Vaterra Glamis Uno

So here’s something different, I’ve decided to make this a Lego Technic and RC website. My first review-ish article will be on my Vaterra Glamis Uno:

This is a brushless, off-road dune buggy inspired by the ones that drive around the Glamis dunes and it sure looks awesome. The details Vaterra have put into this as well as their other vehicles are very cool and give it a nice touch. I must point out, though, how the wing mounts and the wing itself are not very durable…..but what can you expect from a wing that sticks out and gets beat up every time you roll over. Anyway on the subject of durability, the important parts that you need to actually drive the thing are extremely durable, but like I said above the things that make it look realistic are not so I just took most of that stuff off.

A very important feature of this buggy is the Spektrum DX2L transmitter, which is absolutely perfect for this buggy. The amount of power the 3300kv Fuze brushless motor has can be hard to handle in spaces such as your backyard for some afternoon fun, but the DX2L has you covered. With Throttle Trim, Throttle Limit, and more adjustments the power can be handled relatively quickly, after a good amount of driving practice.

Here I ran in to a little problem with a stop sign. I jumped off a curb/sidewalk on the corner of my street and by accident hit the stop sign. This directly hit the front right A-arm and shock. Amazingly though, the shock snapped and the A-arm was unharmed. As of this review I have been using my Traxxas Slash front shocks as replacements, which fit decently, but makes the buggy sit lower to the ground- better handling.

Besides that mishap the shocks seem to be working pretty well and for what I have done before the breakage, they are plenty durable.

You can see here the length of this thing and it is not small like traditional 1/10 scale buggies. Weighing in at a little under 7 pounds, I think, and being almost 19 inches long it is a good size and can handle real life terrain pretty well.

Also this buggy is called 1/8 scale, but it really isn’t. For example, the HobbyKing 1/10 Brushless 2WD Desert buggy is similar in design and is only a few tenths of an inch shorter, its really more like 1/10 scale.

Since this is a full RTR package it comes with a 2S 3000mah Speedpack Lipo battery and balancing charger, which you insert lengthwise in the compartment you see above. The charger is pretty good if you are still new to RC as I am, only a few months or so into it. It charges the stock pack in roughly 2 and 1/2 hours and that’s pretty good compared to the stock charger I have for my brushed Traxxas Slash 2WD that takes about 6 hours.

Finally this is where I mostly run it- my backyard track. It can be hard to handle on the highest throttle limit with the stock tires, which are best for casual racing on the low or medium throttle limit, but it is a blast to bash around with and get huge air on jumps.

Overall I am pretty happy with what I got for the $225 I spent on A-Main. It has plenty of speed, good handling, well built, and very durable for the average basher or racer. I feel my money was well spent and I look forward to new Vaterra products, but you would be better off waiting until the product you want is discontinued and you’ll have some great stuff for the money then, which is what I did.