Quadcopter Shootout – Final Results

After weeks of testing, flying and smashing, here we are at the final results. But… first let’s list all of the results from the separate categories-

Payload
1. Ares Ethos QX 75, 17 grams
2. Heli-Max 1SQ, 16 grams
3. Traxxas QR-1, 11 grams

Looks
1. Heli-Max 1SQ
2. Ares Ethos QX 75
3. Traxxas QR-1

Price
1. Ares Ethos QX 75, $79
2. Traxxas QR-1, $85
3. Heli-Max 1SQ, $99

Flying Time
1. Traxxas QR-1, 7 minutes and 13 seconds
2. Heli-Max 1SQ, 7 minutes and 4 seconds
3. Ares Ethos QX 75, 6 minutes and 53 seconds

Durability
1. Ares Ethos QX 75
2. Heli-Max 1SQ
3. Traxxas QR-1

Ease of Flying
1. Heli-Max 1SQ
2. Traxxas QR-1
3. Ares Ethos QX 75

Features
1. Traxxas QR-1
2. Ares Ethos QX 75
3. Heli-Max 1SQ

For all of our shootouts we use a golf scoring system, lowest score wins. To determine a winner we simply add together the position that each quad finished in each of the 7 categories.

3rd- Traxxas QR-1 (15 points overall) . The Traxxas was easily the most hyped quad going into the shootout but it ended up in third spot overall. Is the Traxxas a “bad” quad? No, absolutely not, it flew well and we had a blast with it, but at the end of the day payload, looks, and durability held it back. At the beginning of the shootout we thought that perhaps its slightly smaller size would be an issue, but that never really came into play (except for perhaps the payload category). If you buy a Traxxas will you be disappointed? No, you’ll most likely have a great time with it. However, when flown back-to-back against its competition it comes up short.

2nd- Heli-Max 1SQ (14 points overall). The Heli-Max comes in second, but was it that far off the winner? No, not at all. Winning the “Ease of Flight” category in this shootout is a big deal, and when we grab quads off the shelf to do some flying the Heli-Max always gets snatched up first. Holding back the Heli-Max was its price and feature list, but if you are looking to buy the best flying quad in the group you’ll want to take home the Heli-Max. Also, while the Ares won the “Durability” category, the Heli-Max was tough as nails and took a brutal beating and kept on flying. The Heli-Max is a great quad and definitely worth your cash.

Champion- Ares Ethos QX 75 ( 13 points overall). There can be only one winner in a BigSquidRC shootout and the Ares takes home the crown. For starters the Ares has a lot of power under the hood, thus helping it win the “Payload” category. The Ares was also the most affordable of the group with a street price of only $79. But the most impressive aspect of the Ares was its durability. When you look at a tiny quad like the Ares you expect it to be quite fragile, but that simply was not the case, the Ares was a TANK. We kept flying the Ares into hard objects (like concrete walls) and dropping it out of the air from the highest point possible and it just would not break. There was a point when we all just stood around in amazement that we simply could not break the Ares! In the end, the other two quads in the shootout were great machines, but the Ares Ethos was the best overall package, thus making it the BigSquidRC Quadcopter Shootout Champion!

That’s it folks, if you are looking for the best overall quad in the group you’ll want to pick up the Ares Ethos. We would like to thank Slot and Wing Hobbies in Champaign Illinois for letting us work on the shootout at their rc track, and Wyatt for his help there that day. We would also like to thank Ares, Heli-Max, and Traxxas for participating in our shootout. It shows a lot about the integrity of these companies to have their quads in our shootout, full well knowing we are going to torture/destroy their product and that our results can’t be bought off. Lastly, thanks to all you guys for reading the shootout, we hope all the testing we’ve done helps make your buying decision a whole lot easier.

If you missed any parts, you can head back to the beginning shootout page.