My order finally arrived yesterday! I decided to take advantage of the Summer Blaze Sale and here is the unboxing of my order.
The first Saber was another Dark Initiate. This time I went with the Dark Initiate LE v4 with Obsidian and Emerald in Blazing red w/ Orange FoC, Li-Ion setup with a recharge port, windowed emitter, Bellicose Short Grooves Pommel and a Silver Non-Illuminated AV switch.
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The second saber is a Consular with Obsidian and Emerald in Blazing Red w/ Orange FoC, Li-Ion setup with a recharge port, Silver Non-Illuminated AV switch and Standard Shroud finish.
The third saber was a Dark Apprentice LE v4 Stunt in Blazing Red.
I got a grab bag with this purchase that I am quite happy with. A Sentinel v4 Stunt in Guardian Blue, Standard Battery setup, Recharge Port, Windowless Emitter, Regular Pommel and Silver Non-Illuminated AV switch.
Here is my entire collection
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After playing around with them a bit here is my opinion...
My personal favorite so far is the Dark Initiate. Due to physical limitations (smaller hands and old injury) I prefer the smaller hilts, the Initiate hilt has good weight and balance and just feels right in my hand. The Apprentice doesn’t have as good a balance in my hand. It is very top heavy to me, tho that might be righted if I switch out the pommel for a more weighted one. Also the machined grips are not as comfortable and the choke points are more awkward.
Between the Apprentice and the Sentinel, I prefer the Sentinel. Because of the longer neck the balance is better and the choke points are more comfortable.
I love the look of the Consular tho at first I find the shroud to be a little distracting while holding it. The more I handle it the less the edges bother me. I dislike that the covertec wheel is automatically included, that gets in the way for me. Between my Manticore and Consular it’s a tight decision… Both are beautiful sabers but very large for me, I would have to use two hands with both. The Manticore feels a touch lighter but also a touch more top heavy than the Consular. I prefer the top choke point below the emitter on the Consular over the Manticore but vise versa for my grip lower on the hilt. The main reason is the covertec wheel is right where my hand wants to be and that throws the balance off for me.
