Losing grip – Which would you bring?

Which of your rigs would you take on a ten or fifteen mile trail walk? Or, if you could bring any car, which one would it be then?

For me, it comes down to four things to consider: funniness, capability, durability and ease of wrenching.

First, it should be a fun ride. If it is to be driven for several hours, it certainly needs to be fun. This comes down to taste, my children and I have different preferences. I like cars that look realistic when driven, I like to see the suspension work, and I like to use features such as 2-speed gearboxes and variable drag brake (which is why I am a fan of Castle’s Mamba series ESC). My kids want enough speed to be able to throw some roost, and do small jumps whenever they find a suitable terrain feature.

Second, it needs to be capable. To me this is a slightly different matter than the one just discussed. Where I drive, it is enough for a car to simply be fun ninety-five percent of the time, but for the remaining five percent it needs to be capable. We all like to take on challenging climbs and side hills, but no one likes a car laying helpless on its roof. Not to mention carrying the car over passages it ain’t game for, even if they’re short. Low center of gravity, good grip, high ground clearance, things like that is what I’m looking for.

Third, durability. Of course. The intention is to drive, not to fix things. It would be such a bummer to suffer a major issue with eight more miles to go. Speaking of which, lightweight is a plus too, should it need to be carried the rest of the way. Happened yesterday, luckily with only a quarter mile left to go. Still boring.

Forth, ease of wrenching. Last, but certainly (and unfortunately) not least. A big part of my job is to take “what if?” scenarios into consideration, and I think this spills over onto my hobby. What if something breaks and needs to be fixed? With four people waiting and tapping their feet, I have to be able to fix it on the trail, in a short time. This also means that I need to be able to predict what might break, freak accidents aside, so that I can bring appropriate tools and spare parts.

Considering all this, what car would you bring? Input would be much appreciated. Drop me a line at martin at bigsquidrc.com if you have any thoughts on the matter.