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Buy the Pro Boat Recoil 2 18 if you want brushless power and a hull that flips itself back over, and buy the Traxxas Blast if you would rather not manage a LiPo pack at all. Both boats appear in our best RC boats for beginners, both ship complete with a radio, a battery and a charger, and both come from brands with real spare-part shelves behind them.
The fork between them is not speed, even though the makers' numbers suggest the opposite of what the hardware says. It is battery chemistry and recovery: the Traxxas runs a six-cell NiMH pack and has no self-righting system, while the Pro Boat runs a 3S LiPo and rights itself from the transmitter. Every other difference on this page flows from those two choices.
Quick Verdict
| Traxxas Blast | Pro Boat Recoil 2 18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A first boat with zero battery discipline | A first brushless boat on water you can't wade into |
| Battery | 6-cell 7.2 V NiMH, no LiPo | 3S 1300 mAh LiPo, IC3 |
| Self-righting | No | Yes, radio button |
| Hull | 24 in deep-V ABS | 18 in deep-V |
| Buy | Check the Traxxas Blast on Amazon | Check the Recoil 2 18 on Amazon |
Which Versions Are We Comparing?
The Traxxas Blast is model 38104-8, a 24-inch deep-V with a brushed motor, sold ready to run. The Pro Boat is the Recoil 2 18", part number PRB08053, sold in two liveries: Heatwave (B0CWQ2CB91) and Shreddy (B0CWQ5DTWJ). Same boat, different paint.
Two naming traps before you spend anything. The Recoil 2 18" is not the Recoil 2 V2 26", a much larger boat covered separately in the Pro Boat Recoil 26 review; specs do not carry across. And the earlier 17-inch Recoil is a different generation again, so ignore any listing that mixes its numbers with the 18-inch hull. On the Traxxas side, the Blast has been sold in several colours and the older green ASIN is not the one to buy, which is why the link above points at the currently stocked listing.
Battery Chemistry: NiMH vs LiPo Changes What Owning the Boat Is Like
Traxxas ships the Blast with a 7.2 V Power Cell NiMH pack with an iD chip, and the Nautica ESC is specified for six-cell 7.2 V NiMH packs. There is no lithium low-voltage cutoff described for that ESC, which is why the Blast is a NiMH boat in practice rather than a hull you can drop a LiPo into on day one. A 7.2 V NiMH pack is the forgiving option: Traxxas's own battery guidance says NiMH can be run flat without damage and needs no storage charge.
The Recoil 2 18" goes the other way. It ships with a Spektrum 3S 1300 mAh 30C Smart LiPo on an IC3 connector and an S120 USB-C Smart charger rated at 20 W. A 3S pack is nominally 11.1 V against the NiMH boat's 7.2 V, and it brings the lithium routine with it: stored part-charged rather than full, balance charged, never charged on a NiMH charger, and never left unattended. If that routine is new to you, the RC boat battery guide covers pack sizing and C-ratings, and the jargon explainer defines the terms on the labels.
The charger situation differs more than the packs do. The Blast includes two chargers, a 12 V peak-detecting unit and a 4 A USB-C charger, so it can be charged at home or from a car battery. The Recoil includes one 20 W USB-C charger, which is enough to get running but needs a USB power source you already own.
Both boats want a second pack, and this is where the two paths diverge hardest. For the Blast, a spare is cheap NiMH: the seven-cell 8.4 V 3000 mAh pack (Traxxas 2923X) is available on Amazon, though Traxxas's ESC page only states six-cell operation, so confirm the seven-cell allowance in the manual first. A straight six-cell iD replacement is harder to pin to a single listing, so use the tagged search for the 7.2 V 3000 mAh iD pack. For the Recoil, a spare must be a 3S pack with an IC3 connector and a comparable C-rating; near-match packs with an IC2 plug or a low C-rating are not drop-in spares. Search here: Spektrum 3S 1300 mAh IC3 packs.
Self-Righting: The Difference You Notice on the Second Run
The Recoil 2 18" is a self-righting hull, triggered by a button on the third channel of the SLT3 radio. Capsize it mid-pond, hold the button, and the boat rolls back over under power. The Blast has no such system: it carries built-in foam flotation so it floats when it flips, and that is the whole of the recovery story.
On a pond with a friendly bank and a long net, that gap matters less. On a lake with an onshore breeze, a capsized 24-inch hull drifts, and the Blast gives you nothing to work with except a retrieval plan. The self-righting guide breaks down the passive flood-chamber approach used on bigger Pro Boat and Traxxas hulls against the powered button on this Recoil, and it is worth reading before you decide the feature is optional.
Two honest limits. Self-righting needs charge in the pack: Pro Boat's guidance for the Recoil 2 is to attempt recovery with roughly half the pack remaining, and a flat battery after a long run leaves you with the same problem the Blast has from the first minute. And righting itself says nothing about keeping water out. A capsize still pushes water past the canopy seal, so read the RC boat waterproofing guide and dry the hull after every session.
Brushed vs Brushless: What the Power Systems Actually Are
The Blast runs a 540 Stinger 20-turn brushed motor with an integrated water-cooling jacket, weighing 145 g. Drive is direct to a surface-piercing prop through a steerable outdrive with an adjustable trim angle, and the servo is a waterproof digital unit. Traxxas rates the whole package "skill level 1", its own label rather than an age recommendation. The Nautica ESC is forward only, with no reverse to unstick a boat that has nosed into the bank.
The Recoil 2 18" runs a Spektrum Firma 2931, a 2950 Kv eight-pole outrunner, on a Firma 30A marine ESC rated for 2S to 3S, with a 13 g micro waterproof servo. A brushless motor of that Kv on 11.1 V is a different class of drivetrain from a 20-turn brushed can on 7.2 V, and it is the reason the smaller hull keeps up. If the difference between the two motor types is fuzzy, the brushed vs brushless explainer covers it, and the outrunner vs inrunner article explains why this boat uses an outrunner where a racing hull would use a jacketed inrunner.
Here is the trap. Traxxas claims "under 30 mph" for a brushed boat, and Horizon lists the Recoil 2 18" at "20+ mph" for the brushless one. Those are the makers' numbers, and they run in the opposite direction to what the hardware suggests. Do not buy either boat on the strength of them. What the specs do tell you is that the Blast's outdrive trim is adjustable, which is a genuine tuning knob for a beginner learning to stop a hull from porpoising, while the Recoil's edge is efficiency and a sealed 2S to 3S power ceiling you can grow into with a second pack.
Size, Hull and Where Each Boat Actually Works
The Blast is the bigger boat: 603 mm (23.75 in) long, 0.79 kg (1.75 lb), a deep-V ABS hull with full-colour decals and an easy-access hatch, plus the foam flotation already mentioned. More length and more weight mean a hull that shrugs off light chop and a passing wake that would toss a shorter boat around.
The Recoil 2 18" is, as the name says, an 18-inch hull. That is roughly a third shorter than the Blast, and short hulls are more sensitive to wind and to their own wake. Pro Boat builds it as a calm-water deep-V, and that is how to use it: a sheltered lake or a large pond, not a choppy bay. Neither boat is a paddling-pool toy; if that is the water you have, the pool boat guide covers the small jet-drive tier that belongs there, and the lake vs ocean vs pool breakdown explains what each hull shape tolerates.
Both are freshwater boats as sold. Nothing on either page claims saltwater readiness, and salt is a corrosion problem for shafts, fasteners and connectors regardless of what the electronics are rated for.
What's in the Box and What You Still Need
The Blast ships with the boat, a quick start guide, the TQ 2.4 GHz two-channel radio with a fail-safe receiver in an O-ring-sealed box, the 7.2 V NiMH pack, the 12 V peak charger and the 4 A USB-C charger. You need four AA cells for the transmitter, a second pack, and a way to get a capsized boat back.
The Recoil 2 18" ships with the boat, the SLT3 three-channel radio and SR315 receiver, the 3S LiPo, the S120 charger, a composite boat stand and the manual, plus the four AA cells. You still need a second IC3 pack, a USB power source for the charger, and the same retrieval plan.
On support, the split is about ecosystem rather than quality. Traxxas has a deep spares shelf for the Blast, from props to drive cups, which suits a boat you plan to keep running for years. Pro Boat fits Spektrum electronics that carry over to larger hulls in the range, so the radio and charging habits you learn here transfer if you later move up. Both brand guides are worth a read before any second purchase: Traxxas RC boats and Pro Boat RC boats.
Head-to-Head Specs Comparison
| Spec | Traxxas Blast (38104-8) | Pro Boat Recoil 2 18" (PRB08053) |
|---|---|---|
| Hull length | 603 mm / 23.75 in | 18 in |
| Hull type | Deep-V, lightweight ABS, foam flotation | Deep-V, self-righting |
| Weight | 0.79 kg / 1.75 lb | not listed |
| Motor | 540 Stinger 20-turn brushed, water-cooled, 145 g | Spektrum Firma 2931, 2950 Kv, 8-pole outrunner |
| ESC | Nautica brushed, forward only, 6-cell NiMH | Spektrum Firma 30A marine, 2S to 3S |
| Steering servo | Waterproof digital | 13 g micro waterproof |
| Drive | Direct drive, surface-piercing prop, adjustable trim outdrive | not listed |
| Battery in box | 7.2 V NiMH, 6-cell, iD connector | 3S 1300 mAh 30C Smart LiPo, IC3 |
| Charger in box | 12 V peak-detecting plus 4 A USB-C | S120 USB-C Smart, 20 W |
| Radio | Traxxas TQ 2.4 GHz, 2-channel, fail-safe receiver | Spektrum SLT3 2.4 GHz, 3-channel, SR315 receiver |
| Self-righting | No, foam flotation only | Yes, radio button |
| Reverse | No | not listed |
| Maker's speed claim | Under 30 mph (Traxxas) | 20+ mph (Horizon) |
| Maker's difficulty label | Skill level 1 | not listed |
| Skill level | Beginner | Beginner |
| Spare pack | 6-cell or 7-cell NiMH | 3S LiPo with IC3 connector |
| Buy | Check the Traxxas Blast on Amazon | Check the Recoil 2 18 on Amazon |
Which Should You Buy?
Buy the Traxxas Blast if the boat is going on water you can walk to, or if you are buying for a household where nobody wants to learn lithium charging discipline. A 7.2 V NiMH pack can be run flat and left alone, the hull is the larger and steadier of the two, and the adjustable outdrive trim gives you something to fiddle with while you learn. The trade is real: no self-righting, no reverse, and a brushed drivetrain that will never feel urgent.
Buy the Pro Boat Recoil 2 18" if you run on a lake or a big pond where a flipped boat is a lost boat, or if brushless power is the point of buying a hobby-grade boat at all. Self-righting from the transmitter is the single most useful feature on this list for a beginner, and the 3S smart ecosystem is a cleaner path if you intend to stay in the hobby. You pay for it in battery admin: storage charge, balance charging, a charger brick you trust, and a spare pack that has to match IC3.
Buy neither if the water is a small garden pool or a weedy shallow. Eighteen inches of brushless hull and 24 inches of brushed hull both need room, and both need a retrieval plan that does not involve wading. If you are still deciding between hull types rather than between these two boats, the best RC speed boats roundup widens the field, and the Blast review goes deeper on the Traxxas on its own.
Conclusion
The Recoil 2 18" is the better boat for most first-time buyers with access to open water. Brushless power, a self-righting hull and a smart 3S pack in the box make it the more capable package, and the smaller 18-inch hull is the price you pay for that capability in chop.
The Blast wins a narrower argument, and wins it cleanly: it is the boat you can hand to someone who will not read a LiPo safety card. Bigger hull, NiMH pack, two chargers in the box, no self-righting and no reverse. Traxxas's "under 30 mph" claim and Horizon's "20+ mph" claim should not decide it, because a brushed boat is not the faster one in practice.
Whichever you pick, plan the second pack and the retrieval method on day one, not after the first capsize. Then read how self-righting works, the battery guide and the beginner picks before the next upgrade.
Check the current price of the Pro Boat Recoil 2 18 on Amazon
