Redcat RacingBlackout XTE 1/10 Scale Electric Monster Truck with Waterproof Electronics, Silver/Red SUV, Blackout-XTE-SILVERSUV

I was a little hesitant from other reviews but decided to roll the dice and get it. It was a birthday gift for my son. He just turned four and as you may have guessed it's either full throttle or nothing. This is one tough little truck it's taken a beating and has yet to have any damage other than cosmetic. He's crashed it into trees, curbs, retaining wall bricks, ran it through mud and water puddles and it just has some scratches and scrapes to show for. Not saying it doesn't require any attention. You still have to do the normal maintenance and pre run once overs, to make sure nothing has come loose or broke, just like you would with any other hobby grade RCs but it is definitely well worth it's price point. Is it an Axial crawler or a traxxas revo.....no!! But it also doesn't cost $500+ either. It's a nice entry level truck to get and keep the interest of entry level hobbyists. And it seems to have done that quite well.It's also fun for experienced hobbyists too. Fast enough to jump and rip around the yard but not so fast that you're dropping $15-$100s with every crash or whoops.Only suggestion would be to purchase a better charger and some extra battery packs!

This is the best rc car I have ever had! I am an rc collector, and I can say that this car stands out of my collection. I've tested it with my gps, and it is very fast, at 35 mph! Also, it is very durable. I have taken it on ramps and crashed it hard. Though, it never breaks. The engine heats a lot, and sometimes, you have to let it cool down. But, that has never been a problem to me.The battery is a Hexfly 3000 milliamp hour (mah) battery. The only problem I have with the battery is that the wire insulation is coming apart on the end of the wires.The electronics are water proof. I drive this car in water that is higher than the car's tires. Though, when I am done using it, I dry it off. YOU HAVE TO DRY IT OFF! If you don't, then some of the screws and part of the shocks start to rust. I learned the hard way, but if it does rust, then you can take a wired sponge and scrub the rust off.This car also has an awesome body. I get compliments about it every time I use the car. (I put some extra stickers on the car for looks.) I also recommend buying new body clips, because you can lose them VERY easily.This is the best rc car I ever had. Definitely recommend buying it.

I wanted to say that I was very impressed with this RC truck, ESPECIALLY at this price. The truck looks great, and expensive. Personally, I enjoy the much larger ones (I own a Traxxas X-Maxx) but I bought this one for my son. For a brushed motor this thing is quick and powerful and just wants to bash around. The quality is as good, if not better, than ones that cost twice as much. The adjustable suspension allows you to change the ride height and it's built sturdy. Redcat Racing gets a bad rap sometimes online, but I think the people that write bad stuff about it don't know what they're talking about.Like other reviewers have stated, in the RC hobby things break if they are abused or if you drive them into a tree at 25 mph, but sometimes you do that and you drive away, it doesn't matter what brand it is.Overall this truck is a win. Great look, great suspension, good tires, great design, and above average build quality. If you can spare a few extra bucks, the brushless version is even better.Want to make a kid (or adult for that matter) happy? Buy this truck and work your way up. I don't think you could get more value for the money or more fun!

After many Christmases where we bought R/C cars and trucks that proceeded to break sometimes within minutes of being charged for the first time, we decided to buy a real R/C truck this year for our 8 year old and this one was a hit! We purposely bought a truck that is billed as being for off-road and climbing use and while it is very fast compared to toy R/Cs, it is slower than a race car hobby R/C would be and that means that our 8 year old can handle it just fine. We bought it for $129 here at Amazon and I think it was worth every penny.Pros:1. It really is RTR--Ready to Race. Out of the box, you just need to plug it in to charge using the charging cable provided. 8 hours for the first charge. It takes 8 AA batteries for the controller. Once charged, all we had to do was plug the battery into the motor, put the shell on with the clips provided, turn on the controller (first) and then turn on the car. They synced up immediately and we didn't even need to fiddle with the alignment/throttle/sensitivity, although those are all adjustable.2. Sturdy--It has plastic in some parts where it makes sense, but much of it is metal including a very heavy duty skid plate on the bottom. All of the guts are accessible and look well assembled.3. Very stable--I don't know enough about hobby R/C to know why (shocks, center of gravity?? who knows), but I know that my sons can flip a J turn at near to full speed and it doesn't roll. The only roll we've had was going off of a skateboard ramp crooked. :)4. Ease of driving = fun--My 8 year old figured out how to drive it quickly and now my 14 year old is bummed he didn't get one for Christmas and is saving up his money.5. Flat area on top of shell is a perfect place to mount a GoPro--The video is awesome and you can really get a sense of how fast this things goes.6. Battery life--We haven't timed it, but the battery seems to last a long time (i.e. the boys get cold before the battery dies).Con:1. The instructions could be laid out better for newbies. All of the information is there, but a quick start guide or a different way to explain things would be nice. But its not a fatal flaw. Just read carefully and you will find the info you need.2. We have had one breakdown. Due to a head on collision with the curb, the metal clip/sping/doohicky that connects the steering control arm to the steering servo was knocked off so that the steering control arm only pulled the arm back (to turn left), but couldn't push it forward (to turn right). With a little YouTube searching I was able to figure this out and was able to fix it with only a mini-screwdriver. It has happened one more time since then and I was able to fix it easily. I don't know if this is a common problem, a design issue, or just a fluke. This is what I took one star away for, however, I almost didn't put this as a con because 1) I was able to fix it and that has never been true with toy R/C cars and 2) this is a piece of the truck that can be replaced and/or upgraded, so if we find that it is not a great design we have a solution.So, with about 4 hours of run time in the hands of an 8 year old, 14 year old and their parents, we are having a lot of fun with this one. One more note, this is too fast for inside use, unless you have a huge house or you are skilled at driving very carefully.