If you want speed and power, get seperate, high quality battery packs. i recommend GP3300 7-cells. And yes, if even a drop of water gets into the emaxxs ESC (electronic speed control), most likely it will go up in a huge ball of smoke, and lots of stinkyness [:'(]

So your not supposed to drive it in the snow or in water. Well, if you want to drive it in snow, not a problem. Pick up some of those Saran Quick Covers, and use the Large one to cover the chassis. Check it out:

http://monster.traxxas.com/showthrea...hreadid=257169

Note: I've seen a video of a guy driving his emaxx thru 6-inch + mud with no problems using the saran quick cover. Simply amazing! Just be careful when using them, since the electronics cant cool off.