I looked around for many months before deciding to wait for the HPI Blitz to come out. The others that were considered were the Traxxas Slash and the Team Associated SC-10. I decided against the Losi Strike early, but if you are a beginner and don’t have any radio equipment the 2.4ghz radio it comes with and the motor placement should make it a serious contender. I know I am getting a little side tracked here so I will do a comparison article later to explain why I chose the Blitz.

My first impressions after taking it out of the box was that it is exactly what I thought it would be. It is super light and looks to be built very tough. The tires and body look awesome and if I could magically blow it up to 10 times its size then it would be exactly what I would like to drive in the Baja 1000. The wheels are made for glue on tires but look like bead locks. To me that is the best of both worlds. Glue just plain works but bead locks look cool. And the Maxxis tires while not working very well in the mud which I will get to later are the best looking short course tires out.

The truck comes with very small Tamiya connectors which shouldn’t be a problem considering the super small motor and ESC. But I had to change the connectors anyway since all of our batteries work with the same high voltage connectors. The top of the ESC had popped off during shipping and when I went to snap it back together it just popped right back off. I put a drop of super glue on it and didn’t have any more problems with it for an entire night of racing. After my practice run I did find the heat sink on the ESC loose but after pushing it on firmly didn’t have any more problems with it either. All things considered the problems were very minor and were certainly not enough to make me think I had made the wrong decision about buying the Blitz.

After changing the connectors and the receiver, I barely had enough time to take it out and run it up and down the street a few times to dial in the transmitter and then it was off to the races. We got there early enough to take some practice laps. The track was dry and the Blitz handled perfectly. It was dead straight on the straights and cornered great. It had just enough power to make the first double and the first set on the triple. I was really looking forward to seeing how it would do up against the Slashes. After practice was over they watered down the track the silt turned to mud very quickly. The Maxxis tires love to grab hold of the mud and never let it go, so they got weighed down early and the motor just didn’t have the power to make the small jumps after that. The slashes on the other hand did have enough power to still make the jumps, but the Blitz is so much better than the Slash at everything else it more than makes up for the power difference. The Blitz handles like a much heavier truck through the whoops section and out corners the Slash on every turn. Keep in mind that I am brand new to RC racing but I still managed to place 4^th in the first qualifier 3^rd in the second and 4^th in the main. Not too shabby for an old blind guy at his first race. You didn’t think I was going to be able to beat an 1/8^th scale buggy and the nitros did you? I credit the Blitz with those results after watching a lot of racing and doing a lot of comparison, the HPI Blitz is a force to be reckoned with in short course racing.

And now for the carnage after a full night of racing. The body looked terrible all covered with mud and the chassis knows how to collect mud also. But there was not a single broken part and after giving the truck a good bath the only thing that is visible are 2 rubs on the rear fenders from the tires and 1 on the very rear from the bumper mount. And that my friend is why I chose the Blitz. HPI makes tough vehicles. My Blitz still drives perfectly and you would never know it had been raced if I didn’t tell you. As a beginner I knew I would need a tough truck and I definitely found the right one. If you can’t tell already I love this truck would highly recommend it for anyone looking to get into RC short course racing or just looking for a tough truck to bash around near their home. You will not be disappointed if you choose the HPI Blitz. Check out the pictures below and make sure to put the Blitz on your very short list if you are looking for a tough truck.