Rustler or Sledge for 13YO?

[tntpoof]

Traxxas is a good rc. anything you buy will need repair.I find traxxas rc easy to repair and parts plentiful unlike other rc.Id use 2 cell only 3 cell will lead to faster failures

 

[Greywolf74]

I’m not anti traxxas by any means my favorite vehicle from them was the t-maxx it was pretty tough but when I put it against my buddies savage I always seemed to break something first.

There never was and hasnt been since, a tougher rig out of the box than the Savage. doesn't matter what brand you put up against a Savage its probably going to break first. Not that I havent seen Savages break in the first 10 minutes of running them too, especially given the kind of hard core bashing you do. e.g. motocross jumps and skate parks.

my buddy convinced me to get an Hpi so I got a firestorm. Then he got a losi can’t remember what model was a stadium truck then my other buddy had a t-maxx and got one of the first rustler vxls. We bashed these cars together sending them off motocross jumps and guess which one was the first to break the rustler.

Anecdotal evidence. In my experience I had waaaaaaay more trouble with the firestorm than any of the 3 Rustlers I've owned. So much so that I sold the Firestorm less than 2 months after buying it. Not only did I have less trouble with the Rustlers there were a lot more after market parts available for them to make them tougher.

Losi is a full fledged race brand and racing brands typically have higher quality rigs than non racing brands but again anything can break.

So I’ll fast forward to today my nephew has a new rustler vxl and it breaks almost every time out where I’m jumping my losi stadium truck making him mad because it’s still going. He has upgraded it to where it’s tough now.

Again racing brand vs non racing brand and still anecdotal evidence.

Yes every car does break I did eventually break something on every vehicle but not the first or second time out.

When your putting RCs 15+ ft in the air your going to break something on any rig and frequently. Everytime I go out bashing I take 3 rigs with me because I know I'm going to break stuff. I consider it a good day if I can bring home just 1 out of 3 rigs still working and I own all sort of different brands. Point is, they all break and the harder you bash em the more often that happens.

Just my

 

[6spdls1z28]

There never was and hasnt been since, a tougher rig out of the box than the Savage. doesn't matter what brand you put up against a Savage its probably going to break first. Not that I havent seen Savages break in the first 10 minutes of running them too, especially given the kind of hard core bashing you do. e.g. motocross jumps and skate parks.


Anecdotal evidence. In my experience I had waaaaaaay more trouble with the firestorm than any of the 3 Rustlers I've owned. So much so that I sold the Firestorm less than 2 months after buying it. Not only did I have less trouble with the Rustlers there were a lot more after market parts available for them to make them tougher.

Losi is a full fledged race brand and racing brands typically have higher quality rigs than non racing brands but again anything can break.


Again racing brand vs non racing brand and still anecdotal evidence.


When your putting RCs 15+ ft in the air your going to break something on any rig and frequently. Everytime I go out bashing I take 3 rigs with me because I know I'm going to break stuff. I consider it a good day if I can bring home just 1 out of 3 rigs still working and I own all sort of different brands. Point is, they all break and the harder you bash em the more often that happens.

Just my

The firestorm you either had a lemon or I had a good one who knows. As far as my losi it’s the 22s st is definitely entry level stadium truck compared to the 22t kits. My Nephew well my brother paid more for the rustler than I did my 22s st. I like to test the durability of every car I get by launching them through the air yes I have broke every one. When I go to the rc shop by me I asked the guy why do you stock so much traxxas stuff over everything else he even said because they break more than any of the other brands and they keep him in business. People used to race traxxas so aren’t they a racing brand? I dont mind traxxas they just wouldn’t be my first choice that’s what I’m trying to get across.

 

[Greywolf74]

The firestorm you either had a lemon or I had a good one who knows. As far as my losi it’s the 22s st is definitely entry level stadium truck compared to the 22t kits. My Nephew well my brother paid more for the rustler than I did my 22s st. I like to test the durability of every car I get by launching them through the air yes I have broke every one. When I go to the rc shop by me I asked the guy why do you stock so much traxxas stuff over everything else he even said because they break more than any of the other brands and they keep him in business. People used to race traxxas so aren’t they a racing brand? I dont mind traxxas they just wouldn’t be my first choice that’s what I’m trying to get across.

No one is racing Traxxas kits at the pro level so I wouldnt call them a full fledged racing brand. I know once upon a time the REVO was raced alot in ROAR's short lived Monster Truck racing class but generally speaking they are not a competitive racing brand.

I called up my local hobby store and asked them the same question about Traxxas parts because they by far have more Traxxas parts than any other single brand. The answer I got was "Because they are the most popular brand around here". My whole point was simply that none of our own personal experiences are real evidence that any brand is better or worse than the other. Now if you widen that data set out to include many peoples experiences across a larger section of the populace then you can start forming a consensus and I do believe the consensus is the Traxxas makes good quality bashing rigs overall. I know that at least is the consensus on here anyway and Id be willing to bet the majority of RC folks feel that way across the board. All that being said, I aint trying to argue over it. If thats your opinion then your are of course entitled to it.

 

[F.R.S. Ninja_007]

Whichever you get, get venom batteries with UNI 2.0 connectors so you can use them with your fleet. I’d say the E-Revo is pretty cool, and there’s even a 1/16 version.

 

[WickedFog]

No one is racing Traxxas kits at the pro level so I wouldnt call them a full fledged racing brand. I know once upon a time the REVO was raced alot in ROAR's short lived Monster Truck racing class but generally speaking they are not a competitive racing brand.

I called up my local hobby store and asked them the same question about Traxxas parts because they by far have more Traxxas parts than any other single brand. The answer I got was "Because they are the most popular brand around here". My whole point was simply that none of our own personal experiences are real evidence that any brand is better or worse than the other. Now if you widen that data set out to include many peoples experiences across a larger section of the populace then you can start forming a consensus and I do believe the consensus is the Traxxas makes good quality bashing rigs overall. I know that at least is the consensus on here anyway and Id be willing to bet the majority of RC folks feel that way across the board. All that being said, I aint trying to argue over it. If thats your opinion then your are of course entitled to it.

Just the couple years I have been on this forum, I can say I have seen far more broken Traxxas kits than anything else.

And based on my Jato breaking every single time I ran it, I feel pretty confident I can add to that data. The Traxxas designs suck for durability, and I would bet my arm they have designed them that way on purpose, at least on some parts. No engineer in his right mind would think the rear shock mount on the Jato is a good design, unless they were looking at it from a profit from sales of replacement parts point of view. And after building a drag Slash, I could list a number of things wrong with the designs on that kit.

So based on my personal experience, I can tell ya for a fact that Traxxas isn't as good as other stuff I have ran. I don't need no study to figure that one out bro

 

[F.R.S. Ninja_007]

Here’s a point: Arrma & Traxxas parts will be more readily available than other brands. Consider that bc parts are bound to break, and don’t get brushed if you’re planning on converting it to brushless unless it’s brushless ready.
And Nitro: stay away beginners. Too much maintenance for most people.

 

[Greywolf74]

Just the couple years I have been on this forum, I can say I have seen far more broken Traxxas kits than anything else.

And based on my Jato breaking every single time I ran it, I feel pretty confident I can add to that data. The Traxxas designs suck for durability, and I would bet my arm they have designed them that way on purpose, at least on some parts. No engineer in his right mind would think the rear shock mount on the Jato is a good design, unless they were looking at it from a profit from sales of replacement parts point of view. And after building a drag Slash, I could list a number of things wrong with the designs on that kit.

So based on my personal experience, I can tell ya for a fact that Traxxas isn't as good as other stuff I have ran. I don't need no study to figure that one out bro

All I said was that imo the general consensus from what I've seen online over the years is that the majority of people in the RC community feel like Traxxas makes good bashing rigs. you're mileage/opinion may vary and I may even be wrong about the concensus but I dont believe that I am. Look at how many people buy XMAXXs, MAXXs, REVOs, Rustlers, Slashes, TRX-4s, Stampedes, etc. They are a popular brand for a reason. I agree that the JATO is a fragile design and the drag slash was an adaptation from a short course truck so its obviously not going to be optimized for drag racing. I also didnt say there werent better brands out there. I like most of the Traxxas kits I've owned even though I consider them to be in the lower end of hobby grade. Just my

 

[WickedFog]

I.pAll I said was that imo the general consensus from what I've seen online over the years is that the majority of people in the RC community feel like Traxxas makes good bashing rigs. you're mileage/opinion may vary and I may even be wrong about the concensus but I dont believe that I am. Look at how many people buy XMAXXs, MAXXs, REVOs, Rustlers, Slashes, TRX-4s, Stampedes, etc. They are a popular brand for a reason. I agree that the JATO is a fragile design and the drag slash was an adaptation from a short course truck so its obviously not going to be optimized for drag racing. I also didnt say there werent better brands out there. I like most of the Traxxas kits I've owned even though I consider them to be in the lower end of hobby grade. Just my

I am not saying the Slash design isn't good for drag racing. That is nit what I was talking about. I am saying the design sucks period. The way the steering bellcrank sits in the chassis is gawd awful. The diff is crap. The whole trans housing/motor mount is crap. I have no problem with owning Traxxas RC's. I currently have 3. What got me is...

"I do believe the consensus is the Traxxas makes good quality bashing rigs overall. I know that at least is the consensus on here anyway and Id be willing to bet the majority of RC folks feel that way across the board."

I don't know about all that

 

[Greywolf74]

I am not saying the Slash design isn't good for drag racing. That is nit what I was talking about. I am saying the design sucks period. The way the steering bellcrank sits in the chassis is gawd awful. The diff is crap. The whole trans housing/motor mount is crap. I have no problem with owning Traxxas RC's. I currently have 3. What got me is...

"I do believe the consensus is the Traxxas makes good quality bashing rigs overall. I know that at least is the consensus on here anyway and Id be willing to bet the majority of RC folks feel that way across the board."

I don't know about all that

Which part? On here or the wider context? The wider context I think is supported by how popular the company is. The smaller context of this forum I was just my observation over the 13 years I've been a member of this forum, not necessarily reflective of the current active members of today.

 

[WickedFog]

I am saying I don't believe the general consensus is Traxxas makes a quality basher, at least if you are talking to people that know quality bashers. You go by the average RC guy, fairly new (which is probably accounting for most of Traxxas' sales) then yeah, that may be the consensus.

Traxxas makes a fairly cheap RC, with good parts availability - yeah, sure. But quality is not a word I would really stress as far as their products go. Value would maybe be a better word. They do have their exceptions to this. Like the X-Maxx for example. It seems pretty durable from what I've seen, but it is way overpriced for what it is - a boatload of plastic. After building the chassis, I cannot for the life of me see where they get the $1000 price tag.

 

[RICKYBOBBY212]

The Arrma looks great as well, but as it's a gift we'd rather just get him the one he wants, rather than try and freestyle

I just made a basket with both models, batteries and a charger and that Sledge will be an expensive gift! Yikes.
I think we'll go for the Rustler 4x4 VXL for him, and then perhaps get a Sledge for me (that he can use as well) in some months.
The VXL is without batteries and charger right? It's his first time venturing into LiPos so I think we'll get the Traxxas original gear so we're sure he won't end up burning down the house.

I'd advise u keep him with traxxas everything besides the batteries! They are OVERPRICED!! BUT get the charger! It's great for a young man just starting in the hobby. It will charge other batteries as long as they have traxxas connectors. The charger will allow u to rest assure the Batts are safe. The functions are perfect for younger ppl who are not schooled on lipo, not to mention they cut off. Also get lipo bags to store them. No other Company in this hobby has better Customer service and customer support than TRAXXAS

 

[WickedFog]

I'd advise u keep him with traxxas everything besides the batteries! They are OVERPRICED!! BUT get the charger! It's great for a young man just starting in the hobby. It will charge other batteries as long as they have traxxas connectors. The charger will allow u to rest assure the Batts are safe. The functions are perfect for younger ppl who are not schooled on lipo, not to mention they cut off. Also get lipo bags to store them. No other Company in this hobby has better Customer service and customer support than TRAXXAS

Getting a Traxxas charger is a big mistake. There are far better, much faster, and more compatible chargers out there for far less money. Not only that, but people have more problems with smart chargers than any other I have seen in my years in this hobby.

My big complaint with smart chargers (aside from the absurd pricetags for mediocre equipment) is they mask the need for the end user to learn about caring for their LiPo batteries. If you use LiPo's, you absolutely need to educate yourself on using and caring for them. It's not rocket science. Smart chargers just aren't smart.

 

[LosiFan143]

I don’t have either truck, but I I’d say a rustler 4x4 or Arrma vorteks 4x4

 

[Greywolf74]

Getting a Traxxas charger is a big mistake. There are far better, much faster, and more compatible chargers out there for far less money. Not only that, but people have more problems with smart chargers than any other I have seen in my years in this hobby.

My big complaint with smart chargers (aside from the absurd pricetags for mediocre equipment) is they mask the need for the end user to learn about caring for their LiPo batteries. If you use LiPo's, you absolutely need to educate yourself on using and caring for them. It's not rocket science. Smart chargers just aren't smart.

Agreed