It's a double-edged sword to a degree. i.e. How many people would shell out $300+ for a nitro rc vehicle? I myself am fairly new to this hobby (compared to most on this forum at least) and my first nitro rc was an Exceed Forza. I think I paid like $150 for it, and had problem after problem. I knew no one in this hobby so learned what I could but the damn thing kept breaking. Why is it I see these videos where people run their nitro rc's like I WANT to but when I try...it breaks? So I decided to learn what I can and make the best of what I have. I realize it will be a long time (if ever) that I have the expertise of guys on here, some of them have built like over 30 wicked-looking surface vehicles, but I stayed the course and learned what I could with what I had. I found that this hobby is very subjective.
Of course everyone feel's that their make of vehicle/engine is the best. I found that there are RedCat owners who are adamant that RedCat is as good as it gets. I found Traxxas guys the same way. I found that [insert ANY make here] guys the same way. It became confusing so I decided it was best to just try different makes for myself. Didn't want to be the type who became complacent out at a certain level and claim it was the best without trying anything that could possibly be better (and in this hobby better does mean more expensive in most cases--again, depending on how you define 'better').
Regarding the RedCat vids, remember, "bashing" is also a subjective term, as is speed, as is power. While I will never be an rc guru like some of the cats on here, I have been fortunate to learn that the difference in quality/performance is exponential as you move from one 'grade' of make/vehicle/engine to the next. I wish that RedCat/Exceed would simply market themselves for what they are: a way for newbies to get in to the hobby and try it out to see if they have interest in progressing. Instead they seem to fight the reputation they have. Notice they don't compare themselves against anything else. Thus they can claim to be 'bad-ass' all day long, as perhaps in some people's mind that IS as good as it gets. However, that is simply not the case.
So long-winded version of saying that level of rc vehicles does have a price-point to spawn interest and allow folks to try out the hobby...and there are plenty of folks who will tell you how great they are....but have found you need to take virtually everything you are told within this hobby with a grain of salt--as it's ALL subjective. What I might think is fast and durable, the next guy might not. Just do your best to educate yourself with whatever resources you have...and your feedback in this post is one that someone will read one day and either listen to or not. ;-)
