Head to head
ARRMA vs Redcat
Two brands that both sell more car than their price suggests, for completely different reasons. One is built to be crashed; the other is built to be affordable.
By Ryder M. · Published October 4, 2026 · Last reviewed
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Buy ARRMA if the person you are buying for is hard on their belongings, and Redcat if the budget is the binding constraint. ARRMA's whole identity is surviving bad landings — heavy plastics, chunky driveshafts, brushless power as standard on the 223S range — and it is supported through Horizon Hobby's distribution network. Redcat's is giving you a full-size 1/10 truck with oil-filled shocks and a waterproof speed control for noticeably less, with a brushed motor and a mail-order parts catalog as the trade.
Short version: ARRMA for durability and brushless power, Redcat for the most car per dollar. The ARRMA Granite 223S is the pick if the budget reaches past $300 once a battery is added; the Redcat Volcano EPX is the pick if the whole spend needs to stay nearer $150.
The verdict table
| ARRMA | Redcat | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Being crashed, repeatedly | Giving you a 1/10 chassis at a lower price |
| Power as standard | Brushless on the 223S range | Brushed on most models |
| Battery and charger | Extra on most models | Extra on most models |
| Parts network | Horizon Hobby distribution and dealers | Redcat's own catalog, ordered online |
| Weight | Heavy on purpose | Heavy for its build quality |
| Entry price band | Mostly past $200 | $100 to $200 for a full 1/10 truck |
| Best for | A teenager or adult who will bash it hard | A first hobby-grade car on a tight budget |
Durability
This is ARRMA's argument and it is a real one. The brand designs its plastics thick, its driveshafts chunky and its suspension long-travel, on the stated assumption that the car will be landed badly. The 223S trucks take a 2S or 3S battery, so there is headroom as the driver improves. The cost of that approach is weight: an ARRMA is hard on whatever it hits, including fences, siding and the occasional ankle.
Redcat is not fragile — the Volcano EPX uses steel driveshafts and eight aluminum-capped oil-filled shocks, which is better suspension hardware than the price suggests — but it is built to a price rather than to an impact spec. A hard season of jumping will consume more Redcat parts than ARRMA parts. Our page on what breaks first on an RC car covers what that actually means in practice.
Parts, which is the factor that decides gifts
Both brands sell spares for their own cars, which already separates them from the toy-grade end. The difference is how quickly a part arrives. ARRMA runs through Horizon Hobby, which means dealers, a service network and next-day shipping in most of the country. Redcat runs a thorough catalog of its own, but in most towns it is an online order rather than a shelf you can visit. Neither matches Traxxas, which is the benchmark here and the subject of Traxxas vs Redcat.
For a gift this matters more than it sounds. A car that cannot be driven for three weeks because a suspension arm is in transit is a car that loses its new owner's interest. If the recipient is a child, weight the parts question heavily.
Power, and what it means for a beginner
ARRMA's 223S range is brushless, which means more power and no motor maintenance, and it also means more speed than a beginner can use on day one. Redcat's brushed motors are gentler, cheaper to replace and wear out eventually. For a first hobby-grade car, brushed is often the better buy — a point we make at length in brushed vs brushless RC motors. If the recipient is an adult or a confident teenager, brushless is worth having from the start.
The two cars to compare
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher. | Best brushless starter | 8.8 | |
| 2 |  Redcat Volcano EPXA full-size hobby truck with a waterproof speed control and eight oil-filled shocks, at a price that undercuts the big brands. | Cheapest real 1/10 truck | 8.5 | |
| 3 |  ARRMA Typhon Grom 223SA scaled-down Arrma buggy — the same toughness in a size and speed a younger driver can actually manage. | Smaller hands, real power | 8.6 | |
| 4 |  Redcat Everest Gen7 SportA steel-framed scale crawler that arrives with the parts most brands charge extra for. | A first rock crawler | 8.7 |
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#1 · Best brushless starter
ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4
Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher.
8.8/10our score for this use
Arrma designs for bashing: heavy-duty plastic, chunky driveshafts, and a reputation for surviving impacts that break lighter cars. The 223S is the current brushless version of its 1/10 monster truck and takes a 2S or 3S battery.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Built heavy on purpose — the brand's whole identity is surviving bad landings
- Brushless power with a 3S option, so it has room to grow with the driver
- Supported through Horizon Hobby, so parts and service have a real distribution network
What it does badly
- The weight that makes it tough also makes it hard on whatever it hits
- Battery and charger are extra on most versions
- Too fast for a young child without adult supervision
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#2 · Cheapest real 1/10 truck
Redcat Volcano EPX
A full-size hobby truck with a waterproof speed control and eight oil-filled shocks, at a price that undercuts the big brands.
8.5/10our score for this use
1/10 scale, four-wheel drive through steel driveshafts, a 550-size brushed motor and a waterproof electronic speed control. Redcat lists eight aluminum-capped oil-filled shocks, which is the kind of suspension that makes rough ground survivable rather than just possible.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- Shaft-driven 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Oil-filled shocks and steel driveshafts, not the plastic parts you expect at this price
- Waterproof speed control, so wet grass is fine
- Redcat supports it with a full parts catalog of its own
What it does badly
- Brushed motor: slower than the brushless HYPER GO cars and it wears out eventually
- Redcat parts are ordered rather than picked up locally in most towns
- Heavier than the small cars, so crashes do more damage to whatever it hits
Specifications from Redcat's Volcano EPX product page.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#3 · Smaller hands, real power
ARRMA Typhon Grom 223S
A scaled-down Arrma buggy — the same toughness in a size and speed a younger driver can actually manage.
8.6/10our score for this use
The Grom is a small-scale version of Arrma's Typhon buggy, made deliberately for younger and newer drivers: lower, lighter, cheaper, and still built on the brand's bash-it-and-see philosophy.
- Size:
- 1/18
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Arrma durability in a size that does not overwhelm a ten-year-old
- Low buggy shape means far fewer rollovers than the monster trucks
- Cheaper than the full-size Arrma models while keeping the parts support
What it does badly
- Still brushless and still fast — supervision matters for the first few runs
- Small wheels limit it on long grass
- Costs more than 1/18 cars from the budget brands
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#4 · A first rock crawler
Redcat Everest Gen7 Sport
A steel-framed scale crawler that arrives with the parts most brands charge extra for.
8.7/10our score for this use
A crawler is the slow, climbing kind of RC car — it is about picking a line over rocks and roots, not speed. Redcat's Gen7 Sport uses a powder-coated 3mm steel ladder frame, oil shocks and beadlock wheels, and comes ready to run.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- 4WD, solid axles
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Crawling is quiet, slow and almost impossible to crash — the gentlest hobby-grade experience there is
- Steel ladder frame and real oil shocks out of the box
- Works indoors, in a yard, on a rock pile, in a park — no space requirement
What it does badly
- It is slow by design. A child expecting speed will be disappointed within an hour
- Heavy for its size, so a fall from a real rock can bend steering parts
- The stock radio and servo are the first things people replace
Specifications from Redcat's Everest Gen7 Sport product page.
Buy ARRMA if…
- The phrase you would use about the recipient is hard on things.
- They are a teenager or an adult, and brushless power on day one is a feature rather than a hazard.
- You want a parts and service network behind the purchase.
- The total budget, including a battery and charger, can reach past $300.
Buy Redcat if…
- You want a genuine full-size 1/10 truck and the budget is closer to $150 than $300.
- The recipient is a younger child, where a brushed motor's gentler power is an advantage.
- Crawling appeals more than bashing — the Everest Gen7 Sport is the better-value crawler of the two brands.
- You are comfortable ordering spares online rather than buying them locally.
How we compared them
On the four factors that decide a gift in this category: whether it survives, whether it can be repaired quickly, what it genuinely costs before it can be driven, and whether the power suits the driver. Every specification above comes from ARRMA's and Redcat's own product pages, which are listed in the sources. We do not test these cars first-hand — our methodology page explains what we do instead, and what would get a product removed from this site.