RE: hard cased lipos?
Liposreally do make the hobby that much more fun and theyare nothing to be afraid of. Buy a charge bag and charge them outside your first time if you think it will help break your phobia. I would check with someone a bit more knowledgable about running lipos on the XL-5 in your bandit. I do not believe the XL-5 has a low voltage cutoff, but I think you can purchase an alarm that will do something when it's time to stop running the car.
I have not used the thunder ac6; however, prior to purchasing my charger the majority of the reviews I read on it were positive. It should do a fine job, and the numbers you posted were correct.It should take just shy of an hour to charge.
Edit: Forgot to mention you can charge the batteries at less than 5 amps if you feel safer doin that.