TRMR impact grenade - brief review

[Simon Rees]

So, I snagged one of these as I thought it would be good to have an impact as well as the timed dynatec BFG.

 

Someone asked if I could put up a review after first use.

 

I was at the Mall this Sunday with a few mates, who also had them, so figured I'd jot down my findings overall.

 

First impressions are good. It comes in a twist to open plastic container with clear, brief instructions. Overall look of the product is very slick. I liked the tie in between the twist to arm function of the grenade and the fact you have to twist the package to open it. Joined up thinking in marketing. Plus I'm a sucker for a good brand identity.

 

Opening the package and first impressions of the grenade are very good. It is smaller than I thought it would be (size of a 40mm granade/moscart) and REALLY heavy. Unblemished finish, knurled exterior to the main body, brushed steel finish to the removeable cap. A superbly machined piece of kit.

 

Externally, it has 2 sets of markings. On one side is the branded "TRMR" logo and on the other the unique serial number. Nice touch and makes it easy to identify as yours as well as being a theft deterrent.

 

They are available in black, dark/od green and blue. I went for blue on the basis of visibility in dark places. Also added some luminous tape.

 

The removable cap unscrews very assuredly. It's like working things in a German car. Everything feels, just, 'Right'. Solid, well engineered, designed and built with this sole purpose in mind, not as an afterthought.

 

So far so good.

 

9mm blank (other calibres are available) is snug (compared to my used and abused dynatec vtg), but goes in without issues.

 

The USP of these is the twist to arm feature. This again works like it should and is easy to operate. No losing pins, pressing hard on a cap, needing to find a special tool etc. Blank in, screw on the top, twist, throw, bang, retrieve. Simple. The twist to arm on mine (and a couple of friends who got then at the same time) squeaked a little, but a dab of silicone oil stopped this.

 

You can see how these work when you have a play. In safe mode (it says "safe" in a recessed part of the body which is exposed when not made ready) there is a moveable toggle that is captured and will not move. When you twist to arm it (the recessed part goes, no longer displaying "safe") this frees the toggle which moves around. Taking it apart and moving it shows that when this moves, it pushes the firing pin into where the primer of the blank would sit.

 

So, in the field and we were all itching to use these. The Mall has a rule with solid state grenades that they must not travel over knee height unless being posted. Impact grenades by their nature need to have a certain amount of kinetic force in order to deploy. The literature states they will detonate when dropped from as little as 50cm (19" in old money). My knees are 55cm (22") above floor level and I'm about 6' tall. shorter guys may have issues with their knees being so close to the floor that they are not allowed to throw them in the Mall. Even with 3" to spare I was worried about it, so figured I needed to maximise the kinetic energy in the TRMR as it was thrown. To do this I simply applied some backspin to the grenade as I threw it.

 

I had 4 throws of it through the day. it deployed successfully every time on the concrete and marble floors it landed on. One of my team bowled his into a wall and it failed to fire. The two contributing factors for this were (in my opinion)

 

1) it hit a wooden skirting board which would have absorbed some of the momentum, and

 

2) my mate did not (despite his protestations) actually give it much energy. It was quite a sedate roll. we heard it 'thunk', but it was more 'bowls' than '10 pin'. he didn't spin it either.

 

Only negative issue I had (own fault and easily avoided) was that my glove material got trapped as I armed it on one occasion. As you twist it, two parts of the body close together, which could trap skin or material (as was the case with me).

 

Other than that, it was pretty good. I feel it would benefit from being able to drop it from a greater height, so didn't feel fully able to use it to its potential at the venue, but that's not a criticism, just an observation. I fully understand the safety aspect of not chucking heavy chunks of metal around. These things would bloody hurt if some fool got a bit enthusiastic with the launch!

 

Overall I liked it and can see it getting a lot of use in hard floor areas. Not had the chnce to test on carpet/grassy floors etc. In the literature it says it's designed NOT to go off on carpet and soft furnishings to avoid fires on board ship (designed for maritime use (the "M" in the name stands for "maritime" - "Tactical, Reloadable, Maritime Ready" grenade)).

 

So, I'd give it:

 

Initial impressions: 10/10

Build Quality/Finish: 10/10

Ease of Use: 10/10

Versatility: 7/10 (on the basis of no use on carpet/soft surface, but subject to amendment upon proper testing)

Overall: A solid 9/10

 

Will I use it again? Yes, whenever conditions allow!

Would I get another one? Yes to replace it, not sure I'd get a second one, because it's quick to reload and I have the vtg anyway.

 

Hope that's of use to anyone interested in getting one.

 

If anyone has any specific questions I've not covered, fire away.

 

Cheers

[gherea]

The device has an option of using 3 different ammunition in the Airsoft world; shotgun primers, 9mm and the ear bleeding 12mm. I opted for both shotgun primers and 9mm adapter (yes, they are a little extra if you wnat 9mm, as it comes with shotgun primer as standard). When comparing the adaptors, you start noticing the small extras that come with it. The 9mm adapter has had 2 ridges machined into the side of the blank hole in order to make it easier to remove after detonating (genius).

[springs]

i've got one of these as well and as stated they are a great bit of kit. I've also got an Oshi boom but i find the TRMR has worked every time I've thrown it and doesn't need a great deal of force to go off.