RC recommendation for my son

[xplatinum]

I just pulled the trigger on an Outcast. Now I'm looking for a good RC for my son so we can have a fun sharing an interest together.

What do you guys recommend for a soon to be 7 years old? Ideally it needs to have a decent run time (10 minutes is not enough).

Thanks!

 

[WoodiE]

@xplatinum if you're wanting something comparable you could always get another Outcast and lower the throttle so it's not crazy fast for him. Plus if you start upgrading parts he could use your old stock parts as backups in case he damages his.

If you don't mind something completely different then I really think the Traxxas Stampede makes one heck of a first RC for younger people. Very durable, parts are easily found and plenty of after market parts available as well. In addition ECX makes a number of great RC's too and we have a network site you might want to check out - ECXForum.com

 

[xplatinum]

If only I had enough money to drop another 1,000 squids for a 7 year old's RC I'll take a look at the stampede!

 

[Loid]

I bought my 4 yr old son a Stampede because of the durability and the Training Mode on the ESC that cuts power by 50%. It works great and a 5200 2S LiPo will run forever. That said, he clipped our sidewalk last week and completely snapped the chassis in two. I was blown away that that much damage could happen in training mode. No other damage to the truck whatsoever. I called Traxxas and they did send me another one just because it was no new (bought 6 weeks ago) and I got it back together today. I was (am) pretty disappointed in how fragile it is. I clipped a culvert in my Kraton expecting it to be in pieces. Flipped it over and on I went. Could be I got a badly molded part on the Stampede but time will tell.Anyways, that's my .02, good luck.

 

[lonee]

On a tactic transmitter from an Nero you can also reduce the speed with setting a lower endpoint.
Backward you will have 50% out of the box.
Thats sometimes a reason for questions when touching these buttons with the thumb while driving.
Maybe an Typhon or Kraton? The fury is a bit small if you compare with an Outcast.
You knows how children are: " My car is smaller than you´res!"

 

[xplatinum]

I bought my 4 yr old son a Stampede because of the durability and the Training Mode on the ESC that cuts power by 50%. It works great and a 5200 2S LiPo will run forever. That said, he clipped our sidewalk last week and completely snapped the chassis in two. I was blown away that that much damage could happen in training mode. No other damage to the truck whatsoever. I called Traxxas and they did send me another one just because it was no new (bought 6 weeks ago) and I got it back together today. I was (am) pretty disappointed in how fragile it is. I clipped a culvert in my Kraton expecting it to be in pieces. Flipped it over and on I went. Could be I got a badly molded part on the Stampede but time will tell.Anyways, that's my .02, good luck.

Wow what a bummer. I wonder how fragile that model was for all the other owners! The Stampede is the model that appears to be the most recommended at that price-point.

On a tactic transmitter from an Nero you can also reduce the speed with setting a lower endpoint.
Backward you will have 50% out of the box.
Thats sometimes a reason for questions when touching these buttons with the thumb while driving.
Maybe an Typhon or Kraton? The fury is a bit small if you compare with an Outcast.
You knows how children are: " My car is smaller than you´res!"

I wish I could afford a Kraton or a Typhon for my son. ~550$ CAD is way too expensive. It needs to be around 200-250$ CAD.

 

[Outcaster]

I'll second the stampede as a great platform for starting out. Sorry to hear about your experience @Loid, not the norm with the Stampede from my experience. I have three and a Rustler.

Bought two of them a couple of years ago for my boys, then 7 & 10. They've jumped them, raced them, smash up derby'd them and they keep going strong. I put trencher 2.8's on the rears, RPM front bumper, Traxxas wheelie bar and run some Taxxas lipos in them. They've been pretty much indestructible. They have a great time with them.

You can pick up the Stampede xl5's with different body configurations (stampede, skully, craniac, new style bigfoot, etc) from $250-$265 CDN. Other options are the Slash 2wd if he likes the short course style, or the Rustler if he likes stadium truck style. Ground clearance is less on these two though. Easy fix with larger tires though.

 

[xplatinum]

That's great to hear! Can't be short-course as I want to have him by my side while I bash mine offroad style

Lipos are not a must I imagine for starting out? I want to invest as little as possible to start out as he could move on to another hobby sooner rather than later.

If I can get a runtime of 20 minutes out of the stock nimh that'd be great.

/edit: can short-course vehicules take good jumps? I'm fairly certain that my son will understand that he has a smaller car but he'll be disappointed if he cannot take the sames routes and jumps as me. Most of the time we'll probably drive in grass and asphalt. I still need to figure out where the tracks are around here.

 

[lonee]

mmcmm, I don't know how it is in USA, but I had buy an Absima Patron Short Course Truck (RTR) which had costs me less then 280€.
I have that car since spring time last year and it where not driven soft. Except the ESC, which have an very soft Lipo cut off, the car is original and is running. OK, you can´t compare with an Nero or Senton but with 2S it is not the slowest out of the box.
I could compare with an Slash... an I won!
Maybe an option?

 

[Outcaster]

No need for lipos to start, no. I started the boys out with nimh. The truck will come with one, I believe it's around 3000mAh. It will give you decent run time to start out.

Personally, I would still go with the Stampede if I were doing it again. Parts are available everywhere. Wheelies like crazy, which the kids love, goes over a bunch of terrain, etc. Hard to beat. I was just throwing out some other options for consideration.

Do a few Google searches for the different vehicles mentioned. Lots of videos out there to give you an idea of what they will do.

 

[Loid]

No need for lipos to start, no. I started the boys out with nimh. The truck will come with one, I believe it's around 3000mAh. It will give you decent run time to start out.

Personally, I would still go with the Stampede if I were doing it again. Parts are available everywhere. Wheelies like crazy, which the kids love, goes over a bunch of terrain, etc. Hard to beat. I was just throwing out some other options for consideration.

I also would probably buy one again. It sucked that ours broke but they did send me a replacement chassis. Plus it has the waterproof electronics, training mode (buy a wheelie bar if you're not going to use this) and parts are cheap and everywhere.
BTW, the included charger is DC only, you need a $20 adapter to use it on AC power. I just put the 20 bucks towards a better charger myself.

 

[yz125ryder]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the Arrma Granite or Mini E-Revo.

 

[chevys10zr2003]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the Arrma Granite or Mini E-Revo.

Solid vehicles but I personally wouldn't recommended those myself for him. The Granite is 2wd so it may have difficulty in tougher terrain where the Outcast may be going. The 1/16 E-Revo isn't nearly as capable off road as the Outcast. I have a 1/16 E-Revo myself and I love it but it gets stuck on a lot more stuff than my Kraton does, grass slows it down a decent amount and it doesn't handle off road or jump nearly as well. I'm guessing it's mostly to do with the weight of it.

I don't know what kind of driving they will be doing though. If it's just around grassy fields the Granite would be great and parking lots the E-Revo would be great. But if they plan on doing some heavier off-roading, I would personally want something bigger and 4wd. Just my thoughts though.

 

[xplatinum]

@yz125ryder @chevys10zr2003 I have yet to find an off-road spot near my place. So in the meantime it'll be asphalt, gravel and grass. I was looking at the ECX Amp Desert Buggy. It's a 2wd brushed buggy but for the price (129$ USD) it's hard to beat for a 6 years old.

ECX Amp Desert Buggy is 199$ CAD
Granite is 229$ CAD
Mini e-Revo is 269$ CAD
Kraton is 679$ CAD

I'm not surprised the Kraton is overall better than the mini e-revo, it's 400$ more. Can't really compare the two.

I think it'll be between the ECX Amp DB or the Granite for 30$ more.

 

[yz125ryder]

@yz125ryder @chevys10zr2003 I have yet to find an off-road spot near my place. So in the meantime it'll be asphalt, gravel and grass. I was looking at the ECX Amp Desert Buggy. It's a 2wd brushed buggy but for the price (129$ USD) it's hard to beat for a 6 years old.

ECX Amp Desert Buggy is 199$ CAD
Granite is 229$ CAD
Mini e-Revo is 269$ CAD
Kraton is 679$ CAD

I'm not surprised the Kraton is overall better than the mini e-revo, it's 400$ more. Can't really compare the two.

I think it'll be between the ECX Amp DB or the Granite for 30$ more.

Granite was titled basher of the year. Also, it comes with a 2 year warranty, lipo capable, super durable.

 

[xplatinum]

Granite was titled basher of the year. Also, it comes with a 2 year warranty, lipo capable, super durable.

Good point, being LiPo capable is actually a big plus.

Granite was titled basher of the year. Also, it comes with a 2 year warranty, lipo capable, super durable.

What LiPos are compatible with the Granite? (edit: got it! 2S). And what's the difference between Granite MEGA, BLS and BLX? The motor but what happened to BLS and BLX? It's no longer on the site. Is MEGA less powerful? I've seen some very nice videos on YT of the Granite but it doesn't say if it's the MEGA or BLX or BLS...