<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I am a first time buyer in the RC world so I wanted something I could learn on but still keep up with my friends who have the Traxxas, HPI, and Losi brand sc (short course) and mt (monster trucks) vehicles. I probably spent a good 3 weeks researching the right truck before i made my decision. After reading extensive forum reviews and weeding through all of the Redcat haters out there I finally came up with right truck at the right price for me. This SC10e Caldera is AWESOME! I have raced, jumped, smashed, and bashed this truck and it keeps on going. I've even taken it through puddles and mud (i dont recommend doing this unless you upgrade to a waterproof esc and motor) which had no effect on performance. The only minor hiccup so far was a rock wedging itself between the pinion and spur gears which made a clicking sound but was fixed immediately when the small rock was removed. I also love that this truck can be converted to more of a monster truck style very easily. You basically just need some new shock springs, tires, and body which you can find all at a pretty reasonable price on ebay.</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">At half or even a third of the price of the "higher quality" (more like well known) 4x4 sc1/10 scale trucks you cant go wrong with this Redcat Caldera. I was skeptical to buy this product as would any new buyer due to the abundance of information and reviews about RC cars out there, but this thing rips. All of my friends cant believe it keeps up with their $600 short course trucks. I have kept the entire thing stock for now but when i purchased the vehicle I bought some extra goodies (upgrades) for it just from all of the bad reviews about this truck's steering servo and tires. That being said, I purchased an additional set of "ProLine Tires" with beefier tread for the dirt and a metal gear servo. I also went with a 5000mah 7.4v 2s Lipo battery which just needed the charger and necessary adapter (4.0mm banana plug to charger adapter). All I can say is this thing is insanely fast! Wheelies all the way down my street at 40mph+! The run time is almost double the stock battery as well, I definitely recommend getting a Lipo battery if you have some extra $. I also picked up some extra spur and pinion gears just in case (I am told they go out quite a bit).</span><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><br style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Overall, this thing is a beast and i would recommend it to any new or even advanced RC hobbyists. It is a completely hobby grade and upgrade-able RC truck and as i mentioned earlier, has no problem keeping up with the other $$$ brands right out of the box. Have fun out there...I sure am with my Caldera.</span>