and water to enter, especially near the buttons.

Final Thoughts

I feel confident that the Trident Aegis case for the Nexus 6 phone is highly impact resistant but at the expense of added size and heft (I suppose you can make anything impact resistant if you wrap enough rubber around it). I also found it challenging to hold the rubber covers over the ports out of the way to connect my charging cable and headphones. In addition, the sides of the case were loose, especially the right side near the Power and Volume buttons. The Trident may meet military standards for drop tests like the Speck on my previous phone, however, the Speck Candyshell cases have better features. Unlike the Trident, they are relatively slim, have an excellent tight fit, don’t cover up my ports or collect lint, and easily slide into pockets. Overall, the Trident Aegis case did not impress me and was therefore not a good substitute for a Candyshell Speck case. But since a Speck case is unavailable for my phone, I will continue to use my Spigen Neo Hybrid case which has a somewhat tighter fit than the Trident (although still not as good as a Speck case), a smaller profile, and is described as impact resistant.

Source: The sample used in this review was provided by Trident. Please visit their website for more information or Amazon to order.