Best SCT/Rock Racer platform for 8-10 year olds?

[generalbacardi]

I realize this is a crawling forum, but I'm sure folks here have expertise in SCT's and bashing and could help me with this decision...

I'm thinking of purchasing a short course or rock racer truck for my oldest son’s upcoming 10th birthday. (and also for my next son who will be turning 8three months later) and for sure Dad will be getting one eventually.

I want to make the right choice because I want to stick with one platform.
70% of the use would be racing around our tight 18' x 26' backyard BMX track, 20% would be bashing / jumping at the local dirt jump spot (mostly smooth dirt), and 10% would be rough terrain bashing. Maybe some crawling if I go with the rock racer style. However, we have a Losi Night Crawler, but the kids are not into crawling, and it mostly sits around collecting dust. The #1 consideration is durability.

Since most of the use will be at our tight backyard track, I was originally looking at things like the 1/18 Losi Mini Desert Truck, 1/18 Latrax Teton, 1/16 Traxxas Slash, and 1/14 Tacon Thriller, but those trucks will get destroyed in short order at the dirt jump spot, and they are no good for rough terrain bashing or crawling. There's also the 1/16 Traxxas mini Summit, but that's very overpriced for what it is.

Since my kids are younger and inexperienced, I’m drawn to the Traxxas line. While pricey, Traxxas’ parts support and availability is unparalleled. Also, they have the 50% training mode and waterproof electronics which are good features for kids. The lower end Traxxas models have brushed motors and NiMH batteries, which I’m OK with, but I own an old Cellpro 4S charger which only charges lipos, so if I get a NiMH setup I need to buy another charger (unless I want to wait forever for the wall wart chargers to charge the batteries).

However, after looking at reviews, I think the SST will be too squirrely in general, and pretty much useless on rough terrain. The Teton looks to be a better choice; better handling and better bashability, but it’s out of stock everywhere.

The 1/16 Slash is tempting because it’s only $50 more than the Latrax models and a lot more truck. However I’ve read that it’s nose heavy during jumps and not durable, so it sounds like it will turn into a money pit as soon as we hit the dirt jump spot.

So even though our backyard track will be VERY tight for 1/10 rigs, I’m starting to lean in that direction. Here are my thoughts so far:

Traxxas Slash 2WD 1/10
Pros: least expensive option ($189 for RTR minus batteries), Traxxas parts support, waterproof ESC, training mode, in theory more durable than a 4x4
Cons: more difficult to drive than a 4x4, less versatile in rough terrain due to less traction (2WD), and this video turned me off to the 2WD truck because of all the durability issues he pointed out: https://youtu.be/mMNfOReWX8w and I have to buy a NiMH charger.

ECX Torment 4x4 1/10
Pros: affordable way to get into a 1/10 4x4 compared ($240 RTR vs. at least $450 for a Traxxas Slash 4x4); seems to be durable from this review: Review – ECX Torment 4wd RTR Short Course Truck « Big Squid RC – News, Reviews, Videos, and More!
Cons: no LHS parts support, so mail order needed for all spares, much less aftermarket support / parts availability than Traxxas, no training mode, need to buy NiMH charger.

Valterra Twin Hammers 1/10
Pros: low top speed (18 mph or so) should theoretically lead to less breakage; best rough terrain bashing ability; uses Losi style shocks so lots of tuning parts available, can be used for crawling too; uses Lipos out of the box so no need to buy a NiMH charger
Cons: getting up there in price ($300), no LHS parts support, high center of gravity will it roll over too easily? Won't handle as well at speed as a SCT; durability in jumping situations unknown.

Losi Baja Rey 1/10
(Note: $450 seems like the minimum ante for a 1/10 4x4, so this is in the same category as the Slash 4x4, Axial Yeti SCORE, Associated SC10, etc. from looking at the reviews the Baja Rey seems to be the most durable, and it has LHS parts support, so that is why I'm leaning toward the Rey in this category.)
Pros: Great motor, suspension, etc. out of the box, no need to upgrade to brushless etc. in the future, highest quality platform, so can stick with it for a long time (buy once cry once); good LHS and online parts support.
Cons: very expensive ($449, no Lipo included), will this be too much truck for the youngsters? (30 mph on 2S, no training mode), how durable is it?

Any thoughts/input appreciated.

 

[Ascender'nMN84]

I got my girlfriends 6 year old a 2WD slash for his birthday. I waver back and forth on if I should have gone 4x4 ecx instead but training mode was key. Also helps teach better driving skills in the long run learning 2WD first. Good luck. I'm sure they'll love whatever you choose.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[TheLetterJ]

My 6 year old has been running hobby grade RC's for a full year now and I've learned a few things...

Skip the mini's. They are pretty much limited to asphalt or perfect hard packed dirt. Super fun for cul-de-sac racing, but get him one AFTER he's got a 1/10.

He can drive a 2wd SCT just fine. A brushed version is plenty fast enough to keep him entertained.

He can drive the Baja Rey on 3s just fine, but it's so fast that he doesn't have much fun having to constantly adjust throttle input. Even more so in small spaces. It's also more $$$ to keep running (as compared to a Slash) if the plan is to bash the bejesus out of it... that's why this one is Dad's toy.

If he's only going to have 1 car, make sure you have excellent local parts support. It's a much bigger bummer for him having to wait for parts than it is for Dad.

I make him pay for anything that he breaks, so he understands that wreckless driving = more chores and more downtime... slow(er) truck = less breakage.

I'd personally say to just go with a brushed 2wd Slash. If he really gets interested in the hobby, he'll want another car before Christmas, so don't try to get one car to rule them all.

 

[TheLetterJ]

On the Twin Hammers note, if you don't think he's going to want to do any real crawling, maybe get the DT version? It comes with a cheaper radio and a single speed t-case, but I've seen them for around $270 recently. It still has a locked rear axle, so it won't get hung up on rough ground too easy, and being 4wd will still give him a broad range of use.

My son has run a couple packs through my friend's 2 speed TH and he was disappointed with its crawling ability even compared to his Redcat E10. He was disappointed in its go-fast ability compared to, well, anything that wasn't a crawler. A front locker and a brushless system would certainly change that, but then you're back into the $450+ range.

 

[generalbacardi]

I make him pay for anything that he breaks, so he understands that wreckless driving = more chores and more downtime...

Brilliant policy!

 

[generalbacardi]

On the Twin Hammers note, if you don't think he's going to want to do any real crawling, maybe get the DT version? It comes with a cheaper radio and a single speed t-case, but I've seen them for around $270 recently. It still has a locked rear axle, so it won't get hung up on rough ground too easy, and being 4wd will still give him a broad range of use.

My son has run a couple packs through my friend's 2 speed TH and he was disappointed with its crawling ability even compared to his Redcat E10. He was disappointed in its go-fast ability compared to, well, anything that wasn't a crawler. A front locker and a brushless system would certainly change that, but then you're back into the $450+ range.

Yeah the DT version was exactly what I was looking at. I think the T-case on the DT is still 2 speed, you just don't get the servo and extra channel on the radio. There is an $8 aftermarket thumb switch part so you can manually shift the t-case from hi to lo. The extra $100 for the V2 version is too much to pay just for the luxury of shifting on the fly.

Good point on the speed differences, although all my son has experience with is the Losi Night Crawler and junky toy-grade RC's so a TH would seem like a rocket to him.

 

[butaford]

I got my 7yr old twins slash 2wds. They are tough as nails, and parts that do break are upgraded with rpm. They were hard to drive in dirt on stock tires but I replaced them with proline trenchers and they handle everything pretty good now.

 

[UGLY]

2wd Brushed SCT (2s). You can get RTR Asscociated/Losi with great parts support for under $200. Also SCT have closed wheels which is important when learning. Open wheels hang up and snap a-arms like candy canes.

 

[slowmethinks]

Avoid the ECX Torment 4x4. Maintenance is a PITA. I had a 4x4 Ruckus and converted it to a Torment. Its fun, but took a lot of work to make it bombproof. So avoid it...

If HobbyPeople had not gone out of business, I would say DHK Hunter. I beat the crap out of mine and have only broken axles. There's a easy fix for that as well, going from 5mm to 6mm axles. But yeah, no more stateside distributor = no mo parts... But the truck is based off of their 1/8th scale models. Hell, even the stock servo is still holding strong.

Maybe look at AE or Losi? Or even the Tower Pro?

 

[ColdFox]

The HPI Blitz is a pretty cool 2wd too, almost unbreakable if don't have too much power (aka 3800kv on 3S )
But HPI parts are not well distributed, so that might be a problem for you...