so ive been flying whoops and a borrowed quad for like 8 months now and finally decided to actually build something from scratch. been watching builds on youtube for weeks and i think i have a rough parts list but the frame decision is killing me.

basically i want to do mostly freestyle, maybe some cruising around in open fields, not really racing. i was looking at the ImpulseRC Apex and the TBS Source One but someone in another thread mentioned the Source One flexes a lot and isnt great for motors above 2306? not sure if that matters at the 2205 range i was thinking about.

also im decent at soldering ? ive done keyboard stuff and some RC car ESC work ? but ive never done an actual stack before. is soldering a 4in1 ESC to a flight controller harder than it looks or is it pretty forgiving? the connections look small in videos but maybe thats just the camera angle

any input appreciated, still have a month or so before i actually order anything

Source One flex thing is real but honestly overblown unless you're running something beefy like 2507s and doing really aggressive snap rolls. for 2205 or even 2306 freestyle it'll be fine, plenty of people run them without issues. i flew one for almost a year before i cracked an arm.

that said if you can stretch the budget a little the Apex is just... nicer. better arm geometry, the top plate fits flush, and replacement parts are easier to find at least in the US. it's not a massive difference but you asked.

on the soldering ? 4in1 to FC is not bad at all. the pads are bigger than you'd think, the main thing people mess up is using too much heat and lifting a pad, or not tinning the wire ends properly before hitting the board. just use flux, dont cheap out on the solder, and watch a Josh Bardwell video on it specifically. you'll be fine with keyboard experience honestly

im basically in the same boat as you lol, built my first 5in last month. went with the Source One v5 just because it was cheap and i figured i'd probably crash it into oblivion learning anyway. no regrets so far, thing is tough.

the stack soldering scared me too but honestly the hardest part was the motor wires, like getting the phase wires to sit right without them being too long or pulling weird. the ESC to FC connections were pretty chill comparatively