I rode a Blaster once just down the driveway and back and it felt like I was on a kid's quad. I have short legs for my height but was still really cramped. One of my friends has a Blaster and loves it because it fits her and it fits down tight trails so well. The stage one kit wakes it up a bit but she can't go on an all day ride on it. It's just not a comfortable enough ride for her bad back. I have arthritis in every vertebrae but can handle the ride mostly because of the IRS on my quad.

 

As long as you're about 5'6" or under, one of these smaller quads doesn't feel so small. I assume your friend probably falls into that category. So they're fine for women and kids. Kids don't generally care about how a quad rides anyway. They just care how fast it goes lol. I don't have any back problems myself thankfully but irs is definitely more comfortable for long rides for sure. I find myself kinda wishing I had got a Grizzly 700 with power steering but it would have cost a lot more than the 660. Yamaha's power steering system is among the best I think and the shifter is a lot better on the 700 too. But to find one in good shape would have been around 2k more, just wasn't willing to spend that much. I think I wouldn't be quite so worn out after a long ride with power steering. Maybe next time.