Are equipment still considered gear while attached to a unit, and would attached equipment gain benefits from the unit's abilities like deflect?

Ruling: Equipment remains gear while attached to a unit (only its rules text becomes inactive). Effect text on gear only applies to the card it is attached to, not to the gear itself, so attached equipment would not gain benefits like Deflect from the unit or other gear.

Sequence:

• Equipment attached to a unit is still considered gear
• Only the equipment's rules text becomes inactive when attached
• Effect text (like Deflect from Hexdrinker) only applies to the card the gear is attached to
• The gear itself does not gain the benefits it provides

Nuances:

• In the example given, Hexdrinker never has Deflect itself; only the unit Hexdrinker is attached to gets Deflect
• This means Trinity Force would not gain Deflect protection from either the unit or Hexdrinker