| Recommended Age: | 8-10 |
| Cost: | $34.99 each |
| Company Site: | spinmaster.com |
| Website: | www.airhogs.com |
| Notes: | Environment: Outdoor Vehicle Type: Land |
Spin Master has amazing toys and two of our favorites are the Air Hogs RC vehicles, the Hypertrax vs. Hyperactives 5. We love races of all kinds so when we had the opportunity to race these two machines we were very excited! They both are fast, can flip over and keep on going and so much fun for kids of all ages.
My kids discovered remote control cars not that long ago and they are now obsessed. They love racing them and running from them as my husbands steers one towards them…that part is kind of funny. My daughter mostly just like thinking she can control it but she is getting better. My son can almost control it as well as me. That might not be saying much since I can’t really steer RC cars like that to save my life.
We have so much fun with these both inside our house and outside. I will try my best to explain the differences but then I will show you. There are two very different RC cars, the Hyperactives 5 and the Hypertrax. Both are fast, can go outside or inside and are fun to drive but one has a 5th wheel and one has tread built to go over anything. Here is how they break down.
Hyperactives 5
“The powered 5th wheel lets you drive upside down! Take on any terrain as the shock compression tires absorb obstructions so you can take on tough obstacles. You’re never out of the race with the Hyperactives 5!”
This is a fun little car and my daughter’s favorite one. It is fast, fun and if it flips over can keep on going. The Hyperactives 5 works best on carpet, pavement or other flat surfaces. Going over dirt is ok but it tends to get stuck in grass..well taller grass anyway. Ours may have needed to be cut a bit and it runs over the shorter grass just fine.
When this car flips it doesn’t stop, it will keep right on driving and just like the Hypertrax it will keep going the direction you were going initially. However, this car bounces…a lot when it flips so sometimes you are facing a way you don’t want to go and have to quickly adjust. It’s amusing but frustrating sometimes. My husband is pretty good with this one though.
The Hyperactives 5 does take batteries on both the remote and the car which is normal but annoying. The cool feature about the battery part is you always know when it needs new ones because it gets sluggish and slows down before dying. It’s kind of amusing to drive when its like that too but it doesn’t go far.
It is a tough little car though! Seriously the first time I saw the car flip over I was worried it would break. It didn’t just flip casually either it was driven straight at a wall and it flipped in the air and bounced! And then kept going! After seeing this happen several times and in several areas like on grass, against my garage door on pavement, rocks, and cones from our race, it always seems to bounce and it always seems to keep right on going. Unless the batteries die of course.
We are pretty happy with this little car and my daughter loves flipping it over. At 3 she can get it to move although she isn’t the best at steering just yet she will get there with practice. My husband also likes this one but that might be because he can control it better than I can…we might be slightly competitive. Slightly.
Hypertrax
“Drive over any obstacle with this double-sided, high-speed all-terrain vehicle! Whether grass, dirt, sand or gravel, the Hypertrax’ tread gives maximum grip for incredible performance. Race, jump, flip and drive as the independent suspension navigates the toughest terrain.” ~ Website
This car is our favorite. It can go just about everywhere. Grass, carpet, gravel, streets, sidewalks and feet. Yes feet…my toes are fine but it does tickle a bit. It is fairly easy to control and can drive up a wall, flip over and keep going. If it flips over it will keep going in the same direction you were trying to go originally until you let go of the controls.
The tires on the Hypertrax resemble those on a tank to me but are the reason this car can drive just as fast on grass and dirt as it can on pavement. The controls are slightly easier to use than the other one as well and steering seems to be easier too. My son really likes this one and can steer it fairly well. His favorite part is watching it flip over things or go up the ramp his dad made.
Not requiring batteries except in the remote is handy too…and cheaper. There is a charging unit for the car on the remote so when you are done playing simply charge it up. The battery lasts about a half hour of constant driving around with small pauses. It will stop suddenly when its dead instead of slowing down and getting sluggish which freaked me out the first time because I thought it was broken.
The body is made of plastic but its very durable. Well in all honestly the tires are extremely durable as they are what hits things when the car flips over while the body of the car stays safe and nestled between the tires. This things has endured being flipped around outside in grass, dirt, pavement (a lot), against walls or chairs and every time it seems to just keep right on going without damage. I love toys my kids can’t break easily!
Overall this is one of the best remote control vehicles I have ever seen or used. Granted I haven’t used a LOT but I have seen a few and most either break easy or are very limited on where they can work well. You have none of that with Hypertrax. It is a great car for my 5 year old even though they say 8+. Just make sure your child can safely use a remote control car and of supervise of course. Oh and watch out for toes…
We raced them, of course, several times and it seems that the Hypertrax is faster across just grass and with lots of turns but the Hyperactives 5 is faster on the flat surfaces and in the straight parts of the “course”. Our setup was on in our driveway, curb, street, sidewalk, a wooden ramp and a make-shift bridge out of a Pepsi box. Some straightaways, some turns, bumps, sharp turns and two people controlling the car they are not most used too. Yeah…it was fun. We ran it a few times and the Hypertrax won 2 out of 3 races. This could be due to user control of course but those were our results. See them here!
If you have multiple kids you will want (or need really) more than one and really you’ll want one for yourself anyway. These are great for all ages including 3, although they might have the best control yet they will have a lot of fun. Take safety precautions of course and make sure they can drive it without breaking anything and you should be fine. Both cars are awesome and a lot of fun. They are small enough that you can take them to the park and durable so you won’t have to worry about them breaking too easily. Let me know who wins your race!
