Ive decided that for christmas im going with an Hpi truck or a Traxxas truck. For hpi i might get the recon but for traxxas, which is better? The Mini E-revo or the Stampede 4x4?

pede 4X4 if you are driving it off road
have a merv and was very under impressed with it. would struggle with short grass, bottom out easy on bumps, and IMO the brushless setup had too much power seeing you would scrape the wing due to wheelies. Owned my merv over a year, and have UNDER 15 minutes of driving time on it...

BTW recon you can't compare seeing its a brushed $100 RC (getting one prolly for xmas too)

What is your reason for each option, what do you like about them? The reason I ask, is usually people are asking about similar vehicles. these things are nothing alike. I've had a lot of fun with the traxxas mini trucks, but I love my stampede too. Great trucks, but you'll need to make your decision for yourself. Pick one, you wont't regret it.

unless you have a very small yard in which you wanna make an RC track, you should go for the 4x4 stampede as it will drive almost anywhere.
the others(mini, 1,18 scale) are only fun (IMO) on small RC tracks. in open spaces, they feel tiny and slow. on grass, they suck.

the 4x4 pede can drive in mud, snow, grass, dirt sand ect. but then you get what u pay for, as the pede cost alot more.

The recon is a neat truck, but keep in mind its too small to be real capable The pede 4x4 would be a real good choice.