Greetings everyone! Just going to write down a few initial thoughts, as I just received my grab bag from US, which is also as I've said my first lightsaber since I was a kid. (Too many years, don't ask)
Bear in mind that these are initial impressions. The FedEx guy just dropped this off 15 minutes ago, so everything in my head is still fresh, first impressions.
1) Packaging: Very well done, wrapped well in bubble wrap, no packing peanuts to speak of, but the saber was very secure and without damage that I can find.
2) What is it? As my grab bag, it seems that I received a Standard Issue v3.
As a very pleasant surprise, I didn't get the solid pommel, but instead got the open-holed pommel for the SI with sound.
The only thing about this particular pommel I'm not wild about is that it's not vented, it's just... a hole. Leaves the battery pack rather exposed to the elements (or accidents, there are kids in the house), so I expect that since it's MHS compatible, I'll find something to replace it. Perhaps a Catalyst pommel to keep the smooth lines.
3) Quality and first impressions: The blade is the only part of the grab bag that I specified, and I'd asked for an Arctic Blue Ultra Edge blade. I'm
very pleased with the quality of the blade and hilt itself. The hilt feels sturdy, a bit heavier than expected (having no point of reference, this isn't a negative), and
solid. Also just a wee bit thicker than anticipated for some reason. Also not a negative; that's purely because intellectually reading the dimensions doesn't really prepare you for the in-hand feeling. I'm not worried about this hilt, even were I to drop it on concrete. The blade itself is free of mars or defects save one odd dark spot about 4" down from the blade tip, and a quick swipe with a towel removed various shipping detritus.
For any potential purchaser that's wondering about the price tags, let me tell you: These things are
quality. When Emory says that Ultrasabers are made for dueling, I can see what he means. In my first couple of minutes of spinning this thing around to get used to it, I inadvertantly hit our ceiling fan. Not a scratch on the blade. There's a sense of security in knowing you're not holding a fragile toy.
I'll edit this once I put new batteries into it, but I will say that the only thing even resembling a let-down is the blade's brightness. After reading so many reviews of "this thing could light up the house" I was expecting quite a lot, and
out of the box, that's not my experience. The color through the UltraEdge blade is pretty even and I love the Arctic Blue, and while it's obviously a bit brighter down at the hilt, I didn't get a "light up the room" feeling, let alone the house. Again, this may have been inflated expectation from all the reviews, or it may be low batteries. I'll revisit this one after I put some quality batteries in this thing.
I will also come back and give a longer-term review after I've broken it in a bit.
Packaging: 9/10 - If I were retentive, I might've put a few more peanuts, but that's seriously just a minor quibble because I hate perfect scores.
Build Quality: 10/10 - Okay, I hate perfect scores, but this hilt is just unbelievable. I'm glad I got a Standard Issue as my first saber. It's somewhat utilitarian and plain, but it also gives me a chance to really see the Ultrasabers build quality, and it's sterling.
Blade Quality: 9/10 - Only missing perfection because of the one, very small dark spot (maybe 1/8") near the top of the blade. For a mid-grade blade, this thing is
tough.
LED/Color: 9/10 - Not quite as bright as imagined, but with new batteries that might well change. The color is, and I can't stress this enough,
beautiful. It's not just a cyan color, as I feared it might be. It's got more blue in it than that. Think of the bluest summer sky you've seen, that's the color of this blade. Very reminiscent of Luke's saber from ANH.
Emory, you've got a great product here, and I will be recommending it to anyone that's interested, and I'll be ordering my next saber pretty soon, I think. I've decided to probably ratchet up in terms of complexity, so now that I have a baseline, I'll move to a Dominix v3 stunt, then on to the sabers I'm drooling over presently, the Overlord and Archon.
Thanks for reading, folks!
-kamo
