What to buy for a 9yr old

[Manlythumbs]

Hi I'm fairly new to rc. I grew up playing with the old-school lunchbox. Now my son is fascinated with rc and I'm looking to get him Something decent for his 9th birthday. He currently plays with a hosim 9125 we got him for last Christmas and I spend to much time fixing it. Im torn between the base traxxas slash and arrma senton or the base typhoon. And recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Looking for durability and probably upgrading motor in the future. Not looking to spend more than $250 for initialpurchase. Is the 1/8 buggy built better than the 1/10 sc trucks?

Thanks

 

[Exc3l]

I think a black big rock will be amazing. I chose the senton 3s 4 months ago when I was 12 and it is lots of fun. I am currently planning to go 80-90 mph. Does he like to jump and bash or does he like to go fast and do speed runs? If u are doing speed runs honestly the typhon or big rock might be the best option. My neighbor has had his typhon break on him lots of times, currently its in half. I think he got a defected one. lol

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Howdy and Welcome!

With a $250 budget, that will get you one of the Mega (brushed motor) versions. I would be careful that you get the latest version with the SLT3 radio and not the older version with the STX2 radio. The older version comes with that bad radio, leaky shocks, and a slipper and diffs that needs to be upgraded if you want to upgrade your motor to brushless. The newer version has a much better radio, fixed shocks, and the same slipper/diffs as the BLX/Brushless trucks. Watch the box art for the version of the radio. SLT3 good, STX2 Bad.

The 4x4 Typhon and Senton are almost the exact same car. The main difference is the axles and bumpers.

The Typhon uses 17mm hex, the Senton uses 14mm hex. 14mm is a bit of an odd size, there are not many tire choices. 17mm is the standard for 1/8 buggy wheels, though, so there are lots of options that work with no worry or adaptors.

For the bumpers, the Senton has big bumpers front, rear, and even nerf bars on the side. This will protect the truck and make it harder to break. But, at brushed speeds, both the Senton and Typhon should be hard to break.

Between the two, I'd say, get the one that gets him the most excited. They are close enough that performance won't really matter, until you later upgrade to brushless.

Last - see if you can add to the budget a bit to get a good charger. Look for something that can charge 2 batteries at one time, with about 150w-200w total power (or more) If you stay in RC, a good charger can be used for years with every RC you decided to later buy.

 

[jondilly1974]

No doubt about it, the Senton Mega for your criteria.

BUT!!!

If you can stretch your budget another $70 you could get the 3S version and save yourself future money on upgrades.

Reason why you want the Senton over any of the other models is that the body protects the tires from a lot of impacts, keeping a-arms and other suspension parts from damages that you would otherwise have with an open wheel body style.

 

[extremeengineer]

So when my son was 8 I first went with a Rustler VXL. I suppose that was in part nostalgia at least in terms of 2wd, as I started out lots of decades ago with an Ultima. We started it in the training mode, and he has had tons of fun. My local LHS is big on Traxxas, so they stock every part, so that was a big factor too. Pretty close to your price point, so maybe worth considering.

 

[Boggs3010]

Agree Senton, if possible go for the 3s version. I had a Slash and no kidding 6 months , I must had made 30 plus repairs and spent well over 100.00 in parts.Senton 3s I have had only 2 months but not a single repair.

 

[Mewnova]

Senton 3S. Maybe the Mega versioin but the Senton is great.

 

[Exc3l]

Agree Senton, if possible go for the 3s version. I had a Slash and no kidding 6 months , I must had made 30 plus repairs and spent well over 100.00 in parts.Senton 3s I have had only 2 months but not a single repair.

Same here no upgrades or breakage! Just stupidity and stripping screws at it max

 

[Manlythumbs]

Thank you for all the great input. He is a basher for sure and I'm even worse when I can get my hands on it. Ill start with the 2s senton New version SLT3. Seems like a better buy than the slash. Not many hobby shops around here so ill be ordering parts.

 

[MetteoMercatale]

Senton 3S. Maybe the Mega versioin but the Senton is great.

Agreed! sention is perfect

 

[Mr.Vylan]

Senton Mega

 

[Cheez]

Keep this in mind....every manual states “Age Recommendation: Not for children under 14 years. This is not a toy.”
supervise and be patient when it break.

 

[Exc3l]

Keep this in mind....every manual states “Age Recommendation: Not for children under 14 years. This is not a toy.”
supervise and be patient when it break.

Its a mans toy ?

 

[Cheez]

Its a mans toy ?

Yep, my point exactly.

 

[Manlythumbs]

Its something we do together. He is learning and doing great. I ordered the senton brushed

 

[Mewnova]

The mega is better for younger or... No offense... Inexperienced drivers. I lent my Brushless senton 3S to a friend and he busted the steering blocks...

 

[Manlythumbs]

None taken.. I agree, the 3s would be too fast for him right now. When he does crash At max speed its better it doing 30 not 50.

 

[Boggs3010]

But the controller can easily set to 50 or 75 percent power. Or in the case with my 2ife. I use 2s battery at 50% .Over time adjust as needed.

 

[Engineer]

Agree with many about getting the 3S as you can run either 2S and/or limit the throttle and the key point is that you can grow into it. The MEGA is made to a price point and comes with NiMH batteries and a practically useless charger.

 

[Manlythumbs]

Hey all, just wanted to update the progress for future readers. We started with the brushed version. $250 shipped and came with everything needed. In 3 months of we burned up two brushed motors and broke the front bumper. The bumper is no big deal but motors should last longer. I use compressed air to clean everything especially after runs with wet grass as the chassis collects a ton. We have upgraded to the 3s after burning up the 2nd motor. The $70 difference is worth it from the beginning. Buying parts adds up fast
Motor esc with heatsink and fan $115 shipped off ebay
3s slipper clutch/spur gear $50
20t pinion gear $7
Drive shaft connection $5
Driveshaft brace $5
Wheelie bar $8
There is a huge difference in speed so I'm glad he got used to driving on the 2s but setting the 3s to 50% or 75% speed would be way cheeper. Great truck and durable