I've got the soft start function set up on my ESC.

It only soft starts if you move the throttle SLOWLY
up.

IF, when I'm decending the heli at a fast rate and I
want to slow it down....I move the throttle up faster
and further and the motor speeds up just fine.

So basically...the slow start feature is really not a
handicap as some seem to think.

Slow start sure saves wear and tear on the main
gear and the rotor head assembly in my opinion.

AB